Monthly Archives: September 2016

Foreign currencies

planeGood old Facebook is reminding me that I was returning from overseas this time last year…I want to go back!

The memories got me thinking about foreign currencies and at the same time I received an updated list of the average exchange rates for the year ended 30th June, 2016 so I thought I’d share some of them with you.

Some common currencies obtained by Australians include:

  • New Zealand Dollar at 1.122
  • European Euro at .6873
  • US Dollar at .7617
  • Thai Baht at 26.5155

Some of the more rare currencies include:

  • Israeli New Shekel at 2.961
  • Oman Rial at .3032
  • Sri Lankan Rupee at 106.6020
  • Polish Zloty at 2.9165

A reminder that these are the average over the year ended 30th June, 2016 and should not be relied upon as current exchange rates!

If you’re going on holiday soon I’d love to hear your plans…

Regards

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Tax implications for the sharing economy

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Some time ago I wrote about the “sharing economy” and it seems it is still a hot topic with the ATO (Australian Taxation Office).

The ATO have issued a reminder to taxpayers that there may be a tax obligation when they earn income through the sharing economy.

But what is the sharing economy?

Some examples of the sharing economy include:

  • renting out parking spaces,
  • ride-sourcing (like Uber) where taxi travel is provided to a passenger for a fare,
  • renting out a room or whole house/unit on a short term basis (like Airbnb), or
  • the provision of personal services or completing odd jobs

While this list is not intended to be exhaustive, if you find yourself fitting into one of these categories, you may need to register for an ABN (Australian Business Number) and/or GST (Goods and Services tax) and declare income!

Don’t risk doing the wrong thing, get in touch to discuss today!

Regards

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Identity theft protection tips from the ATO

securityThe Australian Taxation Office (ATO) always encourage us to be vigilant in regards to our identity, but at “tax time” they have asked us to take extra care in protecting ourselves.

The National Tax Accountants’ Association recently reported that there were 32,110 cases of identity theft reported to the ATO during the 2014/15 year, and 22,000 of these occurred during peak tax season!

Following this, the ATO have provided some everyday precautions we can all take to protect ourselves, these include:

  • Put a padlock on your letterbox
  • Before throwing away documents containing personal details (especially your Tax File Number), shred them
  • Ensure passwords are strong, changed regularly and don’t share them with anyone
  • Install a legitimate and up to date anti-virus software and firewall on your electronic devices

I also urge you to protect your identity and would like to remind you that the ATO will NEVER call you threatening legal action if you don’t pay a debt immediately…they simply don’t operate in that manner.

Take care

Regards

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The battle with receipts…

ReceiptsAs each year goes by, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) increase their audit activity with the intention of ensuring taxpayers satisfy the requirement of claiming a tax deduction by having  valid documentation.

If you don’t have a receipt or valid documentation, you risk having your tax deduction disallowed…and of course the ATO may impose a penalty on you for making a “false” claim.

Speaking from experience…most accountants would prefer to not receive a bundle of receipts at the end of the year (remember the old “shoebox”?)…but rather a simple summary of your expenses would suffice.

Having said that, it is your responsibility as a taxpayer to ensure that while you might provide your accountant with a summary, you must still maintain the original records to support your claim (this is the basis of self-assessment under the Australian taxation system).

Xero has some great low cost options (only available through a certified adviser such as me), but in the absence of a more sophisticated accounting system, I recommend getting in the habit of summarising your expenses throughout the year, either in an excel spread sheet or even just a note book, and keep the actual receipts in a separate envelope or file (tip: avoid plastic pockets as they can “erase” the thermal print found on many receipts these days)…

In general, if your total work related expenses are less than $300 you do not need to keep receipts, but if your claim is greater than $300…you need to be able to substantiate the whole amount, not just the amount exceeding $300…so when in doubt – keep the receipt!

Does anyone have any special tips record keeping they are willing to share?

Regards

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