How much do we charge for a meeting?

CLIENT QUESTION:How much do you charge for a meeting?

OUR ANSWER:

I do not charge anyone anything for a meeting or for talking to me. 

You would only have to pay for your investment in our services if we are able to help you in some way or form. So your investment in our services is always based on the value we are able to deliver and not on the amount of time we spend doing the work or meeting you. And we would always let you know before hand what your investment in our services is going to be before we start any work.

ANSWERED BY SURESH RAJANI

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at Tax First - an accounting and business advisory firm located in Wayville, South Australia.

 

 www.taxfirst.com.au

 

 

 

How the 2012 federal budget affects individuals and families?

Here is a quick snap shot of how yesterday's federal budget would affect individuals and families.

FOR FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 2013

Tax Rates for 2012/2013 financial year
Taxable income $	Tax payable $
0 - 18,200 18,201 - 37,000 37,001 - 80,000 80,001 - 180,000 180,001+	Nil Nil + 19% of excess over 18,200 3,572 + 32.5% of excess over 37,000 17,547 + 37% of excess over 80,000 54,547 + 45% of excess over $180,000

Together with the Low Income Tax Offset low-income earners will have an effective tax-free threshold of $20,542.

 

Replacing the Education Tax Refund with a Schoolkids Bonus

From January 2013, every family with a child at school will be paid $410 per annum for each primary school student and $820 per annum for each secondary school student. All eligible families will receive the full rate of payment and will no longer need to keep receipts as proof of expense, or wait until lodging their income tax return to obtain the benefit.

Means testing medical expenses offset

The medical expenses tax offset will be means tested from 1 July 2012.

For people with adjusted taxable income above the Medicare levy surcharge thresholds ($84,000 for singles and $168,000 for couples or families in 2012-13), the threshold above which a taxpayer may claim the medical expenses offset will be increased to $5,000 (indexed annually thereafter). In addition, the rate of reimbursement will be reduced to 10% for eligible out-of-pocket expenses incurred. People with income below the surcharge thresholds will be unaffected.

Reduction of superannuation tax concessions for high income taxpayers

From 1 July 2012 the contributions tax paid on concessional contributions for individuals with income greater than a threshold figure of $300,000 will increase from the current 15% rate to the higher rate of 30%.

The definition of ‘income' under this measure is expected to include taxable income, concessional superannuation contributions, adjusted fringe benefits, total net investment loss, target foreign income, tax-free government pensions and benefits, less child support.

 

FOR FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 2014

Family Tax Benefit Part A

The maximum payment rate will increase by $300 per annum for families with one child and $600 per annum for two or more children from 1 July 2013.

SUMMARISED BY SURESH RAJANI

If you want to discuss the above further or want to know about how the budget affects you in person give Suresh Rajani a call at 08 8372 7837. 

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at Tax First - an accounting and business advisory firm located in Wayville, South Australia.

How to reduce your debtor amount and days?

CLIENT QUESTION:
My debtors amount and days are growing. What should I do?

OUR ANSWER:
I have seen lots of businesses who make the mistake of focussing on increasing their sales but showing no urgency in collecting their money from customers (debtors). Remember you are in the business of supplying whatever it is you supply and not in the business of lending your money to finance your debtors' businesses.

The first thing that you need to do is change your attitude towards debtors. Your attitude should revolve around the thoughts "Its my business so the debtors should play by my rules" and "The money they are not paying is my money and I should not be afraid or embarrased to ask for it."

Once you have psyched up with the attitude above you should then develop a debtor policy that revolves around:

1. Having a standard number of days in which all invoices should be paid. Do not under the pressure to make more sales increase the standard payment terms. Remember - your business your rules.
2. Tracking your debtors. Keep a track of the invoices and if an invoice has not been paid a day before the due date, give the debtor a courtesy reminder that their invoice is up for payment the following day.
3. Changing the sales terms to cash payment right upfront if a customer has not previously paid on time before.

ANSWERED BY SURESH RAJANI

If you want to move your business in the right direction give Suresh Rajani a call at 08 8372 7837. 

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at Tax First - an accounting and business advisory firm located in Wayville, South Australia.

I am not getting a job in the field of my education. What should I do?

CLIENT QUESTION:

I have finished university and am looking for a job in my field but I get knocked back as I don't have experience in the industry. How am I suppose to have experience when they don't give me a job? What should I do?

OUR ANSWER:

The first thing you should do is accept responsibility. The fact that you don't have any experience in your industry is not the fault of the person knocking you back but yours for not having accumulated experience along the way. You are not the first and wont be the last person who gets this response from potential employers. Most of us would go through the same experience and the fact that there are lots of people out there who are working in their industry of study is a testimony to the fact that people have been able to break through the barrier.

As cliche as it sounds, the second thing you need to do is work harder and smarter to get that first job in the industry of your education. Remember "It's not where you start that matters, but where you end". So stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself and start networking with the people in your field.

ANSWERED BY SURESH RAJANI

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at Tax First - an accounting and business advisory firm located in Wayville, South Australia.

How we can help hiding income from the tax office?

CLIENT QUESTION:

I want to hide income from the tax office. How can you help me do that?

OUR ANSWER:

I am in the business of helping people improve their financial positions and not in the business of defrauding others. 

There are lots of legitimate ways of planning for your tax but hiding your income from the tax office is not one of them. We do not deal with people who want to defraud the government or others so unfortunately we can not provide our services to you.

ANSWERED BY SURESH RAJANI

Suresh Rajani is the Business Leader at Tax First - an accounting and business advisory firm located in Wayville, South Australia.