Just the facts...

Last night the Federal Government handed down the Budget for the 2015-16 year, and as foreshadowed, the Budget contained relatively few surprises, with a number of announcements made in the previous weeks.

Of course the most notable announcement impacting clients were the 2017 Age Pension changes and the ‘no new superannuation taxes’ commitment I highlighted last Friday (click here for another copy).

Self-managed super funds also dodged a bullet with no mention of implementing proposed changes to limited recourse borrowing arrangements.

The Government appears to be banking on small business to lead the recovery and has set out a series of generous new tax concessions for businesses with turnovers of less than $2 million. These include a drop in the corporate tax rate to 28.5 percent, immediate tax deductions of up to $20,000 for capital expenses, and FBT exemptions.

Primary producers also do well, regardless of their size with generous depreciation concessions for fencing, water rights and fodder.

So where is the sting in this Budget?

The Government has been careful in its targets. Rather than increasing taxes, the Government has focused on loopholes where there is a clear argument for ‘fairness’.

For example, Multi-national companies who avoid paying tax on business profits in Australia are in the firing line, and GST will be extended to imported digital products and services.

Also, fly-in fly-out (FIFO) clients may lose the zone tax offset, and caps will apply to salary sacrificed meal and entertainment expenses for employees of charities, hospitals and public benevolent institutions.

For a more detailed summary of the Federal Budget Click here.

Even better, feel free to call me personally if you’d like to know whether this year’s budget is likely to impact on you personally.

Rick Maggi Westmount Financial Clear Focus. Better Solutions.