Month: July 2020

The superannuation fund is an adaptation made by the Government of Australia to motivate its citizens to accumulate funds that will provide them with a stream of income in their retirement years. The state does this by making it compulsory for employers to contribute superannuation on top of their employees’ salaries and wages. They also provide tax benefits for further encouragement. 

If you have a superannuation fund, you need to know that it should have a mandatory audit done by an auditor accredited by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. The audit will include a Financial Report Audit and a Compliance report audit. 

 

Financial Report Audit

The following are the primary requirement to get a financial Report Audit:

● An audit engagement letter signed by the trustees

● Trustee representation letter which is signed

● Financial accounting reports, such as member statements, income statements, balance sheets, etc. 

● Duly accomplished annual tax return

● Supporting documents

 

Compliance Audit Report

Here are the documents needed for the Compliance audit report

● A signed copy of pension documentation if it is in pension mode

● Permanent files copies

● Actuarial Certificate

● Life insurance certificate (if applicable)

● ASIC annual return if employers are acting fund trustees

Once the auditor receives the files mentioned above, they will proceed with their auditing task. If there are breaches, auditors will try their best to rectify the matter legally. 

 

Final Word

When getting an auditor who will be in charge of auditing your superannuation fund, make sure that ASIC accredits them. You can check their legitimacy by going to the website and confirming their registration. 

If you have more questions that are not covered by this article, kindly fill out our contact form or call us at 03 9885 9793.

We will help you and assist you with your superannuation fund concerns and enquiries. 

Are Cryptocurrencies subject to tax? It depends on what happens.

Recently, the cryptocurrency has been discussed in Australia with the ATO implementing new measures to get cryptocurrency users to pay tax. This subject matter had raised many bags of dust, with people suggesting this deal won’t make it through. But it is clear now that you will be taxed for using your cryptocurrency. This article will discuss how you can handle these taxes.

 

Why are cryptocurrencies subject to tax?

For the Australian Tax Office (ATO), bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrencies are not money, foreign, or Australian currency. Instead, cryptocurrencies are classified as property and an asset, which qualifies as taxable under capital gains tax. The everyday use of your bitcoin does not carry a tax obligation. However, your cryptocurrency is taxable when:

1. You sell or gift your cryptocurrency
2. Trade or exchange cryptocurrency for fiat currency or another cryptocurrency
3. Convert your cryptocurrency to a fiat currency
4. use your cryptocurrency to obtain goods and services, and so on.

 

Is your cryptocurrency taxable in the event of a hard fork?

In the event of a coin split or a hard fork, as it happened with the release of Bitcoin cash in August 2017, the tax liability imposed is of two kinds, namely:

1. When cryptocurrency is held as an investment: in the event where you hold a coin as an investment, and there’s a hard fork or coin split, the ATO will only charge you capital gains when you chose to dispose of the new coins.
2. Cryptocurrency held in business: when the cryptocurrency is contained in the industry, it is seen as trading stock; capital gains are charged on the coins when it is put out for sale.

 

Is a cryptocurrency trader taxable for his trades?

The ATO is specific on the tax liability of a cryptocurrency trader. The trader is taxable for capital gains as to the profits made from the trade; the trader can also deduct his losses.  

 

Cryptocurrency tax exemptions

The following are tax exemptions that are available to cryptocurrency users in Australia. 

1. When cryptocurrency is used to make a purchase for goods and services for personal use
2. When cryptocurrency is held for more than 12 months; the holder is eligible for a 50% capital gain tax.