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One place small business employers often fail to search for new job applicants is the families and friends of their best employees. Before rushing headlong into hiring family or friends, consider the people and all areas of business that will be affected. Hiring friends and relatives can be a balancing act. If not handled well, it can sour the working environment. But hiring friends and family can have great benefits too, as long as you proceed carefully with these following points: Business is not a charity: Don’t hire an employee’s relative just because they ‘need’ a job. If someone has trouble holding down a job, you don’t want them either. Make it clear that if the relative or friend doesn’t perform as expected, he or she will have to go. Hire on a probationary basis, establishing a two-week or month-long..

Franking credits are a kind of tax credit that allows Australian companies to pass on the tax paid at a company level to shareholders. Franking credits can reduce the income tax paid on dividends or potentially be received as a tax refund. Where a company distributes fully franked dividends (and those dividends are included in the taxable income of the taxpayer) the taxpayer can claim a credit against their taxable income for the tax that has already been paid by the company from which the dividend was paid. Since the 2016-17 income year, the standard formula for calculating the maximum franking credits is: Franking credit = (dividend amount / (1-company tax rate)) – dividend amount Franking credits are paid to investors in a 0-30% tax bracket, proportionally to the investor’s tax rate. If an individual’s top tax rate is less..

Changing your business or company name can be an exciting leap. You can find yourself thinking about things like redesigned logos, rebranding and new customers, but before that, you have to think about the steps required to officially change your name. You cannot request to change the name of your existing business once it has already been registered under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). If you decide you want to trade under a new name, then you must register a new business application through the Australian Government Business Registration Service. If you choose to register a new business, you can cancel the existing registration through ASIC, however, the fees for a cancelled name will not be refunded. If you’ve realised that a legitimate mistake has been made in your existing business name, then you can request for a..

Buying a holiday house can seem appealing, whether it’s to rent out for income, for your own holidays or both. However, it is important to be aware of the different tax implications for how you choose to use your holiday house. If you own a holiday house and do not rent it out, you cannot claim any expenses relating to the property. If you decide to sell the property, you will need to calculate your capital gain or loss. Even though you don’t need to include anything in your tax return while you own the property, it is still important to keep all records to determine the capital gains tax implications for when you sell it. If you own a holiday house and rent it out to others, you have to include the income you receive from rent as part..

Most super funds offer insurance as part of their super plan. It is important to be aware of what types of insurance you are covered by through your super fund to help you determine if you need extra cover outside your super and if you have adequate support in the event that you cannot work. There are three types of insurance that can be available through super funds: Life insurance (also known as death cover):This is the most common of all personal super insurances and is part of the benefits your beneficiaries will receive when you die. Life insurance is typically applied to your super account by default. It is not compulsory with your super, however, if you have a self-managed super fund (SMSF), then you are required to consider insurance as part of your investment strategy. Total and permanent..