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Category: Newsletters

Let the bank know who’s the boss of your home loan

“Banks giving away free money! Hold the front page! Yours to collect. Got a mortgage? You’re eligible. Don’t delay – they want to give it to you … NOW!” Sounds like a crock? Debt Man gone daft? No. Deadly serious. It’s just a matter of whether you’re prepared to ask for it. And for certain banks: […]

ATO backflip on zero interest loans

SUMMARY: On zero interest SMSF loans, the ATO shocked everyone with a nod of approval. Now it has changed its mind. Self-managed super funds have again been tarnished with the “rorters” brush – this time on zero interest loans to their super funds. A private ruling, followed by some public comments, from the ATO in […]

The super property end game

SUMMARY: If you’re comfortable with property outside super, why wouldn’t you invest in property inside your SMSF? The power of property investment is a broadly understood wealth-creation concept by those Australians who have been doing it for a long time. Australians are increasingly getting used to building property portfolios, and are at ease with the […]

Eight super things to do before June 30

SUMMARY: There are just five weeks left to make the most of some super rules for this financial year. It seems to come around faster and faster every year – but 30 June is just five weeks away now. That’s not a lot of time to plan the last-minute special efforts that add the one […]

Planning for the pension changes

SUMMARY: The door stays open until the end of the year for account-based pensions and generous health care cards. There’s going to be a rush of work surrounding super pensions before the end of this year. And it will be largely about locking in access to the generous government health care card. Planning for it […]

How the pension axe could fall

SUMMARY: Thwack! A pointer to how the super taxes rate could be effectively raised, without resorting to taxing pensions. There is more than one way to skin a cat. And it appears we’re going to see a few feline pelts when it comes to winding back the generosity of tax-free super pensions. That is, you […]

A super dream put to rest

SUMMARY: Big-picture changes are coming to superannuation. It’s never too early to plan to beat them. It’s time to declare at least one superannuation dream dead. It’s been in a coma for a while. But Treasurer Joe Hockey put a pillow over its face last week and held it down tight. It didn’t fight back. […]

Super benefits after death

SUMMARY: Anti-detriment payment after death from your SMSF are a way of recouping tax paid for your beneficiaries. Taxation can be a funny thing. Some tax rules seem particularly unfair. Others … you are sometimes left to wonder how legislators dreamt up something so sensible and generous. The latter is the case with what’s known […]

The Reserve Bank’s super review

SUMMARY: When the Reserve Bank airs its concerns on the stability of our superannuation system, take note. What is the risk of Australian superannuation funds imploding? How much damage would it do? What can be done to minimise the risks? Systemic risk is a constant background fear for anyone with a superannuation fund. Some verbalise […]

ATO targets your offshore income

SUMMARY: The ATO is targetting your offshore earnings, no matter how small. You have until December to take part in an amnesty … or roll the dice on bigger penalties. The word “amnesty” suggests a few things when its offered by a government authority. Firstly, it states they know that an activity is happening. Second, […]