• SMSF - Do you have a will?
• New Paid Parental Leave - How does it work?
• Free ATO Tax Seminars
• ATO and the Cash Economy
• Special Offer -  Save $100 with FindMyLocal
• Client Secure Sites - Have you got one?
• Going forward with Banklink
• Reminder to Lodge 2010
• Important Dates
• Client Testimonial

Welcome Note

Welcome to What's Happening at DSR in November.

Each month we aim to bring you interesting and tax effective ideas for saving you money, growing your business and ultimately building a successful retirement plan.

Remember...

'whatever your financial and accounting needs we can work with you to find a solution'.

Approximately 60% of Australian’s die without a will in place.

The average age of people with a will is 82 and the average age of people who die without a will is 62. Apparently, the majority of us believe that we are all going to die of extreme old age.

Dying intestate can be complex enough but if you have a Self Managed Superannuation Fund the situation can become even more complex. Dying without a will in place is likely to mean that there will be a significant period of time before your beneficiaries can access your superannuation - even if you have binding death benefit nominations in place. The reason is that once the trustee dies, there may not be anyone with the legal authority to approve the payment of your superannuation to your nominated beneficiaries. If you are a Director of a trustee company with multiple directors, it will depend on whether the trust deed and the company constitution allow the other directors to act without you.

With many of us building a significant amount of wealth within SMSFs, it’s important that these funds are not unnecessarily tied up when our families most need them. 

Talk to us today if you need more information about putting a will in place.

The Federal Government’s paid parental leave scheme is open for business.  Available to eligible parents whose babies are born or adopted from 1 January 2011, the scheme opened for registrations on 1 October.

Expectant parents can apply to access the scheme through the Family Assistance Office (FAO) up to 3 months prior to the birth of their child.  During the six month phase-in period of the scheme, employers can opt into the scheme.  If they don’t, the FAO will administer the parental leave payments for them.  From 1 July 2011 however, responsibility for administering the scheme will predominantly fall to employers.

Read on...

The Australian Taxation Office conducts free tax seminars throughout the year.

On Tuesday 23 November a seminar for small business operators is being help at Wests Newcastle in Mayfield.

This Free seminar covers the fundamentals of tax for small business, including Business structures, Income tax and deductions GST; and Budgeting for tax and paying your business tax; and aims to teach tax issues relevant to owning and operating a small business and provide practical tips for your business.

To register go to ATO Seminars

ATO and the Cash Economy

The ATO collects information from all sources and conducts a range of data matching projects designed to address specific industries and/or issues. This activity identifies trends within these groups and help develop education and compliance strategies to address any deficiencies. All data matching programs are designed to address issues such as non-lodgment of income tax returns, detection of those outside the tax system, recovery of debt and correct declaration of income.

The intent is to ensure conformance with income tax, superannuation, goods and services tax and fringe benefits tax.
Some examples of data matching programs the ATO has established to target businesses participating in the cash economy include:

• Data from banks that identifies credit and debit card sales made by Australian businesses. This data is matched against taxpayer records to identify those participating in the cash economy and who are potentially skimming some or all of their cash takings or in other ways not reporting all of their income.
• Data obtained from state and territory motor vehicle registering bodies that is matched against taxpayer records. This is to identify those participating in the cash economy by not declaring income to deliberately avoid their tax obligations.
• Data obtained from the major plasterboard suppliers in New South Wales (NSW) in order to detect plastering businesses that are participating in the cash economy by doing work off the books in order to deliberately avoid their tax obligations.
• Data obtained data from eBay Australia and Trading Post Australia to assess the level of taxation compliance of individuals and businesses that sell goods or services online.
• Data obtained from ASX Ltd, Computershare, Link Market Services and Registries Ltd aims to improve ATO compliance capability in relation to capital gains tax on the disposal of shares.

These projects are ongoing and the methods of capturing data is becoming more sophisticated. The ATO's aim is to make it harder for small business operate in a cash economy and get away with not reporting cash income - therefore making it fairer for everyone. 

Did you know...In 2009 Australians spent $24 billion dollars online and of the 7.9 million searches Australians do each day, 42% of them are looking for local businesses.

To get your piece of the pie you need a strong online presence for your business which can be both expensive and time consuming - but it doesn't have to be!

A listing in a good local business directory will help more customers find your business online whether you already have a website or not.

FindMyLocal.com.au is the major online business directory for the Central Coast.

For the next 14 days they’ve agreed to offer our clients a generous discount off their already low listing fee… Instead of  paying $299, clients of Davis Stewart Rowland will receive their 12 month listing for $199!

They've got our listing on FindMyLocal.com.au – click here now to get yours or to find out more.

DSR Secure Client Sites.....a clever way to store your business tax information

Managed through our website, your secure area can provide you with exclusive access to reports and documents that we hold in our files that you may wish to access and you can print, download or view at your convenience.

Just let us know what tax information you need, and we can make it available on your Secure Site.

It is highly mobile and you can log in whilst meeting with your bank manager for direct access to information. No more worry about finding your information in a pile of papers at home, this is a one stop library for your tax information.

Your secure site is also an excellent way to transfer your tax information files to us. Files up to 200MB  can be sent through with no problem.

If you want to know more about this complimentary service talk to your accountant today.

The Banklink System allows us to complete your accounts efficiently and accurately, whilst saving you precious time and money.

Your financial institution can simply provide our office with your bank statement data electronically and securely encrypted. From here we can process all your transactions with minimal input from you.

It is that SIMPLE.

No more worry over missing bank statements or spending hours at your computer doing your monthly book work. Banklink frees up your time so you can focus on important matters like running your business or doing the things you like to do.

The number of  clients now using Banklink is increasingly rapidly and they are discovering that the hours they spent preparing their accounts each month, has now turned into just minutes.

To view a short demonstration on the benefits of Banklink - Banklink Service Presentation

So do yourself a favour and make sure the time you have left at the end of the week isn't wasted on writing up your books or data entry.

Call us today to discuss how Banklink will work for you.

Reminder to Lodge 2010

With the Christmas period fast approaching now is a good time to get your tax records together for the preparation of your 2010 tax work.

Our office will be closing for the Christmas/New Year period from midday Wednesday 22 December 2010 and will reopen on Monday 10 January 2011.

If  you give us your tax work prior to our office closing, we can plan to have your work completed early 2011.

For those anticipating refunds, it is a nice start to the new year!

Give us a call today for an appointment, post in or drop off your work at reception. 

Important Dates

22 November 2010
 - October 2010 Monthly IAS

25 November 2010
 - July-Sep 2010 Business Activity Statements - Tax Agents

Davis Stewart Rowland's service and commitment enables me to do the important things like running my business. It is a real asset to have an accountant who is available when you need them and not just during office hours. 

Warwick Dowton
Coast Interior Linings Pty Ltd

About Davis Stewart Rowland

Davis Stewart Rowland is a three partner firm located at The Entrance on the NSW Central Coast. With over 50 years experience we have an in-depth knowledge of what the business owner and investor needs to embark and stay on the path of growth and wealth creation.

We have a unique appreciation of the issues business owners and investors face, which makes us an integral part of our client's advisory team. Our comprehensive approach includes:

• Benchmarks
• Tax minimisation plans
• Cash flow forecasting
• Business information processing
• Management & strategic advice

Whatever your needs we can help find a solution.

Contact us today