Phone our office on (03) 5382 4761 or email peter.cramer@greentaylor.com.au
Let me share an experience of recent times that has reinforced the importance of showing genuine interest and concern for your potential customers. Many businesses struggle and cannot differentiate themselves from the next business selling the same product. (Well, they could, but they cannot work out how to!) I was after a product that is […] Read More
Why haven’t you got a Will yet??!! Well I know the ‘answer’ – (or is it the excuses?) – There is plenty of time – Don’t know where to start – Costs too much – Too busy just now – I’ll do it for sure…. – I don’t have enough assets to worry about it…do […] Read More
Concessions and assistance for First Home Buyers – and the New Home Loan Deposit Scheme is now in place with starting date 1/1/2020! In Victoria – there are concessions both in Stamp Duty costs plus a Grant for First Home Buyers – (tax free) – A $20,000 First Home Owner Grant is available to applicants […] Read More
I thought it might be useful to let families know of the possible use of the expanded pension loan scheme (The Scheme) that is effective as of 1/7/19. It is a ‘reverse mortgage’ arrangement provided by the Government. It is available for people of age pension age who have property assets and who wish or […] Read More
The Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Victoria) came into effect on 1 November 2018. It brings some important changes that employers need to be aware of: 1. Entitlement to LSL Previously employees were entitled to LSL after 10 years of continuous service with one employer. Entitlement to take LSL is now down to 7 years. If […] Read More
Watch out if you own a house and plan to leave Australia and become a Non Resident! There are proposed new laws before Parliament that make a Non Resident who sells their previous main residence in Australia fully subject to Capital Gains Tax, even if they lived in it for many years. Example: You bought […] Read More
I read an interesting article referencing Bernie Bolger – a Family counselling expert – that I thought was worth sharing. (A fairly long article – but worth the read!) Family counselling expert, Bernie Bolger, has drawn on her clinical experience, together with cutting edge psychological research, to compile a list of the 8 mistakes parents […] Read More
Dual cab utes have become very popular over recent years – and sales are booming. One reason is that due to the general improvement of dual-cab utes, including the size and comfort of the vehicles, many business owners are purchasing these vehicles for use as a family vehicle to go to the beach, tow caravans […] Read More
Don’t put shares into your children’s names! Over the years (and there have been quite a few!!) I have often been asked by clients about investing money into shares for young children – so as to build up investment balances “over the next 20 years or so”. Whilst the intention is great, there are potential […] Read More
The following draws upon an article from Worrells, (a firm devoted to dealing with insolvencies both before and after the event) and personal experience. Are economic conditions to blame? The September quarter of Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) personal insolvency statistics are out, and the trends of 2017 continue. Total personal insolvencies are up by […] Read More
I have been asked many times – “How much money do I need to retire on?” My answer is always the same – “it depends on what your living style will be when you retire”. If you are going to take an overseas holiday every year and lavish those around you with gifts – then […] Read More
5 weeks to go! Here are a few helpful tips for businesses and individuals to complete prior to the End of Financial Year (EOFY). For Businesses Update tax planning so you are aware of your tax position – so in turn you can take action to minimise tax if required. See your GTP accountant. Great […] Read More
At a recent conference I listened to a presentation by Rachael Robertson – an adventurous young lady who applied for and got the role of leading the 58th expedition to the Antartica for a 12 months period and where they knew they were ‘stuck’ for many months as it was impossible due to ice and […] Read More
Changes to the Assets Test for Centrelink Aged Pensions from 1 January 2017 For many, entitlement to the Age Pension is not on the agenda. However as rules change, it is good to revisit the “tests” that determine one’s entitlement. It may be relevant for you, your parents or someone whom you may know. As we […] Read More
This week I want to share with you a great website resource that is very useful and easy to use – and might just be a vital tool for you and your kids! Money Smart: Just Google “ASIC Money Smart” or go to www.moneysmart.gov.au It is full of common-sense tips and tools to help you […] Read More
I listened to a fascinating presentation by the founder of ThankYou Water (and other products) recently. Daniel Flynn is his name. I had seen ThankYou water bottles in a fridge somewhere – and I recall wondering what they were about! Now I know! Let me share with you…. When Daniel was at Uni (studying ‘concrete’) […] Read More
Some really good things coming out of the Budget announcements! I am sick of all the negativity from commentators and Politicians following the Budget. So I am setting some facts straight! Firstly of course – the Budget is a proposal, it is not law and won’t be until a Party gets elected and then their […] Read More
It’s less than 12 weeks to the end of the Financial Year! That fact means that there are lots of things we should be thinking about putting in place before the tax year runs out. Put in place final salary sacrifice plans so that you make full use of the tax deductible super available to […] Read More
My take on what might be in the 2016 Federal Budget – and what to do about it! (Matt, Kerry and I spent 3 full on days at the SMSF Association Conference in Adelaide finishing with a great presentation by Todd Sampson about the power of your ‘ordinary brain’ and what can be done with […] Read More
This is a good news story I wanted to share to give you an example of what can be done using a SMSF. Client “Fred” wanted to buy a business property for $500k but didn’t have the funds – he had $200k in his SMSF and personal assets with equity to borrow. We set up […] Read More
I was reminiscing about old dates – (the tax rules type – not girlfriends!) and thought highlighting a few might be a good reminder to our blog readers out there! 19/9/1985 Capital gains tax commenced. Any asset acquired after that date started the CGT clock ticking. When sold or disposed of, any increase in the […] Read More
Our many Self managed Superannuation Trustees might be interested to know that the ATO is randomly conducting phone interviews with SMSF Trustees asking them about their new SMSF. In some cases, the ATO selects SMSF trustees for “interview” by telephone before the ATO decides whether to allow the set-up of a SMSF to proceed. Per […] Read More
Recently I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Ange Postecoglou – the Australian Soccer Coach. He was very interesting and shared a lot about his life and journey and taking the Australian soccer team to victory at the Asian Cup. So much of his philosophy is relevant to business and life. In […] Read More
Did you see front page of the Age today? (Thursday 14th) $20,000 tax deduction. It was a Budget follow up. (My take on it – the taxpayer just didn’t get how the $20,000 tax write off works!) Front page news – all about a small business operator who said he liked the Budget announcement concerning the […] Read More
A tax paper has been released by Treasurer Joe Hockey with a view to starting debate about our tax system and what it should look like in the future. What does this mean? Well – it will ensure about 10million words are written in the press and as many spoken on television by many people […] Read More
This week Matt, Kerry and I will be spending 3 days at the National Conference for SMSF professionals in Melbourne. This conference will attract around 1500 delegates who will listen to specialist speakers on a range of topics relating to Self Managed Superannuation Funds and the people who have them – (or should have them!). […] Read More
A recent visit to Vietnam that covered South to North and a bit of East to West, then 4 days in Cambodia: Happy people, very friendly and yet many have very little Basically no social security – if you don’t work you don’t eat. Whilst there is a fall-back position – it is at a […] Read More
I attended a conference recently at which Andrew Demetriou spoke – and found him and his presentation very interesting. Let me share some of the information: The following is a summary of the progress made from 1987 to 2014 in the VFL/AFL development: 1987 2007 2014 Revenue $23.2m $279m $425m Club Memberships 71,000 532,000 804,000 […] Read More
40/70 – these are the ages to think about and plan re Aged Care issues. Age 40: At age 40, children may have parents who will be approaching the age to think about aged care. Age 70: Parents are approaching the age to think about aged care. As of 1/7/14 the rules relating to fees […] Read More
Recently I attended a session in Melbourne where the ATO was being interviewed about their concerns and areas of focus regarding SMSF’s. It was most interesting and I thought it might be useful to share this with you. The ATO is focusing on breaches of the Sole Purpose Test, (i.e.) where the SMSF was set […] Read More
Businesses – pay super SG obligations before 30 June to get a tax deduction this year. Individuals – buy your equipment, computers, printers, devices before June 30 to get a tax deduction – 100% if less than $300 per item. Businesses – buy your equipment, plant, computers etc. before June 30 to get a tax […] Read More
Last Wednesday evening Kerry Schultz, Matt Richardson and I presented our latest SMSF seminar to a full house at GTP. As always, there is much to discuss in the world of SMSF’s! One important change is the new penalty provisions that are starting on 1/7/14 that relate to how Trustees of SMSF’s handle their paperwork […] Read More
Just home from the seminar we presented tonight at GTP- entitled “Selling or leasing the Farm?” This was to highlight the many issues that one faces when considering the sale or leasing out of the farm- and how we cannot overemphasise the importance of seeing us first so that many matters can be planned for […] Read More
I read an interesting article recently by DBA Lawyers of Melbourne who placed a different slant on an issue with SMSF’s and the important Rule that says ‘certain persons are disqualified from acting as Trustees’. The SISA Act provides that a person who has been convicted of an offence involving dishonest conduct is prohibited from […] Read More
Time for reflection: Clients, the GTP team and Aspirations Tonight as I sit here thinking about a Blog – I cast my thoughts back to earlier this week. Wednesday night was our annual Green Taylor Partners Film Night – an evening where we put on 2 movie sessions at the theatre and clients are invited […] Read More
You might have just 7 days left to purchase your next small plant item or motor vehicle for your business and still get the accelerated tax write-off! The Coalition have stated that their budget policy is to scrap the instant tax write off for : Plant & Equipment purchases up to $6,500 The first $5,000 […] Read More
I was reading some interesting ‘snippets’ this week and found some parallels between golf and business! So for a bit of a change, I thought I might share these with you: The proper score for a businessman golfer is 90. If he is better than that, he is neglecting his business. If he is worse […] Read More
This week I attended an early morning session concerning insolvency and what mistakes can and are made by people trying to protect their assets from “going down the tube”. One line took my interest in particular: The presenter described how a significant transaction was entered into without any advice being sought or given. When the […] Read More
I thought it might be a good time to let you know that there are a couple of changes that will apply to the transfer of assets from yourself to your SMSF effective from 1 July 2013. From 1 July 2013 you can no longer transfer Listed Shares into a SMSF by way of an […] Read More
We all listen and absorb the gloom and negativity that the media throw at us… but maybe we should look at things a little more objectively? At some point in the future we will look back and long for the interest rates we have today and long for the opportunity to buy shares and property […] Read More
Rather than set a bad example for your children this year and buy them whatever they want – and spend more than you can afford – why not start by giving them some ‘money smarts’? You have the obligation to teach your children the value of money. Some thoughts that you might like to ponder upon: Money […] Read More
Last week the Government put out a “Clayton’s” budget – the “mid-year economic and fiscal outlook when you’re not having a budget” budget! There were a couple of proposals that have some relevance and some good news. The good news story is that legislation will be changed to confirm that when a pensioner dies within […] Read More
Today at Green Taylor Partners we held a casual luncheon and information session for Trustees of recently established Self Managed Superannuation Funds. The new Trustees were invited to have lunch with us and take the opportunity to ask any questions about their SMSF or voice any concerns that they may have had. Lots of questions […] Read More
There have been a couple of changes made to responsibilities and obligations imposed on SMSF Trustees kicking off effectively 7th of August and these are now Law. Let’s have a look at them. Trustees must consider insurance for Fund members as part of the Investment Strategy for an SMSF I think this is a good […] Read More
