Poole Group

There is always a misconception that insurance companies don't pay claims or try to get out of paying claims especially when the media portrays them in the worst of situations. However, in 2012 the life insurance industry paid out over $5 billion in claims as reported by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

The latest APRA Quarterly Life Insurance Performance statistics showed that the total life insurance market paid $5.4 billion in death and disability claims over the year ending December 2012. This is an increase of nearly $600 million on the 2011 figure, and $1 billion more than was paid out in 2010.

As the trustee you need to be aware that the ATO require that appropriate declarations and minutes be documented & signed PRIOR to the end of the financial year 30th June 2013.

The ATO will look at declarations not made and signed by the 30th June 2013 as invalid. This may result in 46.5% tax potentially being paid on the income regardless of the personal tax position of individuals associated with the trust.

Recently we had a May 2013 budget handed down by the government of the day. I have had a number of interviews with clients following the budget were I have chatted to clients about what I thought was important about the budget.

However I have noticed a distinct lack of interest from clients regarding the points I wished to discuss. I quizzed one client in particular, that I have known for many years, regarding his general lack of interest, and while he did not really respond his expression got me thinking.

I looked at my own thoughts regarding the budget and I came to the conclusion that, after five years of the GFC and witnessing the small business stresses "I had just stopped listening to what the government is saying".

Little known to most Sunshine Coast companies there is a rather large tax offset available that is rarely utilised. Known as The R&D Tax Incentive, the ATO offers a 45% refundable Tax Offset for expenses that have been incurred by firms of all sizes for the purposes of Research & Development.

The Research & Development Tax Incentive is a targeted, generous and easy to access entitlement program that helps businesses offset some of the costs of conducting R&D. The Program aims to help more businesses do R&D and innovate. It is a broad-based entitlement program meaning it is open to firms of all sizes in all sectors who are conducting eligible R&D.

Still using Pen & Paper to manage jobs? GeoOP is a leading Online Job Management solution for businesses with mobile employees; everything from tradies, to landscapists, mobile healthcare workers, solar panel installers, security, roofers, locksmiths and more.

GeoOP is available on the web and as a mobile App. It supports platforms such as iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets.

GeoOP streamlines business processes such as job scheduling, quotes, time and materials tracking. It's also integrated with a number of incredible products to supercharge productivity and business efficiency (view details below).

When talking about "the Cloud" it's always intriguing to hear how few people truly grasp or understand this technology revolution that is engulfing the world and forever changing the way business is done.

Maximising the benefits of "The Cloud" is about picking the best program for each part of your business function (e.g. marketing, production, accounting, etc.) and integrating them to create an efficient and usually cheaper software solution that is tailor made to suit your business needs.

If you were to say to people, listen there is a potential "Tax Haven" with the full support and backing of the Australian Government; a "Tax Haven" that allows and encourages you to save for retirement; a "Tax Haven" operating within a jurisdiction you know and understand; then I am sure they would say "Tell Me More".

Welcome to the Australian Superannuation system!

Medical practices are usually very stable businesses, operating from the same location for many years. Overtime, while the doctors operating from the location may change, the public associate the physical location with a medical practice and site goodwill grows. With this in mind, a strategic opportunity may arise to own the physical location and capture this site goodwill for the future.

Many of you have probably thought from time to time what it would take to purchase a commercial medical suite, perhaps with a collea

Sunshine Coast Council has recently voted to allow discount chain store Target to open its second major store on the Sunshine Coast at Kawana Home Central.

Councillors voted in favour of an amendment which will allow the development to go ahead after Cr Peter Cox successfully argued for a motion which will allow Target to temporarily open the 2000sq m store on the condition it would move to the Kawana Town Centre in five years.

One in three Australian's admit to living pay cheque to pay cheque, while one in five say they would be unable to cope with an emergency expense of less than $1,000, according to new research from BT (November 2012).

A survey into the financial health of nearly 5,000 Australians found that 30% of respondents said they rarely had money left over after each pay cheque. In addition, less than half said they were able to meet their monthly expenses.

It has been announced by the Federal Government that from the 31st May 2013, all unclaimed superannuation accounts with a balance less than $2000.00 will be transferred to the Australian Taxation Office. Lost super is said to be worth $675 million dollars and as many as 3 million Australian are completely unaware they fall into this category, some even with multiple accounts. How is super lost? The government considers super to be lost if the member has not received a contribution or rollover for within a period of 12 months and if the member is uncontactable via written communication.

Here at Poole Group we understand that the time you spend on your bookkeeping and expenses could be better spent building your business.

Therefore, we're pleased to announce our adoption of Receipt Bank, the Xero add-on which removes the burden of data entry and gets rid of your boxes of paper.

The new ATO Guidance trustees need to be aware of

by David Darrant & Stacy Barnes

A lot of our clients have a Self Managed Superannuation Fund that is in pension mode. Being in pension mode means the Superannuation fund, as well as its members, receive a very generous tax concession so long as a minimum pension is drawn annually from the fund. The tax exemption gained within pension phase is the highest in the world, 0% tax on income. This valuable tax concessions can be lost if the trustees make an error in meeting the minimum pension payment, as a result possibly costing the fund many thousands of dollars in tax and compliance costs.

I was recently referred to a client who had existing policies set up through another adviser within his Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF). The other adviser had recommended that the client own all of his policies through the SMSF including a Business Expense Policy (BEX). Apart from other issues relating to the Total & Permanent Disability (TPD) and Income Protection held through the SMSF, the greatest concern was the BEX policy.

Kingfisher Court is being undertaken by a syndicate of investors which is being led by Greg Tuckwell. It is being designed by local architects Blackburne Jackson and will be built by Murphy Builders.

The project is just five minutes drive to the multi-billion dollar 450 bed Sunshine Coast University Hospital as well as the associated 200 bed private hospital and health hub. This precinct will create thousands of employment opportunities during both the construction and operational stages of the project.

New Rules to make company directors personally liable for company debts

As part of the 2011 Budget the Government announced changes to strengthen the law, preventing companies from deliberately liquidating to avoid paying liabilities – including employee entitlements.

Insurance contracts are ever changing and in most situations are becoming more flexible at the time of claim. However, does this added flexibility come at a cost to the client? This article looks at the changing definition of heart attack within Trauma policies.

Trauma insurance first started in South Africa around 1983, with it first appearing in the Australian insurance market in the late 1980's. Initially Trauma policies only covered a small number of insured health events. The main four being heart attack, cancer, stroke and heart surgery, together with several others such as paralysis, major head trauma and multiple sclerosis. Over the years however, many more insured events have been added, with a typical Trauma policy today providing over 40 different insured health events. The definitions of existing insured events have been altered and partial or early stage payments have been introduced. Thus today's policies would be considered materially different to those of 25 years ago.

In 1987, I finished my degree and took off with a backpack to Europe. Five years of working and studying part-time meant I was always time poor. I, like all students, was constantly working to a timetable, planning for this exam, then working on that assignment, while at all times attempting to keep on top of the work issues. So I needed a change...

No complex planning was involved with this mindset, an airline ticket, a drinking buddy, some bucks in my pocket and a sense of adventure was all that I needed. On reflection, I think the impulsiveness of the trip actually increased the appeal.

With Christmas here in a few weeks time, many of you are getting busy planning Christmas parties. Unfortunately the ATO rules may spoil your party with potential FBT or non deductible expenses so below is some information to help you understand.

The cost of Christmas parties and gifts is only deductible to the extent that it is subject to FBT so if the cost is subject to FBT it will be deductible, and if it is exempt from FBT then it is not tax deductible.

The most common error we have seen this year is the incorrect completion of PAYG Withholding Summaries and specifically the Reportable Employer Super Contributions (RESC) section. RESC are those contributions the employer makes on behalf of an employee, such as salary sacrifice contributions or additional super contributions (above 9% Super guarantee). When an employer is making a concessional contribution (via salary sacrifice) to super for an employee it needs to be reported on the employees PAYG Summary, excluding their 9% Super Guarantee amount.