Tax Planning

Tax Planning services in Australia continue to be a community ‘hot spot’. These are very popular among the Accounting and Tax Planning Services.

If done well, tax planning could potentially save you money.

But, be careful – The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has incorporated a system in place for ensuring that aggressive Tax Planning does not affect the goals of ATO. Some of these strategies are:

The ATO has also introduced a system of product rulings to give potential investors more certainty in respect to the taxation consequences of particular schemes. The objective of the product ruling strategy is to clearly differentiate mass marketed Tax planning services and schemes that the ATO believes accord with the law and those which the ATO does not. This product ruling strategy is currently under review to ensure its efficacy in balancing client service and taxpayer compliance.

• The ATO has recognized that aggressive Tax Planning services cut across all segments of the taxpaying population and that there needs to be an integrated whole of ATO approach that cuts across organizational structures.
• A key objective of the ATO has been to develop compliance strategies and approaches which aim to influence long term behavior. The High Wealth Individuals Taskforce is a good example.

The ATO is taking the initiative in the mass marketed areas of aggressive tax planning. Such schemes are often marketed to large numbers of taxpayers and are designed to achieve outcomes that are clearly not intended under the law.

Income Tax Advice – Non-Residents, Future Migrants and Working Visitors

This section provides introductory information tailored for Australians who are not tax residents, future migrants and working visitors, regarding the Australian tax system, and how B B Whitehouse Group can assist you with these needs.

1. While a tax resident of Australia, individuals are taxed on their worldwide income at a maximum taxable rate of 46.5%. When they become non-resident for tax purposes they become liable only for tax on Australian sourced income – an approach which differs from that of some other countries, such as the US.
2. The tests are often very dependent, however, on an individual’s personal circumstances and you are strongly advised to seek professional Income Tax Advice if you have any doubts about your tax or residency status – particularly given the changes made to the taxation of offshore employment made in the 2009 Budget.
3. Other areas of common concern to expatriates are the application of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in relation to property and assets in Australia, both on departure and whilst overseas, and how rental income from property is treated whilst overseas.

Tax planning tips –

1. Defer employee income until after 1 July
2. Claiming of home office and wok related expenses
3. Bad debts should be written off before the year’s end.
4. Most entrepreneurs would no doubt be aware of the Government’s changes to superannuation from 1 July, which reduce the cap on heavily tax-concessioned voluntary contributions to just $25,000 for those under 50, and $50,000 for those over 50.
5. If you are an entrepreneur with aggregated annual turnover under $50,000, you may be eligible for the entrepreneurs’ tax offset, which is equal to 25% of the income tax payable on business income.
6. The small business entity tax concession allows the immediate write-off for new, depreciating assets costing less than $1000. Additionally, businesses can pool assets together to reach over $1000 as a whole, and then depreciate them at accelerated rates.