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Taxpayers claiming deductions on holiday homes are in the ATO’s sights.The ATO is more than a little concerned that people with holiday homes are claiming more deductions than they should and have published the starting questions they will be asking to scrutinise claims:How many days was it rente...

In a volatile market, keeping to a strategy, or let’s face it creating one, can be tough.The downside of not taking time out for your strategy is that there is a tendency to keep a short-term focus at an operational level to try and pick quick wins to generate financial returns. Sometimes in the ...

Not being paranoid or anything but we were curious about the skills of the latest innovation to take the world by storm, ChatGPT, and its ability to work with the Australian tax system. Let’s start by saying that we were impressed. Not so much by ChatGPT’s ability to work with the complexiti...

From 1 January 2023, those 55 and over can make a ‘downsizer’ contribution to superannuation.Downsizer contributions are an excellent way to get money into superannuation quickly. And now that the age limit has reduced to 55 from 60, more people have an opportunity to use this strategy if it suit...

If you have an SMSF with a total balance of less than $1 million, from 1 July 2023 you will need to report quarterly to the ATO instead of annually. Previously, SMSFs with a balance under $1m reported annually at the same time as lodging the SMSF annual return.  

The ATO has released its final position on how it will apply some integrity rules dealing with trust distributions - changing the goal posts for trusts distributing to adult children, corporate beneficiaries, and entities with losses. As a result, many family groups will pay higher taxes because ...

It’s that time of year again - what to do for the Christmas party for the team, customers, gifts of appreciation for your favourite accountant (just kidding), etc. Here are our top tips for a generous and tax effective Christmas season: Tax & ChristmasFor GST registered businesses (not tax e...

If you missed the 30 November 2022 deadline for obtaining a Director ID, the Australian Business Registry Services have stated that they will not take action against directors that apply for their ID by 14 December 2022. If you are required to but have not yet applied for your ID, you should...

The Government’s ‘Secure Jobs, Better Pay’ legislation passed Parliament on  2 December 2022. We explore the issues.The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 passed Parliament on 2 December 2020. The legislation is extensive and brings into effect a series ...

The Government has reinvigorated the 120% skills training and technology costs deduction for small and medium business.An election ago, the 2022-23 Budget proposed a 120% tax deduction for expenditure by small and medium businesses on technology, or skills and training for their staff. This propo...