For questions that relate to the laws, practices, and products of Australia.
6
votes
1answer
54 views
Can my wife claim a deduction for her personal superannuation contribution if she got the Parental Leave Pay?
My wife is self-employed and had a baby last year for which she claimed the Parental Leave Pay from the Federal Government (a bit over $10K over 18 weeks). She had to enter the amount in Item 1 - ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
When estimating revenue from the sales of a new product, should I subtract the lost sales of the old product it replaces? [closed]
I'm deciding whether or not to invest in a project which will add a new production line to my light bulb manufacturing factory. The new production line will produce brighter and longer lasting light ...
3
votes
1answer
56 views
Can I transfer my investment property into a SMSF?
I have two existing investment properties which I am looking to hold for the long term, basically to provide me with rental income in my retirement. If I set up a SMSF can I transfer these properties ...
10
votes
1answer
194 views
How to choose a good tenant as a private landlord?
I have 2 rental houses and am sick of the real estate agents providing such bad service. I have changed real estates 3 times over the past 5 years and I have to the conclusion that I am the best ...
1
vote
2answers
63 views
New payWave debit card vs PIN
My bank in Australia (SuncorpMetway) just issued me a new payWave Debit card (VISA) to replace my old/expiring savings account card. My old card required a PIN for any withdrawal or purchase. I ...
2
votes
2answers
74 views
Which instrument to use to trace the Aussie Stock Market?
The best way to achieve market returns is to get into a product that traces the market, right?
So I have found two such potential products to trace the ASX 200. The first is an ETF, STW.AX (SPDR 200 ...
4
votes
1answer
99 views
Overpaid Rent Owed By Real Estate
Over the course of my last lease I had overpaid around 2 weeks rent to the real estate. I was notified of this when I moved out, but despite chasing them up about it they have failed to refund me the ...
1
vote
0answers
91 views
How much time does one have to pay an invoice in Australia?
How long, legally, does one have, to pay an invoice? I have done extensive research on this, and there are too many contradictions on the Internet and a lot of it seems, to me, to be hearsay. I cannot ...
4
votes
1answer
47 views
How frequently is the list of constituents that make up the S&P/ASX 300 updated?
How frequently is the list of constituents that make up the S&P/ASX 300 updated?
Is it once a month on the 1st Monday of the month, or daily, etc?
3
votes
1answer
145 views
Safety of keeping savings in a mortgage account
I have a mortgage account and a separate (yet linked) savings account with a certain Australian bank.
This bank draws a minimum mortgage repayment from the savings account into the mortgage account ...
8
votes
2answers
194 views
Why is mortgage interest deductible in the USA for a house you live in?
In Australia, if you have a mortgage on the house you live in the interest and other expenses are not tax deductible, unless you rent out one or some of the rooms or run a business from your home, in ...
3
votes
1answer
51 views
How can a single member SMSF be set up?
In a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) each member has to be a trustee or a director of a corporate trustee and each trustee or director of a corporate trustee a member. However, a SMSF cannot ...
3
votes
2answers
151 views
Whom do I pay the rent to?
I live in a house owned 50/50 by a brother and sister. The sister has moved out so it's just myself and her brother and she has asked me to pay rent just to her and her brother to receive nothing as ...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
Can I claim a SuperAnnuation -loss- on my 2011-2012 Australian Tax Office tax return?
can i claim any super annuation -loss- in an Australia Tax Office (ATO) tax return? if so, what section please?
1
vote
2answers
104 views
Is it possible to create a self-managed superannuation fund to act as a mortage offset? (Australia)
I have forced investments via Australia's mandatory superannuation scheme. The value of this is about half the value of the remaining mortgage debt on my own home. If I had access to this money, I ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Rewards credit card for large repeating purchases in Australia
I have no revolving credit card debt: I pay it off every month. I also have a significant throughput of charging/paying off, including a large repeating medical cost that will be at least $3000 every ...
4
votes
2answers
130 views
Which loan should I offset?
Imagine I have two loans, one is 300k and the other is 50k.
I also have an offset account with 35k in it.
All income is going in to the offset account and so it should rise rapidly. If i offset the ...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Commencing a Pension from an SMSF
If I have bought a number of investment properties through my SMSF during the accumulation phase, which are all or mostly paid off with net positive income by the time I reach preservation age and ...
6
votes
0answers
124 views
Buying an Investment Property in a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF)
What is the best way to structure the purchase of an investment property in a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF)?
Now that limited recourse borrowing is allowed in SMSFs to purchase assets such as ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Which reward/benefits card is the best value for money in Australia?
As per the question this is based off:
Which card do you use and why? Some cards are similar but some not.
This will also be affected by personal preference, so indicate why you
chose a ...
2
votes
1answer
136 views
Residence vs investment property in Australia?
I find the Australian property tax laws really confusing.
If you live in a house that you own, then it is your residence. In which case, you cannot claim the interest as a tax deduction. However, you ...
15
votes
7answers
3k views
What is a good rental yield?
If you are thinking of buying a property for investment purposes, what is a good gross yield?
I've been told you should take 3 zero's off the price of the property, so if a property is worth 400,000, ...
5
votes
1answer
203 views
What are Binary Options?
What are binary options, what can they be traded on and what is the process in trading them?
Also, are there any brokers in Australia who offer binary options?
4
votes
2answers
223 views
I work in both Sweden and Australia - should I declare Australian based income overseas?
I am an Australian citizen working in both Sweden and Australia. I have been in Sweden for just over 3 years, my partner is Swedish. I travel to Australia regularly, at least twice a year, where I ...
7
votes
9answers
455 views
Trouble sticking to a budget when using credit cards for day to day transactions?
I recently got a credit card which is linked to an airline, and has a flyer points program for every dollar spent on the card in each billing period.
Wanting to make the most of this, I started using ...
5
votes
1answer
77 views
How do reserve banks influence home-loan interest rates?
On the First Tuesday of every month the board of the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) meets and sets the target for the cash rate.
I understand that they are trying to adjust the amount of money ...
5
votes
1answer
505 views
Transfer money from US (“prepaid”) VISA Debit to AU bank account
I have a Citi prepaid VISA Debit card (these kind of cards) that has been issued in the US. I live in Australia, and would like to move money off of the card into my bank account. For reference, the ...
2
votes
3answers
501 views
Deposit a cheque in an alternative name into a personal bank account (Australia)
I'd like to be able to deposit cheques payable to a business name into my personal bank account. I do not have a company (Pty Ltd) and at this stage it's probably more trouble than it's worth to set ...
4
votes
1answer
69 views
Should I put things like Family Payments, Interest on savings .. everything .. under my wife's name for Australian taxation reasons?
so it's tax time again.
My wife and I aren't sure who's name/names we should be putting any of our incomes into for Australian Taxation reasons.
To keep this simple, I'll use some fake numbers to ...
3
votes
6answers
162 views
Can business in Australia charge a transaction fee for using a credit card?
Related to the question of whether a merchant can charge you more if you want to use a credit card, I'm wondering if this is a common practice in Australia (and if the question I just linked to is ...
3
votes
1answer
90 views
Where is a useful comparison of Australian Superannuation schemes?
I'm a New Zealander that has previously worked in Australia long enough to have some superannuation there, but the political agreements that NZ has with Australia don't currently let me take my ...
6
votes
2answers
128 views
How does taxation change when I have a child?
My wife & I currently both work full-time (in Australia) and I'm curious what changes would take place to our income taxation when we move from 2 incomes & no dependents to 1 income with 1 ...
10
votes
5answers
193 views
If I have all this stock just sitting there, how can I lend it out to people for short selling?
Short sellers need to borrow stock in order to short sell. I understand they typically get this stock through a broker though some sort of arrangement where they pay interest.
I was wondering, how ...
5
votes
3answers
472 views
I'm in Australia. What should I look for in an online stock broker, for trading mostly on the ASX?
I'm currently with ETrade, and just from doing a little research, I think they're a little expensive. They're about $25 a trade where as other places are $15.
I was wondering, when finding an online ...
13
votes
7answers
581 views
Where should I park my money if I'm pessimistic about the economy and I think there will be high inflation?
I'm in Australia.
My prediction is the economy isn't going to fair very well.
I also think that the property market is going to drop.
I also think there will be high inflation to come.
I can explain ...
6
votes
4answers
178 views
Is the average wage a reliable measure for how much the average person earns?
This web site (http://www.livingin-australia.com/salaries-australia/) claims that the average australian wage is 68k per year. I've had a look at some other resources too and they all seem to use this ...
3
votes
3answers
123 views
Should the price of fuel in Australia at this point be so high?
Checking the government websites (Australia) regarding the fuel prices and what influences them:
International benchmark prices
Taxes
Other costs and margins
Additionally there is this strange ...
6
votes
2answers
170 views
If banks offer a fixed rate lower than the variable rate, is that an indication interest rates may head down?
This is one of the major banks in Australia:
http://www.anz.com/aus/RateFee/InterestRates/Rates.asp
At present time, the variable rate is 7.80% but the fixed rate is 6.99% for one year.
And it seems ...
6
votes
2answers
651 views
What are the tax implications of buying US stocks from Australia?
I am thinking about buying some blue-chip US shares. My rationale being that the Australian dollar is currently buying a lot of US dollars, so this is a way to directly invest in some large US ...
3
votes
1answer
427 views
Tax obligations on foreign term deposits
I have dual U.S./Australian citizenship and reside permanently in U.S. I am expecting an inheritance from a relative's estate in Australia. If I open an account with an Australian bank and invest in ...
6
votes
4answers
108 views
Does it make sense to switch from a 30 year 6.99% loan to a 6.89% loan (Australia)
I have recently bought an apartment and have an outstanding loan for $200K. I looked around but the bank I presently bank with somewhat surprisingly offered me the best rate at 6.99% (discounted off ...
7
votes
7answers
329 views
What's a cheap legal way of disposing of old CRT TVs in Australia?
I am in Australia and have an 81cm TV that has had better days - it works but the sound takes a few minutes after turning on to work, it's missing a remote control, etc.
I would like to get rid of ...
1
vote
2answers
492 views
Can used books bought off Amazon be claimed as a tax deduction in Australia?
I recently bought some used books on Amazon. The books are directly related to what I do for a living. In Australia, I know that if you have the receipt for books like that, you could claim it as a ...
1
vote
3answers
278 views
What implications does having the highest household debt to disposable income ratio have on Australia?
I hear that Australia has the highest household debt to disposable income ratio in the world.
What does that mean? What implication does that have for the economy, for the stock market and for the ...
3
votes
1answer
227 views
Moving to Sweden and work for Australian company: Where should I pay tax (Australia or Sweden)?
Situation:
Australian Citizen
Recently moved to live permanently in Sweden
Starting job with Australian company, will be working from Sweden.
Australian company does not have any official presence ...
7
votes
3answers
592 views
I'm moving to another country. Where should I keep my money?
I've been working in the US for a number of years, and am shortly to return to Australia. My cash is in an online bank based in the US.
Would you recommend I move it to an Australian bank, or leave ...
7
votes
2answers
463 views
In the U.S., what is the easiest way to buy Australian government bonds?
The NY Times says:
He cited the example of buying a one-year Australian government bond, yielding 5.25 percent. He said he believed that the American dollar was going to lose value and the ...
4
votes
1answer
134 views
Could someone please provide an example of a portfolio similiar to the GFP or Couch potato, but for Australia?
So I've been reading about MPT and came across the GFP and couch potato sites posted in this link,
in
any-experience-with-the-gone-fishin-portfolio
and wanted to know of anything similiar to the GFP ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
If I go to a seminar held overseas, may I claim my flights on my tax return?
i am an IT contractor and I would like to go to a seminar overseas. I'm paying for this by myself, however, I believe it is related to what I do and could be classed as an educational expense.
The ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Best way to buy Japanese yen for travel?
Going to Japan in about a week, and just looking for ways to buy Japanese yen.
In Australia, it's pretty nuts. If you just go and exchange money from them, they'll charge you 5-6% above the mid rate ...
