Bypass super contributions caps with a transitional termination payment before 30 June 2012
Taxpayers eligible for an employment termination payment pursuant to a legal entitlement in place before 10 May 2006 have a unique opportunity to make the most of transitional tax concessions. These taxpayers (predominantly senior executives) have until 30 June 2012 to channel a transitional termination payment (such as a golden handshake) up to $1 million ...more
2012-13 Federal Budget: a small surplus, company tax cut scrapped, plus many more tax and super changes
On 8 May 2012, the Treasurer handed down the 2012-13 Federal Budget, his 5th and arguably most challenging (and perhaps most controversial), Budget. The much talked about and speculated surplus has materialised. The Treasurer revealed a $1.5bn surplus for 2012-13 (see further details below). The pre-Budget speculation about reduced tax breaks for companies to help ...more
Super income streams: ATO final ruling deferred
The ATO’s planned release date for the final version of Draft Ruling TR 2011/D3 (Superannuation income streams – commencement and cessation) has been deferred to 30 May 2012, according to the latest ATO public rulings program. The planned issue date for the finalisation of Draft Ruling TR 2011/D3 was previously listed as 24 April 2012. ...more
inTAX magazine: May 2012
The May 2012 edition of inTAX magazine features an article discussing the implications of the Tax Office’s Draft Ruling on the meaning of “income of the trust estate” (Draft TR 2012/D1). James Meli, Tax Supervisor at Hall Chadwick writes that “the Commissioner applies an interpretive device to conclude, among other things, that the ‘income of ...more
Excess super contributions tax – “no win” situation
So far this year, taxpayers are batting zero from 9 attempts in challenging before the AAT the Commissioner’s decisions not to exercise his discretion to disregard or reallocate excess super contributions. Zero from 9 attempts is not a good success rate in any arena. This alone is perhaps a warning sign that the law needs ...more
Will this year’s Federal Budget bring some unwelcome tax changes?
The Treasurer has recently spoken about the coming Federal Budget and the challenge it presents in the context of achieving a surplus in a difficult revenue environment. While he did not foreshadow any specific Budget measures, some judicious “reading between the lines” might give an indication of what is coming. Mr Swan spoke of having ...more
Tax Rates & Tables 2012 March update
The new and revised Tax Rates & Tables 2012 March update is out now! It’s the essential tool for busy tax professionals to keep up-to-date with the latest rates and law changes. Highlights of this edition include: legislative changes in tax up to and including 1 March 2012 individual tax rates for 2012-13 incorporating the ...more
inTAX magazine: April 2012
The April 2012 edition of inTAX magazine highlights two important developments concerning the Government’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms. Kym Bailey, Private Client Adviser, Perpetual, discusses issues with the Government’s proposal to include limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) as a financial product under the Corporations Act 2001. Another hot topic is the Government’s proposed ...more
Superannuation rates and thresholds for 2012-13
The Tax Office has announced some of the key superannuation rates and thresholds for 2012-13. These indexed rates and thresholds cover the superannuation contributions caps, the threshold amounts for concessionally taxed superannuation lump sums and employment termination payments. The document, Key superannuation rates and thresholds (dated 24 February 2012), is available on the Tax Office ...more
Financial advice: ASIC shadow shopping research
On 27 March 2012, ASIC released its Shadow shopping study of financial advice which looked at 64 examples of personal financial advice given to real consumers during 2011. While ASIC’s research found that the majority of advice examples reviewed (58%) were “adequate”, 39% of the advice examples were rated as “poor”, with only 2 examples ...more
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