Article Archive

Here you will find an archive of all past articles and news stories for your convenience.

	Thinking Of Starting Your Own SMSF? Sept 11 The loss of investor confidence in superannuation fund managers combined with the lure of controlling your own financial destiny has seen an explosion in the number of Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) in this country. (Read More)
	Personal Income Tax June 2011 The Government did not make any changes to the currently legislated tax rates which apply for the 2010/11 year and subsequent years. However, Personal Income Tax Rates have been adjusted to add the flood levy that was introduced into Parliament on 10 February 2011 and passed both houses of Parliament in March. (Read More)
	Small Business Motor Vehicle Tax Write-off June 2011 The Government will provide Australian small businesses with an instant tax write-off of the first $5,000 of any motor vehicle purchased from 2012/13. For example, a tradesman on a 30% marginal tax rate, buying a new $33,960 ute would receive an extra tax benefit of $1,275 in the year he purchases the vehicle.  (Read More)
	Turn Old Customers Into New Business Mar 2011 If you’re like most small business owners, you want to build a business without spending a fortune on advertising and promotion. Instead, you want to cultivate repeat business and maximize referrals from satisfied customers. (Read More)
	Do You Really Need A Website? Mar 2011 Australian consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable buying their goods online. This has created a wave of controversy recently with prominent business owner Gerry Harvey petitioning the Government to start charging GST on all products purchased online from overseas. (Read More)
	Start Your Business Engines Dec 2010 A recent report from the ABS titled, ‘Australian Business Entries and Exits' has just buried the myth that four out of five businesses fail in the first year of operation. (Read More)
	Thinking Of Starting A Small Business? Dec 2010 There are a number of factors you need to consider regarding the right structure for your new business. These include the type of business you are setting up, if and how many others are involved in the business, how you want profits (or losses) to be shared and who is going to be legally liable for the debts of the business. (Read More)
	When It’s Time To Sell Your Business... Sept 2010 It is forecast that 41% of Australian businesses will change hands in the next five years as most owners near retirement age. This would represent the largest shift in business ownership in Australia's history and could have serious consequences for business owners, particularly those relying on the sale proceeds to fund their retirement. (Read More)
	Your Website Is Your Marketing Hub Sept 2010 In the current economic climate your marketing has to achieve more for less. Increasingly your website will be the first point of contact with potential new customers and what type of impression are you making? History tells us that businesses that make the right marketing moves now will emerge from the downturn in a stronger position. (Read More)
	Education Tax Refund July 10 The Education Tax Refund lets parents claim a 50% tax refund on eligible education expenses incurred during the year. The total eligible education expenses are capped at $750 for primary school children and $1,500 for secondary school children. (Read More)
	2010 Budget Highlights July 10 The Government delivers its third tranche of personal income tax cuts that were promised in the 2007 election campaign. (Read More)
	Know Your Key Numbers Mar 10 So how do you recognise the warning signs in a business? Key Performance Indicators or KPIs let you monitor what is happening in the business and the power of KPI's comes from a simple concept - What you can measure you can manage.  KPIs let you know where you stand at any given moment so you can adapt or change your strategy to improve your results right there and then. (Read More)
	Negative Gearing - Flavour Of The Month? Dec 09 Buying and negatively gearing an investment property is a well established practice in this country with approximately 30% of residential properties now owned by investors. Many of our clients have successfully grown their wealth using this long term, tax effective strategy but we have also seen some financial disasters. (Read More)
	Become A Business Brain Surgeon Sept 09 Are you working longer and taking home less than your staff? Are you working all hours of the day and night and still barely managing to keep your customers happy? Are you unable to delegate or outsource work to give you more time to work on your business? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, maybe its time you learnt what Brain Surgeons do. (Read More)
	2008/09 Federal Budget Aug 09 In December 2008 the Rudd Government announced that it would introduce a 10% temporary investment allowance to encourage business owners to acquire plant and equipment. On 3 February, 2009 the Government announced that it would expand and increase the temporary investment allowance to 30%. In the May Federal Budget the tax break was increased to 50%. (Read More)
	New Small Business and General Business Tax Break April 09 The Federal Government previously announced that it would introduce a temporary 'investment allowance' giving business owners an additional tax deduction equal to 10% of the cost of eligible depreciating assets. The tax deduction is on top of the usual capital (depreciation) deduction. The Government has now 'upped the ante', increasing both the amount and the scope of the allowance to be known as the 'Small Business and General Business Tax Break'.  (Read More)
	The Taxman’s 2008/09 Targets Sept 08 Each year the Tax Office publicly release its primary targets for their ‘compliance program’. It’s a valuable guide for taxpayers – forewarned is forearmed.  The Tax Office will be paying particular attention to investors this year with a focus on key risk areas including the share market (46% of people now own shares) and capital gains tax events. (Read More)
	What is Negative Gearing? May 08 By definition, Negative Gearing is where you borrow to acquire an investment and the interest and other costs you incur exceed the income you receive from the investment. While Negative Gearing is commonly associated with rental properties, it can also be applied to other types of income-producing investments such as shares and managed funds. (Read More)
	How To Save Dollars On Your Mortgage October 07 It’s always surprising to learn how many people stick to monthly home loan repayments. By paying fortnightly you can save thousands of dollars simply because there are 26 fortnights in a year. (Read More)
	Play It Safe With Online Banking October 07 Understandably, some people have reservations about the security of online banking. After all, if I can access my own details via the internet, can someone else do the same? (Read More)
	Audit Hit List June 07 If you bought or sold an investment property in the past year, pocketed some of those resource stock profits or continued to make losses on your rental property then there is every chance you will receive a letter from the Australian Taxation Office. Between now and October the Tax Office will be writing to people it thinks might need ‘help’ complying with the law when preparing their tax returns. (Read More)
	Driving Your Tax Dollar Further ... April 07 If you use your car for income producing purposes, you could be entitled to claim a tax deduction for motor vehicle expenses. Once you have established your entitlement to claim your motor vehicle expenses, you can then select one of four methods and apply the one that provides the highest possible tax deduction. (Read More)
	Getting Into Gear - Negative Gearing Explained March 07 With close to half-a-million property investors around Australia, using other people’s money to increase personal wealth is almost a way of life in this country. Whilst Negative Gearing is commonly associated with rental properties, it can also be applied to other types of income-producing investments such as shares and managed funds. (Read More)
	Buying A Vehicle? How You Can Save $ With Fleet Discounts! March 07 You can potentially save thousands of dollars off the retail price of passenger and commercial vehicles through our affiliation with the national vehicle buying service, Private Fleet. An Australian owned and operated company, Private Fleet are regarded as a large buying entity in the motor vehicle industry and dealers give them access to fleet sales discounts potentially saving you up to several thousand dollars off the retail purchase price of new motor vehicles. (Read More)