http://www.macmillans.com.au/ Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:00:47 Macmillans Waller Fry Articles http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22849 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Government-launches-Property-Security-Register.html The Australian Government has this week launched a new initiative to establish a single point of contact register for consumers, businesses and the finance industry. The Personal Property Securities Register is an online service where consumers and business operators can search a register when they need to know whether certain personal property has a security interest registered against it. The online service also extends to... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22609 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/How-good-is-your-home-loan?.html With the ongoing economic uncertainty in Europe many people are finding it difficult to predict our economies future. Even with uncertainty, it is important to make sure that you are getting the best possible deal with your mortgage. One of our recommended finance brokers has seen the best variable rate offered at this time at about 6.30% while the best fixed rate deal getting around is about 5.75% fixed for 3 years. By way of... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22537 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Back-to-School...-Claim-your-expenses!.html What is it?   The Education Tax Refund (ETR) is designed to help with the cost of educating primary and secondary school children. Eligible parents, carers, legal guardians and independent students are able to claim money back on certain education expenses. Who is Eligible?   1) Parents, Carers & Legal Guardians You can claim the ETR if you had eligible education expenses during the... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22341 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/The-ATO-is-watching:-Credit-and-Debit-Card-Data.html The ATO has ramped up its credit and debit card supervision and matching program. This information is designed to identify taxpayers who may be participating in the cash economy and not complying with their tax obligations. What the ATO does Data is acquired from banks that identify credit and debit card sales made by Australian businesses. This data is then matched against taxpayer records to identify those participating in the... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22337 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Timely-reminder-on-Personal-Services-Income.html During January 2012, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be in touch with various taxpayers who have reported PSI and may have incorrectly self-assessed themselves. PSI refers to income that is mainly a reward for an individual’s personal efforts or skills. Taxpayers must determine whether they have earned PSI and conducted a personal services business (PSB) in an income year. As a result, entitlement to certain... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22241 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Is-your-online-presence-protected?.html Your online customer database may be at risk A recent court case in California has highlighted the risk that employers face when entrusting their online presence to employees. Using social media, businesses can amass quite a large contact database through 'Followers' and 'Fans' all of which can be potential leads in the future. However, a grey area has been exposed when employees combine their... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=22081 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Want-good-insurance-cover?-Best-speak-with-the-experts....html It’s easy to underestimate the importance of your regular income – or even take it for granted. A recent article by David Glen, Tax Counsel at TAL (formerly Tower Australia Ltd) published in The Australian highlights the importance of seeking expert advice in protecting your income. Macmillans Waller Fry are able to assist you with seeking appropriate insurance tailored to your circumstances with proper consideration of... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=21821 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Your-next-worker-is-overseas....html Rethinking your staffing model Offshoring has a bad reputation. As a result, most businesses may not properly explore the opportunities it presents. Yet the business case for designing services that can be delivered remotely regardless of geography is clear: it will create more highly skilled, high-wage jobs for Australians. If offshoring succeeds, Australia prospers. If... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=21493 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/The-importance-of-marketing.html Financial success often depends on marketing ability. Finance, operations, accounting, and other business functions will not really matter if there is not sufficient demand for products and services so the company can make a profit. Marketing ability involves the ability of your business to understand its target market and communicate its products and services offering to them. Good marketing will create a positive effect on the... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=21405 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/A-definition-of-charity---consultation-paper.html A review of charities In the 2011 Federal Budget, the government announced it intended to review charities and the taxation concessions extended to charities. In response, the government has released a consultation paper A Definition of Charity. The aim of this process is to produce a standard definition of charity throughout Australia, including in the areas of state and... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=21193 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Small-business-depreciation-changes.html The Government had released for comment exposure draft legislation which proposes to make various tax law amendments concerning the small business depreciation rules. The amendments are proposed to apply to small business entities as defined in s 328-110 of the ITAA 1997 that have an aggregated turnover of less than $2m for an income year. Public consultation closed on 28 September 2011. The amendments are proposed to have effect from... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=21093 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Monetary-Policy-Decision.html At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent, effective 2 November 2011. Recent information is consistent with a moderation in the pace of global growth, though fears of a major downturn have not been borne out so far. The pace of US economic expansion picked up in the September quarter, but is still only moderate and leaves considerable spare capacity. China's growth has... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=16817 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Pro-active-HR-&-ER---avoid-non-compliance-penalties.html With just a few weeks of the financial year left, it is a good time to check on your employment relations situation and avoid falling prey to the penalties of non-compliance. 1. Directors Personally Liable on Super The director penalty regime will be extended to include the superannuation guarantee from 1 July 2011. From this time, directors will be held personally liable for their companies' failure to pay employee... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=16713 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Education-Tax-Refund.html What is it? The Education Tax Refund (ETR) is designed to help with the cost of educating primary and secondary school children. Eligible parents, carers, legal guardians and independent students are able to claim money back on certain education expenses. Who is Eligible? 1) Parents, Carers & Legal Guardians You can claim the ETR if you had eligible education expenses during the financial year for a child who meets... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=16601 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/RBA-Leaves-Official-Cash-Rate-Unchanged.html At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent. Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor Monetary Policy RBA The global economy is continuing its expansion, led by very strong growth in the Asian region, though the recent disaster in Japan is having a major impact on Japanese production, and significant effects on production of some manufactured products further afield. Commodity prices have... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=16581 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Deductions-for-study-and-job-seeking-expenses-now-available.html A recent high court decision means that you may now be able to claim a tax deduction for study and job seeking expenses. (Commissioner of Taxation v. Anstis - 11 November 2010) The decision affects taxpayers who receive or have received: Austudy, ABSTUDY and Youth allowance payments to undertake study and have incurred study expenses Newstart allowance and Youth allowance job seeker and have incurred expenses in... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=19317 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Stamp-Duty-change-hits-first-home-buyers-hard.html The NSW Government last night announced its budget. In an attempt to stimulate the new home market (and therefore the building industry), the government has announced that from 1 January 2012, exemption from stamp duty for first home buyers will only apply to new homes (including substantially renovated homes and vacant land). Please note that the announcement only relates to the Stamp Duty on a purchase. The First Home Owners Grant... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=16509 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/2011-Annual-Award-Review-Decision.html Annual Wage Review 2010-11 Decision A Full Bench of Fair Work Australia has this morning handed down the Annual Wage Review Decision. The key components of the decision are:  A uniform increase of 3.4% to all Award rates of pay.  The national minimum wage (which applies to Award/Agreement free employees) will be $589.30 per week. This amounts to an increase of $19.40 per week.  The... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=15573 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/TimeSaver-Plus---a-new-service-from-Macmillans-Waller-Fry.html Do you spend too much time on your bookkeeping? Well, we have just the solution for you... Macmillans Waller Fry – Accountants, in consultation with BankLink, have introduced a state of the art ‘cloud based’ computing technology with impressive data matching tools. This means the BankLink service can now rapidly reduce the amount of time you spend on your bookwork. How could this help you? Using... http://www.macmillans.com.au/?process=views/article.php&articleId=15265 http://www.macmillans.com.au/articles/Employee-Relations---Modern-Award-Transitional-Provision.html Confused about the transitional provisions in your Modern Award? If you are not its time check that you have calculated the correct wages payment – it is a very complex area with employers unknowingly miscalculating employee wage and penalty entitlements. A small business recently discovered it was obligated to pay back thousands of dollars to employees after incorrectly applying the very complex transitional provisions in...