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

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

All eyes were on the September quarter inflation figures in October, as speculation mounted that the Reserve Bank may be forced to raise interest rates sooner than planned.

 

Contrary to popular belief, your SMSF can actually invest in collectables such as artworks, jewellery and wine as well as personal use assets such as boats, classic cars or other vehicles. However, investment in these assets must meet very strict and specific rules in order to qualify and thus care should be taken to avoid breaches of super rules in relation to owning collectables and personal use assets in SMSFs.

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

Our October update takes you through key economic indicators, as September was a mixed bag on the economic front.  After reaching record highs in August, global sharemarkets stumbled in late September.
 

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.

 

Following on from the revelation that the bulk of tax collected by the ATO comes from individual taxpayers, it comes as no surprise that the ATO is continuing to target this sector to squeeze out every last tax dollar. This time, it has announced another new data-matching program on novated leases, this is in addition to the plethora of data-matching programs already announced this year on an eclectic range of areas including rental properties, motor vehicles, residency, contractor payments, and cryptocurrency.

Owners of lifestyle assets beware, the ATO has extended its data-matching program for another 2 years. The lifestyle assets data-matching program has been running since February 2016 and in the past collected data from the 2013-14 to the 2019-20 financial years. It will now be extended to include the 2020-21 through to 2022-23 financial years.

From 1 July 2021, a whole raft of superannuation changes as a part of the government’s more flexible superannuation changes has come into effect. Three of the most important changes consist of the increase in bring-forward arrangement contributions cap, the removal of the excess contributions charge, and re-contribution changes.

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

Our September update video takes you through key economic indicators, as August provided mixed economic news, with central banks, business and consumers remaining cautious.
 

As many tenants and landlords turn their attention to their 2020-21 tax returns, one of the big questions is perhaps how they should treat rental concessions provided and received during the last financial year as a result of COVID-19. Tax treatment of these rental concessions depends on a variety of factors and are outlined below.