New Superannuation Rules Revolutionise Retirement Planning

New Superannuation Rules Revolutionise Retirement Planning

The 2006/07 Budget Statement included a number of proposals to simplify and streamline superannuation rules in Australia. Some of the most important of these include:

An adjustment to the existing component based taxation system to allow tax free lump sum or pension superannuation benefits for people aged 60 and over if paid from a taxed fund after 1 July 2007. It doesn't come much simpler than tax free and this represents a real bonus for retirees in this age bracket.

Reasonable Benefit Limits (RBLs) are to be abolished meaning that you would be able to accumulate a larger concessionally taxed benefit in superannuation without worrying about paying penalty tax on exit.

Retirees need no longer draw their super should they cease work after age 65 and need no longer exit their superannuation fund at age 75. You will be able to remain in a fund for life drawing either a lump sum or pension when required.

In a press release issued 13 June 2006, the Government has decided to bring forward the removal of the payment rules for people aged 65 and over to 10 May 2006. This would allow people who are over 65 and no longer working and people aged 75 to defer cashing their superannuation benefits to take advantage of the new tax regime and flexible draw down rules applying from 1 July 2007.

Deductible contribution rules are also to change in an effort to encourage a higher level of superannuation savings from an earlier age with a new universal limit of $50,000 irrespective of an employee's age. This is higher than the current age based deductible limit for those under 50 but lower than the existing limit for those aged 50 and over. Transitional arrangements should apply to the latter allowing for deductible contributions of up to $100,000 until 2012 with the limit then reverting to $50,000. Employers will be allowed to make deductible super contributions for employees until they reach age 75. The deductible contributions cap of $50,000 will be indexed to AWOTE in increments of $5,000. The transitional cap of $100,000 will not be indexed. Contributions in excess of the deductible cap will be taxed at the highest marginal tax rate plus Medicare levy and will also count towards the undeducted contribution cap.

Existing deductible contribution rules for the self-employed are to be abolished with the self-employed to be treated the same way as employees. It is also proposed that the self-employed will have access to the Government co-contribution scheme under an adjusted income test.

For more information on current and proposed deductible superannuation contribution limits see maximising tax deductions on superannuation contributions.

The amount of personal contributions for which no tax deduction is available (post-tax or undeducted contributions) is now limited to $150,000 per annum subject to the following transitional arrangement.

On 5th September 2006, following a period of consultation, the Government announced a transitional cap of $1 million on undeducted (post-tax) contributions made between 10 May 2006 and 30 June 2007. This will be available to all individuals eligible to contribute to superannuation in the relevant year and will include any contributions already made during that period. A transitional arrangement also allows persons who were aged 64 between 10 May and 15 September 2006 to make personal contributions to superannuation up to 30 June 2007 without having to satisfy the work test and allow persons who were aged 74 between 10 May and 15 September 2006 to be able to make personal contributions to superannuation up to 30 June 2007 subject to meeting the work test. The annual cap on post-tax contributions of $150,000, and the ability to make larger contributions of up to $450,000, will commence on 1 July 2007.

Post-tax contributions made on or after 1 July 2007 will be subject to a cap of $150,000 in a financial year. Averaging provisions will allow $450,000 to be made for individuals under age 65 permitting larger once-off payments. Persons age 65 and over will be restricted to contributing $150,000 per financial year provided they satisfy the work test (40 hours in 30 consecutive days in the financial year the contribution is made). No contributions can be made from age 75.

If a cap is not fully utilised in any year then the unused amount cannot be credited to a future year. The cap excludes the CGT exempt component from the sale of a small business. The exemption applies to the proceeds from the disposal of assets that qualify for the small business CGT exemptions up to a lifetime limit of $1 million (indexed) in addition to contributions allowed under the cap.

Legislation has since been passed giving effect to these proposals.

'Referred from Invest.com.au'

Recommendation for choosing the best Accounting Software to Small Businesses 3

MYOB Accounting & MYOB Accounting Plus

MYOB is a popular accounting software in Australia. MYOB Accounting Plus helps you manage both your business and payroll with ease.

With MYOB Accounting’s powerful inventory management system you’ll know exactly what’s in stock, on order and committed. It’s fully integrated with the sales and purchases features, so your stock listing is always up to date and accurate.

MYOB Accounting automatically adjusts your inventory as you buy and sell items so you always know what’s in stock.

MYOB Accounting goes much further than merely keeping a list of available stock—MYOB Accounting handles the most demanding requirements, and is used by many industrial and manufacturing business acress Australia.

MYOB Accounting has room to record everything you need to know about your contacts. Enter up to five addresses per contract and specify phone numbers and email addresses for each address.

Create personalised letters for customer-focused marketing and communication with Microsoft Word. MYOB Accounting seamlessly connects to Microsoft Office so you can communicate more efficiently with you contacts.

MYOB Accounting Plus is packed with the same business management feature that you’ll find in MYOB Accounting, plus it automates your pay runs, calculates PAYG withholding, works out the super and then updates all your accounts automatically.

If you bill clients for your time, Accounting Plus can help you and your team to track every minute and every task performed for them. It’s easy to see what needs to be billed and how your employees are spending their time.

Following Prices are referred to Officework:

MYOB Accounting v16 is $349.00 EA

MYOB Accounting Plus v16 is $595.00 EA

# All information above is referred from www.officework.com.au

Recommendation for choosing the best Accounting Software to Small Businesses 2

Quicken, Quickbooks Accounting 2006/06 & Quickbooks Plus 2006/07

Exciting new time-saving features and powerful functionality make this a most-have for efficiency-minded business. Recommended by accountants everywhere, Quickbooks Plus gives you complete control over your payroll and stock tracking.

Quickbooks gives you easy-to-use tools and the latest tax tables you need to help manage and maintain control of your payroll. Fully integrated with Quickbooks, it saves you time and money by avoiding duplicate data entry and helping to avoid hassles associated with incorrect payroll withholding.

Once you get started, Quickbooks has over 100 reports and graphs providing an overview of your business at any time. Quickbooks is much more efficient than spreadsheets, word-processing, or paper ledger. Quickly and easily manage basic tasks like printing cheques, paying bills, generating reports, invoicing customers and tracking expenses.

Simply fill out familiar forms such as invoices, purchase orders, receipts and cheques. Quickbooks automatically updates your accounts to reflect each transaction, from writing a cheque to recording a sale.

Quickbooks Plus is full of information to help you manage and make decisions about your business. Tools help you compare alternatives, analyse your financial position, and set policies. You can have Quickbooks remind you when it’s time to pay bills, print forms such as invoices and purchase orders, print cheques, deposit money in the bank, enter memorised transactions, act on overdue invoices, or act on your personal To Do notes.

Users can now download their bank statements directly into Quickbooks with easy to use functionality. Match bank statement transactions to Quickbooks transactions in a straight-forward and easy process. You can also easily add transactions that exist on the bank statement but not in Quickbooks.

Quickbooks Accounting is a software package for small businesses that don’t need payroll or stock tracking, but need more than just “money-in” and “money-out”. Growing businesses will benefit from exciting new timesaving features and powerful functionality.

Trial software is available to download from www.quicken.com.au, You can buy Quickens from Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith and MYER, etc. Following Prices are referred to Officeworks:

Quicken, Quickbooks Accounting 2006/07 is $249.00 EA

Quicken, Quickbooks Plus 2006/07 is $549.00 EA

# All information above is referred to www.quicken.com.au

Recommendation for choosing the best Accounting Software to Small Businesses 1

Lack of aknowledge of accounting makes headache while bookkeeping?

PC Cashflow Manager is a computer-based, record-keeping system especially designed for small business. Using PC Cashflow Manager, you can reduce the time you spend on record keeping and manage your business.

-A computerised cashbook with a unique column format so you can customise to suit your business,

-Amazingly simply to record and report GST saving your hours of time and stress,

-The GST is automatically calculated for you and your BAS return will take just minutes,

-Sections to record receipts and payments and you are able to reconcile your bank accounts,

-Best of all, it is so simple that you don’t need to know anything about accounting.

And Invoice Manager is an add-on product for users of “PC Cashflow Manager”, it is a simple program to prepare invoices and control money owed to you by your customers and, if you wish, money owed by you to your suppliers.

-Manage both Sales receipts (debtors) and Purchase invoices (creditors),

-Have different price structures for up to 5 Customer ‘types’,

-Track Income and Expenses to specific jobs,

-Transfer receipts and payments processed in Invoice Manager back to Cashflow Manager,

-Create Purchases Orders, Manage Invoices from Suppliers and Customise your own Invoice, Statements, etc,

-Print Receipts,

You can find out more information from www.cashflow-manager.com/australia

The price for Cashflow Manager v6 is only $249 and you can order it online through www.cashflow-manager.com/australia

*Demo is available to download

**Invoice Manager is not sold as a stand-alone package. It is only available as an add-on product for users of ‘PC Cashflow Manager’.

# All information above is referred to www.cashflow-manager.com/australia

Prices list

Orange-Sky Bookkeeping Services Overview

Orange-Sky Bookkeeping Services specialises in full bookkeeping services for the small businesses and is based in Melbourne. Bookkeeping is the art of knowing exactly where your business is financially at any point in time. Correctly performed, bookkeeping can provide the basis for most business decisions. I’m sure you have found that the financial record keeping can easily become overwhelming while you concentrating on your core business. Orange-Sky Bookkeeping Services can help you get away from the mess of paperwork and back to running your business

By utilising Orange-Sky Bookkeeping Services, you’ll save your time and money on your books and achieve better results. Professionally prepared financial records are powerful information tools. You can count on Orange-Sky to provide accurate, expert bookkeeping services with an eye toward providing you with the information necessary for you need to build your business.

Orange-Sky Bookkeeping Services include:

-Data Entry

-BAS & PAYG Monthly or Quarterly Return Preparation

-End of Financial Year Taxation Preparation

-Accounting Softwares installation and Training , such as Myob, Quickbooks, Cashflow, etc

*Accounting software installation and training consists of: identification process, installation and training of a client’s personnel in the accurate and comprehensive use of an effective accounting software system. Orange-Sky also provides follow-up assistance and ongoing support to ensure that you are getting the most out of your software investment.

Oh cool, Orange-Sky Bookkeeping Services started Running from today^^

ABN Number

82 156 858 167