Professional Advice for Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Employees, Retirees.
November 10th, 2008
Hi Beleagured Taxpayer,
Are you looking for someone to be on your side?
Someone looking out for your interests, giving you straight advice.
Someone you can trust.
Someone who is an expert in their field.
Do you sometimes feel alone and confused by the myriad of laws that you have to deal with in your business and personal life?
Last weekend I went to a Ted Nicholas workshop and he made me realise that there are so many people who are really looking for someone to be on their side, someone they can trust, someone to look out for them.
I already knew this but he said it in such a passionate way that it moved me to share more of the knowledge and experience that I have gained over the last thirty years rather than just keeping it to myself and worried about what others might think.
Following is a quote from Ted Nicholas.”Your best business friend as an entrepreneur is an accountant well versed in the challenges faced by business owners”.
Hopefully this blog will be a way that you can get to know me, or if you know me already, get to know me better. Feel free to ask any questions or make comments so I can get to know you as well.
If you are in business I highly recommend visiting Ted’s website http://www.tednicholas.com
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
Business Adviser
Chartered Accountant
CPA
Australian Registered Tax Agent
Superannuation
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July 28th, 2008
Paul Hogan appeared on 60 minutes tonight wanting to tell his side of the story involving him and the Tax Office.
Apparently the Tax Office wants access to his banking records in the US because they believe he may owe millions of dollars in tax.
Its all a part of Operation Wickenby, reportedly the biggest Tax Hunt in Australia’s history. Glenn Wheatley was convicted as a result of Operation Wickenby.
60 Minutes asked Michael Inglis, a tax attorney, if Paul Hogan was wise to publicly “antagonise” the Tax Office. He said “If you are in the phone booth with a gorilla, you don’t poke him in the eye.”
When he was asked if he had paid all his taxes in Austrlia, Hogan said.”Yeah totally, more than I should have.”
60 Mnutes asked hin how much it is costing to fight the Tax Office. Hogan replied, something like a million dollars in legal fees.
He quoted Kerry Packer, “Pay your tax but dont tip em as they are not doing that good a job”
The quote I remember of Kerry Packer was when he was questioned in a senate inquiry, this is what I remembered, “Anyone who pays more tax than they legally have to is a mug.” I did a quick search and the ony reference I found described what he said as follows “Of course I am minimising my tax, and if anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax they want their heads read, because as a government, I can tell you, you’re not spending it that well that we should be donating extra.”
Here is a link to an article that talks about “In other words, in 2006 it is the super rich like Packer getting the welfare, and it’s the poor who are paying the price.”
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/the-taxing-art-of-bludging/2006/01/02/1136050387120.html
Here is a link to an article that has some moere detail.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23966375-601,00.html
There are many ways of minimising your tax, that is not paying in excess of what the law says, without involving the use of complex structures and hidden bank accounts in overseas tax havens. Not that I am implying this is the case here, just talking generally.
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July 22nd, 2008
Hi,
When I started the blog I used a new webhosting service (new to me anyway) but unfortunately it was down alot which meant the blog wasnt ranking well. I have now changed webhosting and the new service also includes technical assistance, which is great, which frees up my time. Hopefully now the site will be live all the time and have regular updates.
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
Business Adviser
Chartered Accountant
CPA
Australian Registered Tax Agent
Superannuation
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June 18th, 2008
You may be able to get a great tax deduction by taking out and prepaying a 1 year lease.
Buying a car or plant fior example you can claim a fair part of the purchase price before 30 June.
You need to ensure that the residual is acceptable by the Tax Office.
I wrote a post about this at a forum tonight and went back to add the comment about the redsidul being acceptable by the tax office but they had locked the forum. Remember with any general financial advice like you read in forums you are advised to seek a credible adviser before acting on any information.
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
Business Adviser
Chartered Accountant
CPA
Australian Registered Tax Agent
Superannuation
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June 17th, 2008
Yesterday I spoke at the Business Lift Off seminar about Year End Tax Planning ( my first presentation!) . There were six other speakers.
It was great. Room for improvement on my part but I was happy with how I went. When is the next one?
If you are reading this and you attended the seminar just send me an email and I will send you my powerpoint notes .
I mentioned how sad it was that the double tax deduction for laptops etc was gone afer the budget
On a happier note superannuation has become very attractive with the recent changes
Tax benefits putting money into super, tax benefits whilst its there and tax free after you start a pension and when it comes out (in most cases)
Also now super funds can borrow money and invest in property.
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
Business Adviser
Chartered Accountant
CPA
Australian Registered Tax Agent
Superannuation
Internet Adviser
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March 30th, 2008
FBT or Fringe Benefits Tax is a tax on remuneration to employees (can include the business owner) that is paid in forms other than cash (cash meaning also direct deposit to the employees bank account).
If the employee is paid in cash and other forms (eg reimbursement of expenses before tax) this is commonly referred to as salary packaging.
There are some ways that you can package a salary to reduce the FBT to nil.
For Example:
Superannuation
Pay the employees expenses directly only on items that are specifically exempt from FBT eg One laptop computer per year.
Payments that are otherwise deductible. In other words if the employee could have claimed a tax deduction in their personl tax return then there is no FBT if the employer pays for theses expenese instead.
Employee Contributions. The employee pays money to the employer to reduce to nil the employers liability to pay FBT. This is effective where the employees marginal tax rate is below the highest marginal rate.
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March 18th, 2008
The end of the Fringe Benefits Tax Year is fast approaching. March 31 2008.
Will you owe FBT?
The Tax Office has issue a rough checklist, as a guide only.
I have listed the questions below.
If you are currently an employer this checklist will help you work out if you are providing a fringe benefit to your employees.
If you answer yes to any of the following you may be liable for fringe benefits tax.
Do you make cars or other vehicles owned by the business available to employees for private use including a car garaged at the employee’s home?
Do you provide loans at reduced interest rates to employees?
Have you released an employee from an owed debt?
Have you paid for, or reimbursed, an expense incurred by an employee?
Do you provide a house or unit of accommodation to your employees?
Do you provide employees with living-away-from-home allowances?
Do you provide entertainment by the way of food, drink or recreation to your employees?
Are you a tax-exempt organisation that has provided food, drink or accommodation to employees?
Have you provided property, either free or at a discount, to employees?
Do any of your employees have a salary package arrangement in place?
Have you provided your employees with goods at a lower price than they are normally sold to the public?
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Next time we may discuss how to reduce your FBT to nil even if you answered yes to one or more of the above questions
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Note: Remember to buy your laptop BEFORE March 31 to maximise your tax benefits.
If you are looking for a laptop: http://www.bargainseeker.com.au
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
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March 13th, 2008
I was shocked when I heard earlier rumours that Kevin Rudd was going to renig (the dictionary says its spelled renege ) on an election promise to pay carers bonus.
Anyway there was no need to investigate this as apparently, he has said that he will pay the carer bonus.
News Story
I have great admiration for carers.
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
Business Adviser
Chartered Accountant
CPA
Australian Registered Tax Agent
Superannuation
Internet Adviser
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March 13th, 2008
Over the years I have found that there is at least one thing that most people aren’t aware of when they apply for a loan. Even a lot of Mortgage Brokers aren’t aware of it. Knowing this can save tens of thousands of dollars in tax. It is do with maximising the interest deductibilty of the loan when you pay more than the minimum capital repayment and you want to use these extra funds for something else. It has to do with offset accounts and redraws.
I have included a short report with references to a tax ruling, a tax appeals case and a forum post with alot of details about this matter as well as other loan related matters.
I was thinking of charging $47 for this report, but for the moment anyway it is free.
Click Loan Report
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
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March 13th, 2008
Hi. Welcome to taxagents.com.au. This is my newest website. I decided that if I am going to be posting good information to you I may as well get the most leverage and see if the content can attract other vistors searching for tax and business related information on the internet. I believe that a blog is one of the best ways to do this. May I say that wordpress is a great way to do blogging.
Previously I was just sending by emailing, I don’t think that was the best use of my time. Now I will integrate the two.
Anyway we will see how it goes.
Regards,
Glenn Wallace
Business Adviser
Chartered Accountant
CPA
Australian Registered Tax Agent
Superannuation
Internet Adviser
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