Way back in 2015 the Government introduced measures for small businesses to potentially claim a full income tax deduction for the purchase of assets costing less than $20,000 (you can read my initial post on this here).

There’s been a lot of talk about this lately for a couple of reasons.

First, next week is the end of the financial year and many taxpayers and businesses start to panic right now and want to get as many tax deductions as they can get!

Also, the original measures were to expire on 30th June, 2017 (ie: next week!)

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have a couple of comments on this, so here goes:

• the measures have been extended to 30th June, 2018 so there is another year to take up this option
• it’s never a good idea to spend money you don’t have on items you don’t need – to get the $20,000 deduction you still need to spend the money, and you get a tax deduction for the amount which saves you the amount spent multiplied by your relevant income tax rate – I’ve heard a few taxpayers indicate that if they spend $20,000 on an asset they’ll get $20,000 back from the ATO and this is NOT correct!
• The full cost of the asset must be less than $20,000 including all on costs (such as transfers of vehicles purchased through private sellers)
• The full cost of the asset must be less than $20,000 even if you only claim a portion of the amount for business use
• And, as per the general depreciation rules, the asset must be installed and ready for use to be eligible to claim the deduction, it is not enough to order and “pre-pay”

Finally – I’ve read a few articles this week in the general news space about “don’t miss out on your tax deductions”, or “did you know you can claim these expenses?” – most of these articles are directed at individual tax payers yet they have referenced purchasing a piece of art for your office up to $20,000 – this $20,000 write off is for SMALL BUSINESSES only, not employee taxpayers.

Please, please, please – never make any assumptions when it comes to your personal income tax deductions or the deductions of your business, and instead of taking your tax advice from the mainstream media, always check in with The Tax Chic first!

Regards

As the end of the financial year rushes towards us, if you have some spare cash hanging around, you may like to make a donation to your favourite charity?

Before you do there are some things you should consider.

If you donate to a registered deductible gift recipient (DGR), and your donation meets the criteria set by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), then you may be eligible for a tax deduction.

To check if a charity is a DGR you can look them up on the ABN Lookup website, and the criteria you need to meet (per the ATO) are:

• The gift must be made to a deductible gift recipient. We call entities that are entitled to receive tax deductible gifts ‘deductible gift recipients’ (DGRs).
• The gift must truly be a gift. A gift is voluntary transfer of money or property where you receive no material benefit or advantage.
• The gift must be money or property, which includes financial assets such as shares.
• The gift must comply with any relevant gift conditions. For some DGRs, the income tax law adds extra conditions affecting the types of deductible gifts they can receive.

Some of the charities I’ve supported lately include the m.a.d woman foundation, Lifeline South West Vic, Cure for MND Foundation and Carrie’s Beanies for Brain Cancer.

I always recommend looking for a charity you know you will be happy to support, and I hope you will enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with making a difference!

Regards

Do you think AFL teams just happen?  Do you think other world class sporting teams just happen?  Do you think successful business teams just happen? I hope you answered “no” – because they don’t just happen, every team must work hard to be their best!

The trainings behind creating a High Performing Team (HPT) are the same, no matter what business you are in, no matter how large or small your team is and no matter where in the world you live.

A team is a collective of two or more people and your particular work (or sport?) team may at worst be dysfunctional and not in sync (if this is you then we definitely need to do some work together!), and at best be great (and can be greater…more great? – this always confuses me!)

During the HPT training I proudly facilitate, I work closely with teams of all sizes to help raise the bar.  Many teams and team members fall in middle ground and operate at a safe 66% effort – this is enough to get by and make do, but wouldn’t you rather be the best version of yourself and help your team be the best they can be?

With HPT training we introduce the Principles of Success, define the culture and values of the team and then create (and commit to) a plan to close the gap between where we are now and where we want to be.

One of the beautiful  benefits of HPT training is to see teams take ownership of the outcomes they wish to achieve, there’s a sense of collective motivation allowing the team to unite and individual leaders to shine.

If this sounds like something you are interested in – I currently have a very special offer for you, simply contact me for more details!

Regards

Oh goodness, this may come across as a whinge or even be a little controversial, but it is something I feel strongly about.  So much so that I actually had something else scheduled for this morning but I’ve risen early to write this piece.

Yesterday I received a private message through Facebook from a person I don’t know, it began with “hey are you running business in heels warrnambool?”

Let’s take a look at that – no Hello Bronwen, no introduction, no “a friend told me I should contact you” and no capital letters other than the first one that I know would have happened automatically!

Despite my initial reservations, I proceeded with the conversation because Business in Heels is in fact a business, and one that has not been performing as well as I would have hoped and I am still devoted to making it the best it can be (and this includes engaging in conversations with someone who at first glance did not actually respect the person they were contacting).

Throughout the 15 messages sent, I provided 11 individual pieces of advice (including one early on that suggested if they were to contact the people I recommended they should include a greeting and a short introduction which was really my way of telling this person they should have done the same with me!)

One of the answers I received was a lone “k”, I was asked for more specific information (which I gave) but which was freely available in the links I had taken the time to provide and the conversation ended with “ok”.

At no point did this person address me by name and they certainly didn’t thank me for taking time out of my public holiday to speak with them – have we really become this rude?

People say “it’s not personal. it’s just business”, but when you are running your own business, then business is as personal as it gets!

Please, no matter who you are speaking with, make an effort to be kind and courteous.  That is all.

Regards