Australian Taxation Office

Establishments of self-managed super funds numbered 7,152 in the March quarter, according to the latest Australian Taxation Office statistics, continuing the decline in numbers from the quarterly peak of 10,434 in September 2011.

What is a trust? A trust is simply an agreement where a person or a company agrees to hold an asset for the benefit of others. This article deals with family trusts set up during a person’s lifetime, as well as testamentary trusts set up through a Will. It examines why trusts are set up, and their advantages and disadvantages. It also explains the tax consequences and discusses the selection of beneficiaries.

From Financial Standard:

Debt. Credit card debt. Personal debt.  For many reasons, people may get themselves into financial difficulty with unmanageable debt levels. These reasons may include sickness, loss of job, broken relationships or purely over-commitment. This article explores methods of dealing with these situations for individuals from informal means to more formal approaches under the bankruptcy provisions to enable financial rehabilitation.

From Financial Standard:

Small business and the independent contractors are always a problem when it comes to tax compliance. ATO is ramping up their Personal Services Income (PSI) compliance programme. The ATO has already begun selecting individuals and other entities to be audited based on their 2009/10 and 2010/11 income tax returns.

The starting point is what type of business structure they are using. Is it a sole trader, partnership, company or family trust?

You may have started your own business for lifestyle reasons, better work-life balance or to be your own boss. But if you are honest a big reason you started working for yourself was probably to make money – to pay the bills and fund your lifestyle. If you are not comfortable with handling the cash flow issues of your business you need to accept this and get help. You will need a bookkeeper and an accountant.

When people think about working for themselves, they often consider purchasing a franchise. Franchises are usually familiar and give the impression of being a solid option, with professional marketing and support offered. As with any independent business opportunities there are pros and cons attached to buying and running a franchise. This post will walk you through the steps involved in buying a franchise, including how to perform the initial research, spot danger signs, make sense of the small print and manage the expectations of the franchisee and franchisor.

Working for yourself does not necessarily mean working by yourself. You may find it tempting to research opportunities to buyan already-established business, complete with staff and inventory.This option is primarily for entrepreneurs who don’t want to starta business from scratch and prefer to seek one which is alreadyoperational. It will give you an established name, existing customerbase and an immediate revenue stream.Searching for a business to buy can be difficult, and finding theright one to buy is tougher yet.