Social media and news bulletins all over the weekend have largely centred on the plight of travellers between Australia and Bali.

On one hand I know I would appreciate an extended stay in a tropical paradise…but on the other I can also appreciate the stress that accompanies delays such as this – particularly the financial stress and the associated worry about business and work.

If you are a business owner stranded in Bali, I hope you have found a way to communicate with your staff, clients and suppliers – apart from normal business operations, there are some statutory requirements (namely issuing PAYG Payment Summaries to staff) that need your attention – if you need an extension on any of your obligations, I suggest you contact the Australian Taxation (ATO) as soon as possible.

If you are an employee stranded in Bali, my recommendations are to contact your employer as soon as possible, and attempt to implement the following:

1. Arrange to extend your leave and utilise any leave you have available (ie: annual leave, personal leave or long service leave)
2. If no leave is available, request to take leave in advance
3. As a last resort, request to take leave without pay

If you are an employer in Australia with employees stranded in Bali, I’m sure you will do everything you can do accommodate your staff – the key is communication and understanding.

To those of you stranded in Australia – I know how frustrated you must be as I imagine you were all looking forward to a much needed holiday – you too should discuss your options with your employer as you may be able to change your holiday dates in line with amended travel plans.

Best of luck to you all, and remember to breathe…

Regards

I’ve been so caught up in the end of financial year that I haven’t written a “Frivolous Friday” post for ages…so to take a break from business and tax for a while – here we go!

Many of you will know that I set myself a challenge to complete 5km a day, every day, for the month of June – and I am pleased to report that I was 100% successful!

Along the way I managed to raise $708.50 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Victoria (MND), which is significantly higher than my initial goal of $500!

I remember visiting the MND offices in the early 1980’s when my Dad was first diagnosed with MND – at the time, they provided support and counselling services as well as loans of equipment which was necessary to help Dad with everyday tasks.

I am truly humbled that many of you saw the worth in this challenge…and I would like to thank everyone who has supported this campaign – your donations, encouragement and company along the way really mean the world to me!

PS The fundraising page will be open for a few more weeks, feel free to pop over and make a donation, just click here.

PPS Don’t forget to check out the other events being held to raise funds for MND, just click here.

Regards

Family businesses are everywhere – it is an extremely common scenario for me to come across in small business, where the business is operated by two or more members of the same family.

While this can have many benefits, both financially and personally, it is also important to establish some ground rules or guidelines to avoid potential conflicts.

The Australian Small Business Commissioner provides the following tips for those operating a family business:

1. Leave work at work and home at home.

2. Have clearly assigned roles for each family member to avoid feelings of being taken for granted, over-worked or under-utilised.

3. Pay the market rate – remunerate the job and not the person.

4. Develop a strong, capable management structure – don’t confuse ownership or inheritance with management.

5. Have clear, consistent communication – both good and bad news must be shared.

6. Clearly define entry and exit criteria for family members before an event occurs.

7. Develop a succession plan and ensure that it is endorsed by interested parties – a communicated process rather than sudden event.

8. Use outside advisers who can provide unbiased, objective advice.

9. Hold regular communication sessions and family ‘retreats’ – the best results are those facilitated by a `third party’.

10. Use external advisers, sounding board, mentors and family business forum groups.

There’s certainly some great advice there…if you think your family business might benefit from a planning session with an external advisor, please contact The Tax Chic to discuss your options.

Regards

It has started…the mad rush that is “tax season”!

All around the country, individual taxpayers are hastily gathering their group certificates so they can get their tax done – now I’m all for getting in early, but may I offer a few notes that might help with the process?

Firstly – like all businesses, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) must process their year end accounting…and in the case of the ATO, this also includes testing the new tax return lodgement software.  As such, the ATO will not accept lodgement of income tax returns until after Tuesday 7th July, 2015 and they won’t be processing any refunds until after Tuesday 14th July, 2015 – so your patience is required for the next couple of weeks.

Secondly, at this early stage of the new financial year there is little to no information available to me on the ATO internal website regarding your dealings for the year – this means it’s up to you to provide ALL of your information!  Common items that appear on the ATO reports at a later date, and often forgotten about by taxpayers include Centrelink, interest, dividends and private health insurance details…if you’re not prepared to gather all of these details, you might need to wait a couple of weeks until they are available to me…

Finally, if you aren’t confident completing your tax return yourself, simply Contact The Tax Chic for assistance.

Regards