Tax
Retailers warned on carbon tax ploys
DAVID WROE THE consumer watchdog is warning retailers who display an anti-carbon tax poster being distributed by Tony Abbott's office that they could inadvertently find themselves misleading customers, a breach that carries fines of up to $6600.
Super rich 'may keep' insurance rebate
Madeleine Heffernan The wealthy might retain the rebate for health insurance through complex tax structures.
Benefits of a safety net
Barbara Drury Income protection premiums are deductible but often overlooked.
In the tax office sights
Annette Sampson The department has sophisticated tools at its disposal to track down tax cheats.
June 30 tax tips to save a bundle
ANNETTE SAMPSON Here are 12 simple strategies guaranteed to put cash back in your pocket before the changes come in for the next financial year, writes Annette Sampson.
Relief when needed
I CAN DO THAT The strategy: To work out whether I can benefit from the proposed ''carry-back'' provisions.
Insight: tax agents
INSIGHT It's often claimed Australians ''punch above their weight'' on the sporting field, but we also have a more dubious honour: our use of tax agents.
MPs raise eyebrows at Abbott's GST call
PHILLIP COOREY TONY ABBOTT'S MPs in the smaller states were left red-faced yesterday after the Opposition Leader empathised with Western Australia's view that GST revenue should be distributed on a per capita basis, meaning the smaller states would be stripped of millions.
Super slug for high earners to save budget $1b
Lenore Taylor PEOPLE who earn very high incomes will pay 30 per cent tax on concessional superannuation contributions in a move that will be sold on the basis of ''fairness'' but also reaps $1 billion in savings to help the government return the budget to surplus.
Business Maxims
Making sense of the GST
MAX NEWNHAM The effect of GST on businesses depends on the type of customers they have. Goods or services supplied to other GST-registered businesses reduces the impact of GST. If your customers are not registered for GST, having to add GST will either make you less competitive, or reduce your after-tax income.
Offshore scrutiny
Lesley Parker Australians not declaring income from overseas sources have been put on notice by the Tax Office.
Car packaging alert
Lesley Parker Long-distance drivers will be hit in the wallet as the new fringe benefits tax rules takes hold.
A lesson in tax offsets
I CAN DO THAT The strategy: To gain a tax break on all that money I've just laid out on back-to-school expenses.
New crackdown on offshore tax evasion
Philip Dorling The ATO is pushing for more powers to investigate secret tax havens and penalise offshore tax evasion.
Tax breaks for wealthy under fire
ADELE HORIN A crackdown on federal waste and unfair tax breaks is needed to fund social and economic reforms.
Gillard touts tax break for families with teens at school
Debra Jopson Families can get up to $160 extra a fortnight in tax benefits if their teenagers stay in school or in vocational training.
New laws put ATO to the test
Ben Butler Tax Commissioner warns organisation will be put under pressure by carbon and mining taxes.
Rolling over to escape the tax man
George Cochrane Pensions offer the most straightforward form of income in retirement - and keep the ATO at bay.
Tax office warns dodgers: beware
Tax dodgers will be caught, the Australian Taxation Office has warned after nabbing and convicting 356 people in the third quarter of this year.
Super increase will cost jobs: ACCI
A leading business group says it's appalled by the federal government's lack of consultation on lifting compulsory superannuation, warning the increase will hit profits and cost jobs.
Directors get reprieve from super liabilities
Directors have been given a reprieve from personal responsibility to meet employees' superannuation obligations if their companies fail following the government's temporary removal of its proposal.
Between rocks and a hard place
David Potts As miners dig the dirt on supposed tax-rate inequality, the government must forge ahead.
Tax number is a fraudster's friend
Alexandra Smith STOLEN tax file numbers have been used to lodge as many as 5000 fraudulent tax refunds worth $27 million in just three months, as identity criminals increasingly attempt to defraud government departments.
Wait, I haven't worked out T5 yet
POTTS SPOT Instead of another talkfest about tax reform, how about just simplifying the system we are now forced to endure?
Taxing times: we haven't seen anything yet
PETER MARTIN - ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT Bracket creep for personal income tax is the elephant in the room, but nobody seems to want to look.
Annette Sampson
Avoid a tax liability
I CAN DO THAT The strategy: To avoid leaving my loved ones with a super tax bill when I retire.