Oh dear…Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CAANZ) recently asked the Australian Taxation Office and New Zealand’s Internal Revenue for the strangest excuses they’ve heard from taxpayers for not paying their tax debts or lodging their income tax returns.

The excuses included the following (don’t try these on me or you may find me questioning you):

• I need an extension because I am going to a wedding
• My mailbox is full of grass and weeds so I didn’t receive any ATO correspondence or lodgement reminder letters
• Snails eat our mail, so your lodgement demand letter must have been eaten
• My puppy got into the letter box and ate it
• The parrot are the reminder letter
• I can’t do it because I’m helping someone else do theirs
• The mailman stole it
• My ex-husband steals my mail
• I just got divorced and my ex has all the files and our computer
• I had a fight with my wife and she works for my tax agent so I couldn’t meet with him
• I couldn’t lodge my 2003 tax return because I was suffering from pre-trauma from a serious car accident I had in 2007
• I broke my wrist six months ago and it has been a long road to recovery
• I didn’t know the due date (from an employer fort he past 20 years)
• My client can’t lodge because she is currently at the North Pole

Oh dear indeed….if you are ever unsure of a lodgement or payment deadline, just ask!

Regards

Courtesy of May/June 2017 Acuity magazine provided to members of CAANZ

How is it the first day of Winter already? Oh well, I guess it is time to get warm!

A couple of months ago I renewed my energy supplier contract, and since then I have been receiving weekly emails detailing my energy usage – being the numbers girl that I am, I find this quite interesting.

I have also found that I am more conscious of the energy I use (I love a warm house and we all know how expensive this can get in Winter,  so I need to ensure I can save some $$ anywhere I can) – has anyone else seen these updates?

Winter also means June, and June 30th, the end of the financial year here in Australia is fast approaching.

If you’re looking for some advice, want information on accounting systems or other office procedures, or you need some motivation to renew YOUR energy, remember The Tax Chic offers a 90 minute consultation (in person or via video Skype) for just $275 – simply email bron@thetaxchic.com to arrange a time!

Regards

This Monday, the team at Commerce Warrnambool (of which I am a committee member) are pleased to welcome Mr Bruce Hall to present Marketing your professional services business.

Bruce is an experienced marketer and business mentor and will help your team understand:

• customer service as a marketing tool
• how to ‘know’ and connect with your ideal customer
• how to be more strategic and systematic with your marketing

For the small fee of $55 members and $77 non-members you’ll get 3 hours of expert advice, morning tea and the chance to network with other local professionals.

Numbers are limited, to book follow this link.

Regards

In recent times you may have heard or been told that the medical rebate no longer exists – this is kind of true, except that it does still exist albeit with some very strict rules.

There is an offset available for total net medical expenses for disability aids, attendant care or aged care and the limits that apply will depend on your taxable income.

For example I can still claim this offset for the purchase of my hearing aids as they are used to assist where hearing communication is restricted.

To read the full details of what is included in the calculation of the offset, and how much you may be entitled to claim, have a read of this link from the Australian Taxation office:

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/tax-return/2016/supplementary-tax-return/tax-offset-questions-t3-t9/t5-total-net-medical-expenses-for-disability-aids,-attendant-care-or-aged-care-2016/

Regards