Example of asset protection with a discretionary trust

Hopefully the concept of how to utilise trust distributions in my last post was clear and the characters in the example were not too distracting.

By the way if the ATO ever asks you why you have a discretionary trust, please remember not to say for the tax savings; instead mention asset protection and give an example similar to below. (There is a law that prohibits us from doing things just for the tax benefits which is funny because coming to see me can make you a criminal.)

Asset protection

 

Let's say that Sheldon will always be Sheldon so he is always getting into trouble due to his social awkwardness.

And Amy is normal for our intent and purposes despite being one of the few people in the world who can fall in love with Sheldon.

So this couple have been together for a while and have a huge pool of savings so decide that they should invest together as they plan for their future. Amy rejects Sheldon's suggestion of investing in a nuclear fusion plant but compromises and thinks that an investment property would suit them nicely.

Now Amy is worried that Sheldon is a ticking time bomb and will eventually get sued by someone for his reckless antics and outbursts even though he believes that he is always right. For this reason Amy suggests that their investment is purchased solely under her own name.

However Sheldon is a control freak and wants a legally enforced say in the decision making regarding their investment. Since he knows everything, he suggests that the investment is purchased with a discretionary trust where they are joint trustees so that they share the decision-making. This way Sheldon has shared control over the property and can receive the benefits of it such as rental income by naming himself as a beneficiary, but the property is not owned by him. Therefore it will not be listed as his asset if he ever faces personal bankruptcy.

Amy loves this idea and has to comfort Shelden when she tells him that Spock from Star Trek cannot be listed as a beneficiary since he is a fictional character. Let me know if you would like more information about this example of asset protection using discretionary trusts. In the meantime, live long and prosper!

Example of strategically distributing income with a discretionary trust

I decided to have some fun and use the cast of The Big Bang Theory to give some examples of how the general advantages of discretionary trusts could help in their situation. See if any of these examples could apply to you.

Income distribution

Let's assume that Penny will always work at the Cheesecake Factory for minimum wage and unfortunately never makes it big in Hollywood.

And let's say that in his spare time when he is not working at the university, Leonard invents some sort of new laser which he sells around the world.

Now before he embarked on this laser venture, he created a discretionary trust to run this very business. Luckily he did so, otherwise the profits from his laser business would be taxed in his own name on top of his salary from the university which would probably propel him up a tax bracket or two. (This is because in Australia we have a progressive tax system where the more you earn, the higher rate of tax you pay. Um Australia? Yes, let's assume that everyone in the series also moved to Adelaide.)

Leonard's accountant notices that Penny's tax return shows very little income from her wages and advises Leonard that his trust could distribute the laser business profits to Penny instead of him since she is in a much lower tax bracket. Penny agrees as long as Leonard pays her tax bill and takes her out to a movie which is not a documentary or a sci-fi. Leonard is happy to do so since his tax savings far outweigh a couple of movie tickets and popcorn. Everyone is happy. Cue the theme song with credits.

These illegally-obtained pictures take up quite a bit of space so I might split these up to one example per post. Stay tuned for another example of how discretionary trusts could help you and let me know if you have any questions or want more details.

Business structures: Should I run my business with a discretionary trust?

A while ago I highlighted some of the main advantages and disadvantages of running your business under your own name and my last post outlined the basics of how a discretionary trust works. The next question you will probably ask is 'should I run my business with a discretionary trust?'

These are the general advantages and disadvantages of using a discretionary trust to run your business:

Advantages

• Income distribution
  Every year the profits of the trust can be distributed to whomever the trustee decides which means your accountant can help you utilise the lower tax brackets of family members, offset tax losses in your other trusts and companies or limit your tax to the corporate tax rate by distributing to a company.
   
• Capital gains tax discount
  When you sell an asset that you held in your own name for more than 12 months such as shares or a rental property, the ATO allows us to disregard 50% of the capital gain. When a trust sells a similar asset or when it eventually sell your business, then beneficiaries who are individual tax payers also get to utilise this 50% discount when the profits of the business sale are distributed to them.
   
• Asset protection
  As the trustee is holding property for the benefit of the beneficiaries, it does not own the trust assets so there is a division of assets between the trust assets and what the trustee owns in their own name. You could also separate each of your assets into different trusts so that if any one of them face something disastrous such as bankruptcy, then your other trusts with their respective assets will generally not be involved and can continue as usual.

Disadvantages

• Costs to setup and maintain
  Not only are there the obvious legal costs to create the trust deed and accounting fees for the annual tax return and reporting requirements, there is also the investment of your time to learn how to best utilise the benefits of your discretionary trust.
   
• Changes to trust law and legislation
  Over the last few years, the ATO has been increasing their focus on discretionary trusts and are trying to make these trusts look less desirable for business owners or investors. Some examples are there are more items to fill out on trust tax returns now than before; there are penalties for some trusts who distribute profits to companies; and children previously could each receive $3,666 of tax free trust distributions but now can only receive $416 each.

There is a lot to digest in this post and they are generalisations so please contact me to discuss how a discretionary trust would work in your own situation. Actually I had an idea watching a sitcom last night so in my next post I'll assume CBS don't mind and give some examples of the advantages of a discretionary trust using the characters of...

What is a family trust?

When someone says family trust, they are probably referring to a discretionary trust. The main reason why the word family usually replaces discretionary (besides being a shorter word) is probably because the trust is intended to benefit themselves and their own family members. There really is such a thing as a Family Trust though so I might come back to this in a later post.

So what is a trust?
Essentially it is a relationship where a trustee holds onto assets on behalf of one or more beneficiaries.

What is a trustee?
A trustee is whoever has control over the trust assets and is required to make decisions and attend to the day to day running of the trust. Think of the trustee as the manager of the assets, but technically not the owner. A company can act as a trustee so the decisions then rest on the director(s) of the company.

What is a beneficiary?
A beneficiary is the real owner of the trust even though they don't necessarily make any decisions and some beneficiaries don't even know that the trust exists. Beneficiaries are entitled to the assets of the trust and any profits generated from those assets. Most trust deeds allow other trusts and companies to be beneficiaries as well.

What is a trust deed?
A trust deed is the legal document that outlines the terms and conditions of the trust such as how it is to be setup and then how it is to be run. The trust deed will also specify who the appointor is.

What is an appointor?
The appointor has the important power to be able remove or replace trustees. This is usually the limit of their influence as appointors are not involved in the day to day running of the trust. However the appointor can also be the trustee if they so choose.

What is so discretionary about a discretionary trust?
Under current Australian taxation law, if a trust makes a net profit then it normally should distribute this profit to its beneficiaries every financial year. This is when the trustee can exercise their discretion to decide which beneficiaries will receive how much of the profits every year. Some years a beneficiary will receive more than last time, or less, or none at all. Sometimes the trustee can decide to not pay out any profits at all if they so decide.

Now you all know the bare basics of a discretionary trust. And I'll know that you don't read my blog if you keep referring to a family trust instead of a discretionary trust! Next time I will go through some advantages and disadvantages of using one to run your

2013 election promises

Public service announcement: Remember to vote this Saturday!

I missed voting in one election before and got a fine for it. It felt great having to pay for not exercising one of my constitutional rights. Anyway I'm going to list some of the relevant tax and small business election promises that both Liberal and Labor are making so that we can refer back here later to see how many were broken.

Labor

• Reduce GST reporting requirements from quarterly to annual.
  (This is nice but you all better still reconcile your bank accounts regularly.)
   
• Temporarily increase new asset purchase write-off from $6,500 to $10,000 until 30 June 2015.
  (Sounds nice but the existing $6,500 limit covered most things already.)
   
• Committed to delivering the National Broadband Network (NBN).
  (This isn't new but they keep going on about it; probably because it cost so much. Well I hope you guys live in one of those roll-out areas because it's not even planned for my suburb yet.)
   
• Continue the company tax loss carry-back scheme and expand the carry back period to two years as planned.
  (I think the original intention of this was to save companies who have a bad year from going bankrupt but if your company has to rely on tax relief to survive then you really are just delaying the inevitable. Reminds me of the Australian car manufacturing industry.)
   
• Continue with not allowing the statutory formula for motor vehicle fringe benefits tax.
   (Apparently this will generate more tax revenue for the government but if employers stop buying cars then there will be nothing to tax. Now who is going to pay that $200 million package promised to the car manufacturing industry?)

Liberal

• Abolish the carbon tax.
  (Bit late now since I doubt prices will come down for things like electricity and freight costs.)
   
• Reduce company tax rate to 28.5% from 1 July 2015.
  (This is very nice. The resulting franking account reduction should be negligible for most of us.)
   
• Delay the compulsory superannuation guarantee increases.
  (Well good if you're the employer and bad if you're the employee.)
   
• Abolish the mining tax.
  (Olympic Dam expansion might then go ahead after all.)
   
• Discontinue the $6,500 new asset purchase write-off and $5,000 accelerated depreciation for motor vehicles.
  (This is disappointing. That Labor policy of increasing the write-off is looking pretty good now.)
   
• Discontinue the company tax loss carry-back scheme.
  (Hopefully none of us need to use this.)
   
• Reinstate the statutory formula for motor vehicle fringe benefits tax.
  (You all might as well finish off those log books since we can use them for five years anyway.)
   

I'll keep adding to this post as I find things during the week. Remember to do your own digging around before you vote as these are my own opinions only. Hope all the dads out there had a

My apology for the slow responses recently

Ok I'm back! Earlier this month I had the worst stomach virus that I can remember and unfortunately it was right in the middle of the busiest time of year for me so I'm still scrambling to catch up. It was so painful that I self-diagnosed myself with the medieval disease of dysentery. People who know what it is just roll their eyes at me but if you need to use the word explosive to describe both your bowel movements and headaches then surely I'm on the right track.

Firstly apologies to everyone whose meetings I had to postpone. So far I haven't found anyone who got as sick as I did so you're all welcome for my self-imposed quarantine. I've also since disinfected my house so feel free to visit now although the hospital smell is gone if you're into that sort of thing.

I'll keep this one short since I still have dozens of emails and Facebook messages to reply to. Now I did have some time to think in between my constant toilet breaks and fever induced naps, and I realised how little we look after our most important asset - which is ourselves.

For example, some of us look after our cars really well with regular services and swear by certain brand name premium fuels. Yet do we take ourselves to a doctor for an annual checkup and eat the very best organic foods?

Here's an example I am guilty of: I make sure that my computer is always free of junk, all files and folders are neat and regularly backed up, and a virus scanner ensures that nasties are kept away. But my fridge and pantry is stocked with junk, the only thing backed up is when I go to the toilet, and evidently my immune system just couldn't cope with all the nasties and decided to shut me down for an emergency detox.

So I kindly ask that you all help me fix this. If you see that I have a can of soft drink on my desk instead of a glass of water, then slap me. If you see McDonald's or KFC wrappings in my trash, then slap me. Perhaps then I'll wake up and take better care of the most integral part of my business. And hopefully this has made you all think of your own health and well being too.

Quick summary of WorkCover in South Australia

I have been helping out with quite a few annual reconciliation statements so I might as well write about it since it's on my mind.

What is WorkCoverSA?
WorkCoverSA is the organisation that manages the South Australian Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme. They do a quite a few important things such as help people recover but basically they provide insurance for employees who are injured at work.

Ok, it's insurance for employees. Who pays the insurance premiums?
Employers pay the premium. The premium is calculated as a percentage of the total remuneration paid to your employees.

What is remuneration?
Remuneration is defined as payments made for the benefit of your employees. Besides salary and wages, remuneration includes their superannuation, bonuses, allowances and many others. The full list can be found here but it is updated every year so make sure to check before preparing your annual reconciliation statements.

What is the annual reconciliation statement?
Most employers can pay their premium in ten monthly instalments rather than an annual lump sum which helps with cash flow. However since your payroll will most likely change during the year, at the end of the financial year you need to recalculate your WorkCover premium and pay (or get refunded) the difference between your instalments already paid.

What are the key dates?

• Your annual reconciliation statement is due by 31 July. (If you pay your premium as an annual lump sum then it is due now as well.)
• Then any shortfall payments or refunds resulting from the reconciliation should be settled by the end of August.
• If you pay your premium in instalments, then the ten monthly payments start on 7 September and end on 7 June each financial year.

For more information on how your premium is calculated, please visit the WorkCover SA website here which tries to explain how they came up with your rate. If you have any questions about WorkCover or workplace injuries then feel free to contact me for more information. Even they believe we are Better together!

Superannuation for your employees

Just a quick reminder for those who hire employees in your business, that the superannuation guarantee has increased from 9% to 9.25% from 1 July 2013. Your payroll software should make this adjustment automatically but it pays to check your first pay run for the year just in case.

Now that I got my main message across, here is a reminder of everything else related to your employee's superannuation.

• This 9.25% amount is called the superannuation guarantee charge (SGC). It is mandatory for all your employees, no matter if they are permanent or casual, who earn more than $450 a month but be aware that there are age and industry exceptions.

• SGC is also calculated on payments made to contractors if their invoice was primarily for their labour so they removed this benefit from converting your workforce to contractors.

• SGC is paid to a complying superannuation fund of your employee's choice which is usually indicated by their super choice form.

• At the minimum, SGC must be paid to all your employee's super funds before the 28th day after each quarter. That is 28 July, 28 October, 28 January, 28 April. However you can pay more frequently if it suits you.

The government, through various departments, focuses on employee's super quite a bit so it is an area that we need to get right. Please contact me if you have any questions about this or if you are looking at hiring your first employee soon.

Now here is something fun for everyone to do: Please visit the Tax Office's SuperSeeker website and see if any of the $18 billion in unclaimed money is yours. Yes, I said billions.

Things you should do before 30 June 2013

Well it's near that time of the year again - 30 June 2013 is the last day of the financial year. It's not as big as Christmas but there are still some sales on. Before you go stampeding to the stocktake sales though, here are some simple things you can do to help minimise your tax:

• If you run a business and there are some electronics, equipment or tools that you needed soon then buy it now. Any business asset purchases that cost less than $6,500 can be claimed in full on your upcoming tax return. If you don't run a business then only work related items that cost less than $300 can be claimed in full. Please be sensible about this and don't buy unnecessary items just for the tax deduction!
  
  
• Similarly, you can stock up on consumables such as stationary, business cards, coffee beans, petrol, etc. Or prepay your business insurance or income protection insurance. For some of you who have margin loans, you could ask if you can prepay next year's interest now. Also if you were holding back on some repairs such as for your rental property then you might as well get it done now. Basically pay for things this week that you know for sure that you will need to pay for soon anyway.
  
  
• For those contractors out there or if your business sends out invoices, see if you can hold off and send your invoices on 1 July so that they fall in the next financial year.
  
  
• If you are not an employee, for example you run a business or most of your income is from rent, dividends and interest, then you can contribute some money into your super fund for a tax deduction. There are limits we need to watch out for so please contact me if you would like to consider this.
  
  
• If you would like free money from the government and don't mind that it will be stuck in your super fund until you retire, then you may consider the government's superannuation co-contribution scheme. It has been watered down a lot since it started but if you earn less than around $46,700 a year and contribute an extra $1,000 into your super then the government will give you up to $500 as well.
  
  
• This one is very specific but still worth mentioning: If you have made capital gains this year AND you have other assets that have decreased in value such as shares that have tanked AND you were going to sell these shares anyway AND you do not intend to purchase these shares again soon, then sell those shares at a loss so that you can offset it against the capital gain you made earlier in the year.

I remember seeing this Foxtel advertisement and their marketing team tried making the acronym a thing so I figured I would try to help them out a little. Have a good week everyone and...

Federal budget changes that may affect your business

Part of the reason why our government had to raise taxes and cut back on spending is because they overestimated the revenue they would receive from business taxes.

For example, the mining tax which started on 1 July 2012 will now only raise $3.3 billion in the first four years rather than the expected $13.4 billion.

Another example is government revenue from a carbon price (called a price but is really a tax) had to be reduced because they now predict a carbon price of $12 a tonne compared to the original forecast of $29 a tonne when Australia links its emissions trading scheme with the European Union (EU). Currently the price of an EU carbon permit is around $5 a tonne so this revenue may be reduced again in future.

Well then it is not surprising that the government's proposal to reduce the company tax rate from 30% down to possibly 28% is no longer happening.

However the company loss carry-back is still in effect for the current financial year. If you run your business through a company and it makes a loss in the 2013 financial year, you can use it to offset the tax paid for the 2012 financial year. Going forward your company can carry back up to $1 million of tax losses each year which helps smooth out the tax bills when you have one really good year followed by a really bad year. Also note that this only applies to companies so trusts and sole traders cannot carry back losses.

Now for the few of you who import, the government is increasing the Import Processing Charge (IPC) from 1 January 2014.

• For consignments valued over $10,000, the IPC for electronic sea import declarations will be increased by $102.60 to $152.60 per consignment and the IPC for electronic air import declarations will be increased by $81.90 to $122.10 per consignment. 
• For consignments valued over $1,000 and up to $10,000 the IPC will remain the same.
• The  IPC  is  still not  applied  to  consignments valued at $1,000 or less. This is also good news for everyone who buys things online from overseas as no GST is charged on total packages less than $1,000 either. Well you tell me where I can buy a Game of Thrones cup locally in Adelaide...

Are you affected by the Australian government budget changes?

The Australian government's 2013/2014 budget was released a couple of weeks ago. It is basically a document the government releases every year outlining what they intend to spend our taxes on.

You might have heard that our country has a $18 billion budget deficit. This means our government plans to spend $18 billion more than it receives for the upcoming year. Obviously this is unsustainable in the long run so eventually our government has to either raise taxes or cut its expenditure. You may notice that most of the relevant tax changes are about saving money for the government.

Do these changes affect you?

• The baby bonus of up to $5,000 as we know it will be gone from 1 March 2014. Instead, mum's will receive $2,000 more in Family Tax Benefit Part A (if you are eligible) for their first child, and $1,000 more for any subsequent children.
  

• The medical expenses tax offset where you could claim 20% of your family's medical expenses over a certain limit will be phased out. Fortunately it can still be claimed for disability aids, attendant care and aged care related expenses for people who really needed it.
  

• While the Medicare levy will probably increase to 2% from 1 July 2014, the low income exemption thresholds have increased slightly to $32,279 for pensioners, $20,542 for other individuals and $33,693 for families with each child increasing the limit by $3,094.
  
• There will be no more discounts for up-front and voluntary payments towards Higher Education Loan Program (HELP or HECS for us oldies) from 1 January 2014. Currently you get a 10% discount if you pay your student contribution up-front and a 5% discount for any voluntary payments of at least $500 made afterwards.

And to save those of you who like to ask me what they are, here are the individual income tax rates and thresholds for last year and the financial year about to end so you can compare them.

Let me know if any of these changes concern you while I work on my next post which will be on how the budget changes may affect those of us with businesses.

How the Medicare levy increase will affect you

Whenever there is a tax hike it usually makes big news because everyone hates paying more taxes. Around two weeks ago, Julia Gillard announced that her government is proposing to increase the Medicare levy from 1.5% to 2% to help partially fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Yes, we should help the disadvantaged in our community and it has been reported that the NDIS supports around 410,000 people with disabilities around Australia. While it is for a good cause, I still hate paying more tax! Below is a table of roughly how much more you would have to pay once the increased levy starts:

Since the Prime Minister's announcement, the Liberal opposition is now considering to support the levy increase but perhaps reduce the levy later on when the nation's budget is in surplus. This means either way the tax hike is probably going to happen.

Now like most Australians, I'm usually politically neutral and enjoy a good laugh when a comedian does a funny impression of a politician. Plus I recently realised that my vote is practically useless because my electorate where I live is something like 99.99% Labor (figure is exaggerated but it is a strong Labor seat).

I can reveal that I do vote Liberal because I run a small business that supports other small businesses and I have found that Liberal party policies generally favour small business owners. I said generally so please do your own research before voting later this year!

For all the mums and soon-to-be-mums out there, I hope you have a lovely weekend and...

Business plans are important

I thought I would quickly write about what business plans are and their importance since I did mention them in my last post and some people have already asked about them.

What is a business plan?
A business plan is basically a document that outlines your business goals and how you are going to achieve them. It is important to write plans down in a document rather than keep them in your head because then you can refer back to it later to see what worked and what didn't. Business plans are most commonly prepared at the start of a business but they are equally crucial no matter where your business is in its life cycle since you should always be aiming for your next goal.

Why do I need a business plan?
People are usually forced to create one because they need to borrow money to start their business and it is a bank requirement to see your business plan. Sometimes landlords (in shopping centres particularly) will also ask to see one before they offer you a lease for your business premises.

Regardless of whether you are required to show it to your bank or landlord, all business owners should have a plan in place so you know where to prioritise your time and efforts.

What is in a business plan?
It really depends on you as some people like to write long term goals whereas other people like to keep goals between one and five years. Regardless of the time frame, your business plan needs to address how you are going to achieve those goals and more detailed plans will actually contain some of the following:

• A marketing plan
• Finance requirements and budgets
• Operation procedures
• Human resource strategy
• Strategies and contingency plans to overcome possible threats

Business plans are important documents and is a vital tool for business owners especially when the going gets tough and they feel as if they are losing control. If you would like help writing or updating your business plan then contact me so we can get started straight away because...

Business structures: Should I run my business as a sole trader?

One of the first questions I get asked by someone who wants to start their own business or buy an existing business is: 'whose name should i put it under?' The first question they really should be asking is 'what do you think of my business plan?' but let's assume it was prepared already and save this discussion for another time.

The easiest business structure is to register the business under your own name and be a sole trader.

Advantages

• Easy to start-up and cheapest to maintain as you usually just need an ABN and a business name.
• Less reporting requirements because your business is reported on your own tax return.
• In some situations, losses from your business can be used to offset against your other income on your tax return.
• You are not an employee of the business so you do not have to pay superannuation, Workcover or payroll tax on your cash drawings from the business.
• It is relatively easy to close your business or change your legal structure to suit the growing needs of your business.

Disadvantages

• As the business is under your own name, it means that all your personal assets (such as your home) can be called upon to pay for your business obligations. This means you have unlimited legal liability which is a bad thing if your business can't pay its debts or bills.
• There is very limited opportunity for tax planning because your business profits must be declared on your own tax return and you have to pay tax at your personal tax rate. You cannot split income to your non-working spouse to take advantage of their lower tax bracket for example.
• Succession planning is relatively more difficult because your business will generally grind to a standstill say if you have a bad accident (knock wood) and you are not around to make business decisions.

Hopefully the above information provides you with some food for thought but you will probably notice that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of being a sole trader. If you are thinking of buying a business or starting a new one, please contact me first because it's always better to get things...

3 things employees need to know about FBT

From my last post we know that Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) is paid by your employer but that doesn't mean you should ignore it completely as an employee. There are still a few things you should at least be aware of because it might cost you if you are not careful.

1. The ATO knows about your fringe benefits!
   If you receive more than $2,000 of reportable fringe benefits every year from your employer then it will show up on your annual payment summary. Although you do not pay income tax on this amount, it still counts towards calculations for things like the Medicare levy surcharge, repayments for Higher Education Loan Program (HELP or HECS for us oldies), working out various tax offsets, child support assessments and income testing for Centrelink benefits so keep all these in mind.
   
   
2. Religious and not-for-profit employers get FBT exemptions!
   Depending on who you work for like charities or hospitals or schools, you could receive up to $30,000 of your salary in exempt fringe benefits each year. This effectively means you don't pay income tax on up to $30,000 of your salary and your employer doesn't care because they don't have to pay FBT on it either.
   
   
3. Salary packaging can save you money!
   Not everyone gets the chance work in charities or save lives in hospitals or educate our future leaders in schools, but no matter where you work there are opportunities for you to salary package certain fringe benefits which your employer does not have to pay FBT on. This means your boss would be more than happy to negotiate a salary sacrifice arrangement with you because they always want to make you happy especially if it costs them nothing. And you get the benefit of paying less tax.
   

If you are thinking of bringing up salary sacrifice with your boss, or if you run a business and want to offer salary packages to your key staff, then contact me first to make sure that the arrangements are made in the most tax effective manner otherwise someone has to foot the 46.5% FBT tax bill. That someone will probably...

What is FBT and how does it affect my business?

FBT stands for Fringe Benefits Tax and it is a tax on employers who provide certain non-cash benefits to their employees (and relatives of their employees). This tax was probably introduced many years ago to deter employers from giving their employees excessive perks which was previously not shown on their tax returns.

Common fringe benefits provided to employees are:

• Use of cars owned by the business for private purposes
• Providing entertainment such as food and drink (including a Christmas party)
• Giving employees stock or other goods for free or at a discount
• Providing employees and their families with housing or accommodation
• Giving employees free loans or with lower interest rates.

There are many more benefits listed in the legislation but the above are the most common. If you employ people in your business and think that any of the above might apply then please contact me to see what we can do to minimise or avoid paying this tax which is currently set at a nasty 46.5%!

How to change accountants - it's easy!

One of the most common questions I get asked by potential clients and people referring them to me is whether it is easy to change accountants. The good news is YES! It is very easy and straight-forward to change accountants.

Unfortunately a lot of people believe that their tax and financial matters are too complicated or hard to understand for a new accountant, so they keep going back to see the same accountant year after year even though they are unhappy. You do not need to be unhappy anymore!

A good accountant should be able to get a general idea of your tax affairs from looking through your most recent tax returns and financial statements. Then after meeting with you and asking questions about what you want to achieve, both personally and with your business, they should be ready to look after you.

Contact me now for a free chat or meeting about how I can help with your tax and business matters because...