Keeping pace with the changing dynamics of the Australian economy, Australian Taxes are changing and some of these changes may affect you as taxpayers. Presented below is a summary of the top tax changes in 2017-18.
Paying an accountant to handle all of your financial reporting can be expensive, but if you have several different sources and deductions or if you own a small business, it can be worth it. Accountants know many little tricks to saving you money that you might not, plus they understand the tax codes and the paperwork that has to be filed. If you’re still not certain about the expense, here are some ways you can get the best value from your accountant.
The world has had an enormous shift from what it was a decade ago to what it had set for itself to be; and yet in the rat race, this desire of human civilization seems to be ever growing and insatiable. Be it in the world of technology or commerce; business or society, the pace of development is quite certainly leaving the human civilization behind. Does it scare you of becoming obsolete? Or are you one of those, who constantly strive to keep up with the changing times?
The Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No 1) Bill 2015 and the Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No 2) Bill 2015 have been passed by the House of Representatives.
The outlook for 2017 is in places easy, in other places hard and in one particular area, near impossible.
Let’s start with the impossible. I am often asked for my view on the Australian dollar against the US, Euro and Pound sterling. I think I have got this right about once in my 35 years in the money industry. Ironically, this was a few years ago when I was doing a series of talks with AMP’s Shane Oliver. The Aussie dollar was buying around $US1.10. All the predictions were for it to go higher. My comment was that this was as high as I had seen it. It has been as low as US 50 cents to our dollar, and my view was that at a $US1.10 for an Aussie dollar, I would at least buy enough US dollars to pay for 5 years of holidays that linked to the US dollar. This, with hindsight, was pure genius. Can I not mention the other times I was completely wrong?
How the assets test will work in 2017 could increase your Age Pension entitlements, or take some or all of them away.
With revisions to the Age Pension assets test just around the corner, it’s important to understand how the changes could impact you, particularly with part-pension thresholds somewhat tighter than initially projected.
