Tax cuts in limbo as Tax Office says 'no'

Peter Martin   Tax cuts promised from Friday July 1 will fail to arrive for up to a year after the Tax Office confirmed it won't be changing its tax schedules to accommodate the prime minister.

Company tax cuts 'built on uncertain foundations'

Peter Martin, Mark Kenny   Claims of a boost to living standards from the government's planned company tax cuts rest largely on a dramatic reduction in tax avoidance, a new analysis shows.

Changes for your hip pocket loom

John Collett   As the start of the financial year approaches there is always a raft of changes in taxes and thresholds.

WELL HEELED

How to max your tax refund

Melissa Browne   Making sure you're financially organised is the key to ensuring you maximise your tax return and receive your refund as soon as possible.

Run for health cover before June 30

Laura Crowden   Amid the mid-year stocktake sales and car dealership runouts is a notion that it is rather important - to sort out private health insurance before June 30.

TAX TIME

Giving clubs change face of philanthropy

Christine Long   Many people will make spontaneous donations to charity before the end of the financial year, but Bryony Green and others like her will be banding together for more "purposeful and planned" giving.

ELECTION 2016

The election outcome and your finances

Leo D'Angelo Fisher   That unsettling prickling sensation many of you will be feeling right now is just your hip-pocket nerve reacting as July 2 nears.

Tax

What the ATO is cracking down on at tax time

Nassim Khadem   Each year about 12.4 million Australians claim more $30 billion in deductions against their income, now the ATO is cracking down.

INSIGHT

Why bracket creep is here to stay

Clancy Yeates   For all the fuss about bracket creep, its impact is often overestimated.

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MONEY BRAIN

Does tax make us behave like monkeys?

Catherine Robson   The end of the financial year is a time for financial reflection and proactive planning.

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WELL HEELED

Make most of your tax situation

Melissa Browne   Many people are quick to complain about how changes to our tax system will affect them, but they won't do anything about it.

This time it's the Coalition promising things it can't afford

Peter Martin   Labor ought to consider reversioning the old 1980's AIDS slogan: "I like sex, but I'm not prepared to die for it."

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TAX

Accountants using offshore outsourcing

Jo Stewart   Australian consumers are used to the offshore call centre when dealing with telcos. But would you expect your accountant to outsource your tax return to a cheap outfit overseas?

Your checklist for tax time

Sally Patten   With just three weeks to go before the end of the financial year, sprinters have limited time to get their financial affairs in order before the taxman comes calling

WELL HEELED

How to value start-up share options

Melissa Browne   If you're tossing up whether to work for a start-up you need to understand how share options work.

ASSET CHECK

Time to reduce your tax bill

Daryl Dixon   ​With the end of the tax year looming, now's the time to implement strategies to reduce this year's taxation bills.

Negative gearing report linked to Morrison ally

James Massola and Peter Martin   Draft report makes bold claims that have alarmed some of the people it has been circulated to.

Hard to see clearly with so much ink

Peter Martin   Attack a squid and it squirts out ink. That could be why we are suddenly awash with reports on negative gearing.

'Aussie John' is wrong. Here's why

Peter Martin   ''Aussie John'' has got it wrong. Labor isn't planning to hit negative gearing on all established housing overnight.

Negative gearing's hidden taxpayer cost

Peter Martin   Taxpayers who negatively gear cost other taxpayers an average of $310 per year, a new analysis of Tax Office data shows.

BUDGET 2016

Budget 2016: max tax bang for buck

Melissa Browne   An accountant shares tax strategies arising from the 2016 federal budget for individuals, businesses, and employees.

$80,000 is anything but average Scott Morrison

Peter Martin   If Scott Morrison thinks that by offering tax cuts to Australians earning more than $80,000 he is helping average workers, he doesn't know much about what an average worker earns.

NEGATIVE GEARING

How investors outgun first home buyers

Caitlin Fitzsimmons   It's not just that one in three buyers are investors, it's also that they're disproportionately competing with first-home buyers.

Turnbull out on a limb over negative gearing

Peter Martin   You've heard the one about the one-year-old who's buying a house.

Tax benefits for top earners cost $11b

Peter Martin   Surgeons, anesthetists, finance managers and lawyers will be the overwhelming beneficiaries of the Turnbull government's decision not to touch negative gearing in the budget, research shows.

Still time to defuse the super time bomb

Peter Martin   Australia's tax system is set to skew toward the rich unless this government or the next intervenes.

Morrison needs a reality check on tax

Peter Martin   The government's theme for selling the budget reads like a Seinfeld script.

Coalition plans tougher crackdown on super to outflank Labor

Peter Martin   The Turnbull government is preparing to trump Labor in the budget, cracking down harder on high-income superannuation tax concessions to raise four times as much.

TAX

Easy tax deductions you've probably forgotten

Kate Cowling   Beyond the handbag or man bag, there are easy deductions taxpayers miss every year.