An associate lease is an agreement where an associate of the employee (typically spouse or partner), leases an existing or replacement car to the employee’s employer. The employer then provides the car to the employee via a pre-tax salary sacrifice arrangement. I.e. The employee pays for most of the vehicle’s operating costs from their pre-tax…
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The general anti-avoidance rules contained in Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) (‘Part IVA’) may be applied by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to deny a taxpayer the tax benefit of a scheme they have entered into. The key features of Part IVA include the following: Is there a scheme? Has…
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The key reason Hong Kong is among the world’s largest financial centres is that it doesn’t have any currency controls. You can freely send money to and from Hong Kong and there are no limits. The lack of exchange controls, provides investors with confidence that their money is secure and safe, and can be quickly…
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Are you looking for some artwork to enliven your office or workspace? Perth artist Emma Margetts is exhibiting at the Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery from November 11 to 25, 2017. Margetts’ photo realistic paintings depict the dream-state of children and sentient animal beings. Small businesses buying art prior to June 30, 2018 with a purchase cost of less…
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From 1st July 2015 eligible start-up costs can be fully deducted in the year they were incurred if they relate to setting up a proposed small business and meet one or more of the following: Incurred in obtaining advice or services (from lawyers, accountants or business advisors) relating to the proposed structure or the proposed…
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The top 8 illegal business tax saving strategies are: Illegal cash economy – The ATO estimates about 1.6 million businesses (mostly micro and small businesses with an annual turnover up to $15 million) operating across 233 industries are part of the illegal cash economy. Tax Justice Network spokesman, Mark Zirnsak, said the ATO’s data…
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Bank secrecy (or bank privacy) is a legal requirement in most tax havens and this prohibits banks providing authorities (foreign governments and their tax departments) personal and account information about their customers. Bank secrecy was codified in Switzerland by the 1934 Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks. This Act also created the famous ‘numbered…
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The tax incentives for Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships (ESVCLP) apply from 1st July 2016 and provides partners with a 10% non-refundable tax offset on capital invested during the year. The maximum fund size for ESVCLPs is $200m and ESVCLPs are no longer required to divest a company when its value exceeds $250m. Entities…
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The top 7 illegal employee tax saving strategies in Australia are: Employees or contractors not declaring cash wages. Not reporting capital gains on the sale of shares or property. Not declaring interest, dividend or rental income. Not declaring overseas income like wages, capital gains, rent, etc. Claiming private expenditure as a work deduction…
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The Cook Islands claims to be the first country to have enacted an explicit asset protection law (in 1989 with its International Trusts Act). The asset-protection trust is a trust that splits the beneficial enjoyment of trust assets from their legal ownership. The beneficiaries of a trust are the beneficial owners of equitable interests in…
Read More »"You’d be stupid not to try to cut your tax bill and those that don’t are stupid in business"
- Bono: U2