Accounting & Advisory Firm Melbourne & Geelong

Keeping it in the family

While the ATO continues to crackdown on tax minimisation strategies, quite a few legal pathways to paying less tax while preserving wealth for retirement or estate planning purposes still exist. Family trusts have significant tax saving abilities that make them an attractive tool for wealth creation.

7 June 2016 Neal Dunne

Insurance traps in your super

Insurance arrangements in super can create a few surprise outcomes for members who leave big superannuation funds to start their own self-managed super fund yet leave a portion in their old fund. Members need to be wary of the traps that can cause a loss of cover. As insurance is a complex financial product members need to understand the benefits, risks and the costs entailed when entering into insurance cover in large superannuation funds.

7 June 2016 Neal Dunne

ATO imposes stricter guidelines for SMSF borrowing

Self-managed super funds (SMSF) have until 31 January 2017 to conform to the ATO’s new rules on related party loans. A guidance paper released by the Tax Office stated that related-party loans e.g. family trusts or private companies to SMSFs now must be at interest rates of 7.75 per cent for shares and 5.75 per cent for property.

7 June 2016 John La Rocca