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Tax Strategy 161 | Gifts to Clients, Suppliers & Contractors

11 September 2017

A taxpayer who carries on a business is entitled to a deduction for a gift made to a former or current client if the gift has been made for the purpose of producing future assessable income i.e. gaining client referrals, generating additional sales, etc. Real estate agents for example normally give a bottle of champagne…

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Tax Planning Sin 5 | Inadequate Tax Strategies Database

11 September 2017

The tax strategies database is the intellectual knowledge and know-how that is the horsepower behind the whole tax planning process. A substandard or limited tax strategies database will not get the job done for the client and will inevitably produce poor performance.  Too many accountants are attempting to provide tax planning services with an arsenal…

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Tax Planning Sin 4: Failing to Gather Client Information and Data

11 September 2017

Just as financial planners need to know their clients when preparing a financial plan, so too do accountants need to know their clients when preparing a tax plan. This involves gathering the client information and data so the complete picture about the client’s affairs can be analysed.  Accountants normally know their client’s income and expenses…

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Tax Planning Sin 3: Inadequate Time Spent on the Tax Plan

6 September 2017

Even if accountants are well trained and utilising tax planning software it will still take 2-3 hours (on average) to complete the six stage tax planning process for a client. Skipping any of the six stages, or not spending adequate time on a stage, will result in a substandard result for the client. The tax…

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Tax Planning Strategy 178 – Auto Reversionary Pension

31 August 2017

A reversionary pension is a pension that is paid to a member and on the death of the member continues to be paid to an eligible dependent of the deceased i.e. their spouse or child under the age of 18. The advantages of an automatic reversionary pension are: Removes the need for trustees to cash…

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Tax Planning Sin 2: Undercharging for Tax Planning

30 August 2017

As discussed previously, 90% of practices don’t actually provide tax planning services to their clients for a fee. That is not debatable and is a fact supported by the data. What is interesting though is that most of those practice principals will tell you they do provide tax planning services to their clients, but just…

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Tax Planning Strategy 130 | Sponsorship

24 August 2017

Sponsorship is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as ‘the act of supporting a person, organisation, or activity by giving money, encouragement, or other help’. The Avon Descent is a 124km power dinghy and paddle boat race from Northam to Bayswater (see www.avondescent.com.au). The main sponsors are Tourism WA, Lotterywest, act belong commit, Healthway, The Sunday…

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Tax Planning Sin 1: Failing to Offer Tax Planning Services to Every Client

23 August 2017

  Industry data shows that approximately 10% of practices are currently providing tax planning services to their clients. What is unknown is the actual percentage of clients in those practices that actually receive a tax planning service. A good guestimation would be between 10-15%. Even for practices currently providing tax planning services, there has been…

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Manual Systems vs Software Tools

16 August 2017

We purchase tools to make a job easier, quicker, and ensure it’s completed to a high standard. This is the case whether buying tools to fix some household chore or provide tax planning services to clients. No practice operating today can be efficient or effective doing any practice task manually. It doesn’t matter what the…

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Six Tax Planning Options

9 August 2017

Accounting practices have six options available to them in relation to providing tax planning services. Some practices will choose one option (strategic pathway) and others several. In addition, over time different practices will change their focus and add/or delete different options. No one pathway will fit or suit all practices. The six tax planning service…

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"You’d be stupid not to try to cut your tax bill and those that don’t are stupid in business"

- Bono: U2