Government

Jacqui Lambie’s push for a reduction in the ‘backpacker tax’ to 10.5% has won senate approval yesterday.

We are pleased to confirm that the NSW Government has finally passed changes to stamp duty.

If you are thinking about selling Australian property valued at $2m or more, your ever growing To Do list should include this item: “Get Tax Office clearance certificate”.

World markets took a hit last quarter with a myriad of negative or concerning news, ranging from Scotland’s independence referendum, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests and the US and several other nations’ air forces entering in to Syria to fight against ISIS.

Prosperity Fountainguard Advisers welcomes the Federal Government initiatives announced under the Industry and Competitiveness Agenda that will expand the Investor Visa Programme.

A significant concession, and improvement, was announced to the Employee Share Scheme rules on Tuesday by the Federal Government.

New South Wales (NSW) has introduced measures to increase its competitiveness in attracting Significant Investor Visa candidates.

The government has announced that it will freeze the superannuation guarantee at 9.5% until 2021.

In the wake of the Federal Budget consumer confidence has dipped in the quarter to June and our resilient Australian dollar is continuing to make our domestic outlook more difficult than it needs to be.

From July 1 2014 the ATO will have increased powers to issue a range of penalties to SMSF trustees found to be in breach of superannuation laws.

An old proverb says “people unite over problems but divide over solutions”. The weight of expectation lies heavily on Joe Hockey’s first Federal Budget to solve many many long standing fiscal problems without creating a war in the voter base over the solutions.

Take the Prosperity Advisers post-Budget Poll so we can understand your sentiment better.

Continued investment to drive future growth of the Asia Business Desk

The sun has risen on first day after the release of the National Commission of Audit (NCOA) report on the efficiency of the Commonwealth Government.

On 1 May 2014 the Federal Government released its National Commission of Audit (NCOA) findings on streamlining the efficiency of government. The comprehensive scope of the report leaves little to the imagination and is expected to form the central blueprint for the 2014 Federal Budget.

The budget is coming. With just two weeks to go it looks like, the Government will deliver a budget with a strong long term outlook and an amount of short-term pain including the introduction of a debt levy.

It has been a rough week of weather for parts of New South Wales (NSW) and we all know someone who has been affected

As we approach 30 April it is useful time to think about Government incentive programs. This is because 30 April marks 10 months from the end of the financial year and is therefore the deadline for the lodgement of your R&D project details with Austrade.

WATCH: Prosperity’s Steve Cribb warns of ATO ramp up on TEN eyewitness news

The Government is planning to remove the immediate tax deduction for depreciating assets costing less than $6,500 and the accelerated depreciation allowances for motor vehicles which are currently available to small businesses (i.e. businesses with an annual aggregate turnover of less than $2 million).

The Federal Election has come and gone, leaving the result most business owners and investors were expecting but will the confidence instilled by a more stable Government bring the green shoots Australia needs?

The last quarter, and more particularly, the last month has seen a fairly negative bias across most Australian and international equity markets.

With less than two weeks until the end of the financial year and after a federal budget designed to take away a bigger share of income than in previous years, there is no better time to put some effort into year-end planning.

There is less than a month until the end of the financial year and following on from a very tough Federal Budget this is shaping up to be a very important year-end for tax planning. 

As potentially the final act plays out in Treasurer Wayne Swan’s Federal Budget performances, it is perhaps fitting to ask the question – was this long drama a comedy or a tragedy?

While interest rates may need to fall a bit further, green shoots of recovery suggest we are at or near the low and more importantly, point to an improvement in economic and profit growth over a 12 month horizon, according to Dr Shane Oliver, Chief Economist from AMP.

The Asian Financial Forum last month brought together 1200 business leaders from throughout the Asia Pacific region and addressed many of the economic opportunities and issues that matter.

Reading the newspaper, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Australian Mining economy had stopped cold.

Following consecutive cuts in April and May, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the overnight cash rate unchanged at 3.50% in July and in August.

After the Federal Treasurer’s rhetoric on his Government being the government for small and medium business, the Federal Budget delivered on 8 May 2012 is remarkable in that if contains no new meaningful support to businesses that are not loss making.

Following an eventful 18 months in the Courts fighting taxpayers over disputes regarding the effectiveness & legitimacy of distributions by trustees (Bamford’s case), the Tax Office has announced new compliance measures for trustees of discretionary trusts in relation to 2012 trust distributions.

Quarter 1 of 2012 brought mixed messages in Australia, with two months of strength, followed by a weaker March.

The fourth quarter of 2011 was rather lackluster, with Australia declining in confidence and market strength on the equity, commodity and property fronts into year-end.

Disciplinary action from the investigations into corruption in our State and Local Governments littered the press recently, with many Councils and State Government Departments now under increasing internal and external scrutiny over contracts awarded and gifts received.