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Cars, cars, cars and fringe benefits

By far and away the largest category of fringe benefits provided in Australia are cars. In the 2016 year, the Australian Taxation Office indicated that the total taxable value of all cars provided to employees in the year was $1.3 billion. This makes car benefits a significant contributor to tax revenue in Australia. But just because you have provided your employee with a motor vehicle does not automatically guarantee that there is fringe benefits tax (FBT) to pay.

So let’s go through an overview of when your business might be liable for FBT on the vehicles they provide. Continue reading “Cars, cars, cars and fringe benefits”

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Are you ready for the Zombie apocalypse?

The other week I received an email threatening to shut down my website unless I sent Bitcoin. I’m pretty sure you’ve all seen something similar. While this one was just a scam and easily fixed by upgrading my security, it got me thinking about how a small business could easily be crippled by a random act – either malicious and intentional or a natural disaster. Big business will always have a business continuity plan (I’m old enough to remember the doom and gloom doing the rounds way back in 1999 with the potential disruption from Y2K), but what about small businesses like us?

Continue reading “Are you ready for the Zombie apocalypse?”

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Do I need an accountant?

You probably started your small business because you’re passionate about your industry or product and want to take control of your future.

You probably didn’t start your small business to become a tax collector, bookkeeper, debt collector and cash flow manager but by now you’ve realised these roles come with the small business territory!

So, what can you do about having to juggle all of these components of your business when they’re not part of your skill set or experience? (Hint, it’s using the services of an accountant) Continue reading “Do I need an accountant?”