I apologise if this post is short and a little off topic, but I promise it will be sweet – I might be gushing too…

Yesterday my little brother and his gorgeous wife welcomed their first daughter – Peyton Jane.

For many years I have been “Aunty Bron” to the kids of my friends…but now I am an aunty for real!

(Here comes the gushing…) she is perfect! She has ten little fingers and ten little toes, a wave of dark hair and two very chubby cheeks – I am totally in love…

I’ve already been lucky enough to have many cuddles…and I look forward to spoiling this little girl, as only an aunty can.

Thanks for indulging me in this “Frivolous Monday”, we’ll be back to business on Wednesday – now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to visit my new favourite person…xo

Regards

Ok, so maybe I don’t have the qualifications to be called “professor”, but I thought I’d take this opportunity to fill you in on some of the other work I’ve been doing lately.

You may have read previously that I hold a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and I am pleased to say that this qualification has now taken me from TAFE to University.

For the past three weeks, and with another to complete in a couple of weeks time – I have been presenting the tutorial and lecture for a first year commerce subject at Deakin University Warrnambool – yep, my old stomping ground!

While I’ve previously spent some time in front of a class at my local TAFE, being at Deakin has been a bit of a surreal experience.  The lecture theatre is a grand room and there is greater emphasis on the use of technology in presentations.  But of particular pleasure has been working alongside those who taught me while I was at University (we try not to mention that this happened around 20 years ago…that would make us feel old!) – however seeing the familiar names and faces has certainly been comforting.

And while the Warrnambool campus of Deakin University has expanded and changed in many ways since I was a student, it’s good to see that some of the landmarks are still identifiable – do any of my former classmates remember G101??

On a final note, it is really pleasing and exciting to see these students just starting out with their studies and looking forward to their careers…oh to be young again!

Regards

Today sees the wrap up of our “Your Structure” series…I’ve even tied it with a pretty bow!

I do hope that over the past couple of weeks you’ve been able to see some of the differences in the types of structures available for operating a business and/or holding investments – and you’ve questioned yourself and your knowledge of your own structure.

To recap, if you missed any of the posts, here they are:

1. What’s my structure?

2. Your structure – the sole trader

3. Your structure – partnership

4. Your structure – company

5. Your structure – trusts

6. Your structure – superannuation funds

7. Your structure – common mistakes

One of the easiest ways to remember your structure is to prepare a diagram of it – I really encourage you to do this – I can even help if you need!

Regards

As we come to the end of our “Your Structure” series, I thought I’d take a moment to hi-light two common mistakes I have come across in my travels…

Before I do that though, please don’t be offended if you have found yourself in one of these situations – the mere fact that you were asking questions is great, and it’s always the intention of The Tax Chic to educate and get you thinking about things:

1. Your business name is not your company

A business name can be registered by any sole proprietor, partnership, company or trust who operates a business – however many business owners confuse their business name with being a company name, and this is incorrect.

A business name can easily be deregistered and a new name registered – a change in business name does not have an impact on the underlying structure of the trading entity – as such a change in business name cannot be used as means to avoid liability.

2. Your trust is not a company

A trust is a separate entity which has a trustee.  This trustee can be an individual or a company – but often in the case of a corporate trustee, business owners confuse the two and think that their company is running the business.

Most likely the confusion results from the fact that the trustee holds assets and makes decisions on behalf of the trust – but the trust is the entity reporting the income for tax purposes.

If you’re still confused…it’s OK – complete the Contact page and I’m sure I can help sort you out!

PS For LS, here is the mention of my “magic 5 iron” from golf yesterday!!!

Regards