Blog

When it comes to investing in shares, it’s often said that time is your friend.

The data shows that investing small amounts consistently over time and riding out the ups and downs of the market by holding onto your investments for the long term can produce a healthy return.

A new survey has found mid-market operators are having to juggle as many as five different business management tools, causing efficiency, productivity loss and greater security risks.

MYOB’s latest survey of over 1000 Australian and New Zealand mid-market business operators (that’s businesses with 20-500 full-time employees or equivalent) shows that it’s not only smaller ventures that are facing challenges resulting from rapid digitisation in recent years.

Ensuring you’ve structured your finances tax-effectively is always a concern, but with new tax rules for super on the horizon, many people with large balances are considering alternative vehicles to save for retirement.

Unsurprisingly, this has sparked a renewed interest in an old favourite – trusts.

Trusts have always been popular in Australia, with the government’s Tax Avoidance Taskforce (Trusts) estimating more than one million were in place in 2022.

We’re all now only too aware of the risk of cybercrime after the well-publicised data hacks of Medibank Private and Optus.

Although these crimes involved large organisations, email scams, cyberattacks and online scams also represent a major risk for small businesses, particularly if you don’t have the funds or knowhow to strengthen your digital security.

The latest Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Annual Cyber Threat Report warned no-one was immune to cyber threats, with a cybercrime reported every seven minutes on average.

Selling your goods or services overseas can seem like a big leap – and there are certainly some hurdles – but it could be good for business.

Exporting can provide your business with benefits such as increased productivity, increases in sales and profits, new customers, and clients and potentially better growth opportunities.

Stay up to date with what's happened in Australian markets over the past month.

After endless gloomy forecasts, there was a glimmer of hope last month that the cost of living might be easing.

Most super funds offer life, total and permanent disability (TPD) and income protection insurance for their members. 

When reviewing your insurance, check if you're covered through your super fund. Compare it with what's available outside super to find the right policy for you.

Depending who you ask, we could be headed for a recession, writes Nigel Bowen. But what does that mean and will it be bad for your business?

If you’ve done the grocery shopping lately, you’ll know inflation is becoming a serious issue.

When the inflation genie gets out of the bottle, economies can enter a destructive spiral. Prices rise, workers demand wage rises to compensate for higher prices, businesses grant wage rises then increase prices to cover increased labour costs, and the cycle continues. Until the relevant central bank starts jacking up interest rates.

It’s been a tough few years for many businesses, with the pandemic and natural disasters, especially small business owners.

Finding funds and expertise for business development can be challenging for smaller organisations. Even larger and successful firms can find it difficult to put together the cash and know-how to keep a business expanding.

That’s where a grant of funds or professional support can come to the rescue.

The ATO has recently updated its practical compliance guideline on how the CGT main residence exemption may apply in cases where a dwelling is disposed either in the capacity of an individual beneficiary or a trustee of a deceased estate.

You are legally required to keep records of all transactions relating to your tax and superannuation affairs as you start, run, sell, change or close your business, specifically:

• any documents related to your business's income and expenses;
• any documents containing details of any election, choice, estimate, determination or calculation you make for your business's tax and super affairs.

It seems like June 30 rolls around quicker every year, so why wait until the last minute to get your personal finances in order?

With all the uncertainty and special support measures of the past two years, it’s possible your finances have changed for better, or for worse. So it’s a good idea to ensure you’re on track for the upcoming end-of-financial-year (EOFY).
Starting early is essential if you want to make the most of the opportunities on offer when it comes to your super and tax affairs.

Stay up to date with what's happened in Australian markets over the past month.

The war in Ukraine added a major new source of uncertainty to the local and global economic outlook in March.

Inflationary pressure continued as global economies recover from the pandemic and as crude oil prices surged due to economic sanctions against Russia.

Australian shares are popular investments with self-funded retirees and anyone who depends on income from their investments, due in part to the favourable tax treatment of franked dividends.

After falling off in the early days of the COVID pandemic, share prices and dividends bounced back strongly in the year to June 2021.
Investors who depend on income from their shares also have more certainty now that the Labor Party has dropped its opposition to cash refunds of excess franking credits, a policy that attracted fierce resistance from retirees at the last federal election.

It was hard to miss the media splash about international tax evasion when the Pandora Papers were released, with local interest focussing on what Australian tax authorities would do with this massive trove of information.

But it seems the ATO is relaxed. Deputy Commissioner and Serious Financial Crime Taskforce Chief Will Day responded that the tax man doesn’t “rely on data leaks to do our job. We detect, investigate and deal with offshore tax evasion year-round.”

So where does the ATO get its data from and how is it being used?

The Director Identification Number regime came into force late in 2020 as a tool for the government to reduce phoenixing and black economy activities. Broadly, the regime will require all directors to confirm their identity with the ATO, at which time they will be issued a unique identifier. This identifier will then be permanently linked to the individual even if they cease to be a director.

Buying your first home is always a big step, but with property prices rising faster than pay packets taking that first step seems more challenging than ever.

National house prices rose 20 per cent in the year to September, the fastest growth since 1989. Higher prices have also fanned out from capital cities to the regions, as city folk discover the country lifestyle and cheaper housing during the pandemic.ⁱ

With business conditions picking up in Australia, many business owners are thinking about the equipment they will need in order to evolve in the years ahead.

Whether it’s a new delivery van or a high-end digital printer, up-to-date equipment and tools are essential for business success. In the May 2021 Federal Budget, the government announced full write-off of eligible business assets will be available for another year, so the opportunity to tool up is even more attractive.

For many people, the idea of managing and investing your own retirement savings is very appealing.

But there is debate over whether running your own self-managed super fund (SMSF) is cost effective. So, what are the arguments for and against having your own fund?

Stay up to date with what's happened in Australian and global markets over the past month.

Our May update video takes you through key economic indicators so you can understand how the Australian economy is faring as we recover from the COVID-19 induced recession of 2020.

Stay up to date with what's happened in Australian and global markets over the past month.  

Stay up to date with what's happened in Australian and global markets over the past month.  

Our February update video also takes you through key economic indicators so you can understand how the Australian economy is faring as we recover from the COVID-19 induced recession of 2020. Please get in touch if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.

Building a bridge to recovery

If you’re one of the many Australians that has taken up loan payment deferrals for their homes or businesses, beware as the repayment holiday for most financial institutions is due to end in September. According to APRA data, 11% of housing loans were deferred and 17% of small business loans were deferred as at 30 June 2020.

After 28 years Australia’s record economic expansion ended due to the COVID shutdowns, below is a video to assist you to stay up to date with the latest indicators.
 

Over 17,000 SMSFs that are heavily invested in one asset class will soon receive a “please explain” from the ATO to check whether they can justify their diversification risk.

We are proud to be celebrating our 25th year during 2019. Founded by the Late Peter Bodycoat in 1995, the past 25 years have seen many changes in our business, industry and local economy.

The role that small business plays in the economy is generally well understood but how well do the owners of those businesses understand their true worth? The large number of business owners fast approaching retirement will need to do some careful planning if they are to maximise the fruits of their labour.

As part of the ATO’s move towards a paperless system, the ATO encourages more and more taxpayers to report and manage their tax affairs electronically using their online services.

In an effort to keep up to date with technology and improve its service delivery, the ATO has started moving their communications and interactions with taxpayers away from paper correspondence and towards other methods, such as email and mobile phones (via SMS), for updates and notifications.