Accounting One, Tax made easy, Gold Coast, Australia

Congratulations to our November Winner!

Christmas Holidays

ATO will be Closed over Christmas

Australia's Cash Economy

Paid Parental Leave

Interest Rate Rise

Congratulations to Troy Kitchin & Tegan Gill who won 2 Gold Class Movie Tickets by referring a client during November!

If you would like to go into our next draw, simply complete our online survey and let us know what you would like to see in our newsletters, provide us with feedback or refer a client  before 30 January,  and we will put you into our monthly draw to win 2 Gold Class Movie Tickets!* It's that easy!

*Entries for the January draw close at 5:00pm on 31 January 2011. Referred clients must book an appointment before this date. Each month's draw will be drawn on the first Friday of the following month. January's draw will be drawn on Friday, February 4th and the winner will be notified by phone. All surveys are strictly confidential and will only be used for training and improvement purposes.

Well the children aren't the only ones counting down the days until Christmas! (Only 18 more sleeps 'til Santa comes!) The girls here in the office are eagerly crossing off each day on the calendar as it brings them one day closer to their long awaited and well earned holidays.

The Accounting ONE office will be closed from 5pm Thursday 23rd December and will re-open at 9am on Monday 10th January.

The Australian Taxation Office will be closing over the Christmas period, so if you have not yet had your 2010 Tax Return completed, phone us now to ensure you receive your refund in time for Christmas.

About the Cash Economy
The cash economy occurs when businesses use cash transactions to hide income to avoid paying tax.

Participating in the cash economy is a deliberate attempt to under-report or omit income.

Cash economy activities include businesses:

• paying wages 'cash-in-hand'
• skimming some or all of the cash takings
• running a part of their normal business activities 'off-the-books'
• not reporting the value of goods and services provided in exchange for other goods and services
• operating underground – that is, avoiding their obligations by not registering or lodging returns.

The essential characteristic is that transactions go unrecorded and unreported.  The majority of taxpayers do the right thing; however some people deliberately engage in cash economy activity to evade tax obligations and to seek an unfair business advantage. 

The Tax Office is committed to detecting and deterring cash economy activity by taking firm action against those seeking an unfair business advantage. In doing so, they are helping to ensure that there is a level playing field and that businesses doing the right thing are not disadvantaged.

To read more about the Cash Economy and how it hurts Australia or to find out what you can do, click here.

Australia’s first national Paid Parental Leave Scheme will start on 1 January 2011. It will provide eligible working parents with 18 weeks of government-funded pay at the national minimum wage, currently $570 a week before tax and can be taken any time within the first year after birth of your child.

If you are planning on starting or expanding your family and would like to know if you are eligible to receive this benefit, contact one of our friendly staff to discuss your situation.

The Reserve Bank of Australia held a meeting on November 2nd and the Board decided to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent, effective 3 November 2010. The media release states that "The global economy grew faster than trend over the year to mid 2010. Global growth will probably ease back to about trend pace over the coming year as strong recoveries in the emerging world give way to a more sustainable pace of expansion and growth remains subdued in the United States and Europe." The full media release statement or the minutes of the meeting held by the RBA can be accessed on their website.

On a more positive note, according to news.com.au, the RBA has indicated that the cash rate is likely to stay at its current level of 4.75 per cent for the rest of the year, with governor Glenn Stevens stating that "market forecasts of a rate rise in February next year were realistic."