One of the big motivations for considering using a trust will be to protect assets. Property and other assets can be moved into a trust for protection from creditors, to maintain an estate until a beneficiary becomes old enough to have legal possession, or isolate valuable assets from a trading company that may be more...

Every investor goes in with dreams of a pot of gold, but there is a fundamental dichotomy of investor types – one looks to line their pockets with investment returns along the way, and another who is patient to wait until the end of the rainbow to reap the rewards. The distinction between investing for...

Government releases legislation to repeal carbon tax The government released the carbon tax repeal bills for public comment, and invited businesses to comment on specific details of the repeal process up to November 4, 2013. The federal government said the repeal would be effective come July 1, 2014, and would save households around $550 in...

With a new Coalition government in Canberra, several aspects of the economic environment, both for businesses big and small as well as for individuals, look likely to change in the near future. While specific details are still to be formulated and released, there are several known policies that the Coalition have outlined and that are...

Did you know that you may be entitled to claim some of the expenses you outlay while travelling between your home and your regular workplace, or even to your alternative workplace? While claiming such work travel tax deductions are certainly possible, such claims can be a minefield that needs to be navigated very carefully so...

No one’s exempt from having to pay taxes – not even your favourite sports stars who may play in the rugby league, rugby union, soccer or Australian Rules football. Players in our great football codes may have hung up their boots for this season, and many may finally be catching up with their tax returns....

Individuals are generally entitled to a 50% discount on a capital gain where a CGT asset (such as a property) is disposed, provided that the asset is held for at least 12 months. However a recent change has altered the tax treatment for some taxpayers. By way of background, foreign and temporary residents are required...

Establishing an SMSF is a clear sign that you know the importance of planning for the future. But one other central consideration is to make sure you also plan for the time beyond your own lifetime. One misconception many people have is that their normal “last will and testament” can be relied upon to distribute...

Small business owners may be eligible for various concessional treatments for transactions that involve capital gains tax (CGT). These concessions can reduce, defer or at times even eliminate tax payable from capital gains. Applying these concessions can often trip up small business taxpayers. The Tax Office recently reported that its compliance work had revealed some...

The consolidated dependant tax offset was introduced in the 2012-13 federal budget in May, and combines and consolidates eight of the existing dependency tax offsets into one single non-refundable tax offset for taxpayers who contribute to the maintenance of someone who is genuinely unable to work because of invalidity or care obligations. The offsets that...