Taxation Matters

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Education Tax Refund - what you need to know

Introduction

The education tax refund (ETR) helps eligible families and independent students meet the cost of primary and secondary school education.

You can claim the ETR for education expenses you incur while your child attends primary or secondary school.

Families and approved care organisations can claim 50% of their eligible educational expenses if either of the following apply:

• they were entitled to receive family tax benefit (FTB) Part A for the child

ATO targets contractors with letters as wider crackdown gathers pace

The Australian Taxation Office will this month contact more than 650 contractors it believes might have wrongly assessed themselves as conducting a personal services business, as part of a broader crackdown on contractors.

The letters follow warnings from the Tax Office that it would be using information from labour hire firms and auditing to improve contractor compliance through the 2012 financial year.

Another year and Capital Gains still causes problems

Capital gains tax (CGT) has been around for over 25 years now but it continues to bedevil SMEs (and others).

As time goes on, more and more assets will fall into the CGT net. We may not have a death duty in the strict sense, but wealth and asset transfers by an ageing population will see CGT become an issue for many.

Among other things, the tax law provides a range of concessions to reduce, eliminate or roll over a capital gain made on a CGT asset that has been used in a small business. These concessions are as follows:

Directors warned over new laws that will bring forward liability for unpaid tax and super

Tax and treasury officials have said new laws that will make directors liable for unpaid tax and superannuation immediately, rather than with 21 days notice, will stop companies from being able to enter liquidation in order to escape liability.

Insolvency expert Cliff Sanderson, who runs the liquidation firm Dissolve, says the laws will mark a massive shift in the industry.

"I would say about four out of five tax returns I see would be more than three months late," he says, warning business owners to do their tax or risk facing the consequences once the bill becomes law.

Free Tax Seminars

Free Tax Seminars in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie

Australian Taxation Office

Who should attend?

Small business operators, and those just starting or thinking about starting a new business, should consider attending this free tax seminar.

Will the Flood Levy affect me?

To assist affected communities recover from recent natural disasters the Australian Government has introduced a Temporary Flood and Cyclone Reconstruction Levy (the flood levy). It is designed to assist affected communities to recover from the recent natural disasters by providing additional funding to rebuild essential infrastructure - for example, roads, bridges and schools.

The flood levy will only apply to income earned between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012.

The flood levy is an increase in tax on your taxable income over $50,000.