National home loan affordability fell “dramatically” in 2021, with a record calendar year decline of 14.5 per cent, according to non-bank lender Bluestone. Bluestone Home Loans has released its Home Loan Affordability Index for December quarter, revealing the index fell to 93.8 in December 2021 quarter compared to 82.9 in the December 2020 quarter. The latest…
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The governor of the Reserve Bank has defended the central bank’s cash rate forecasting, despite increasing expectations from market that a rate rise will come sooner than flagged. Speaking to the House of Representatives standing committee on economics for its hearing on monetary policy on Friday (11 February), the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia…
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Despite an easing in the quarterly growth rate, national construction costs increased 7.3% over the 2021 calendar year – the highest annual growth rate since March 2005, according to the latest figures from CoreLogic. CoreLogic’s Cordell Construction Cost Index (CCCI) found a softening in quarterly construction cost growth in Q4 to 1.1%, from the 3.8% surge…
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Professional accounting bodies have welcomed the federal government’s move to make COVID-19 testing expenses tax-deductible and FBT exempt. In an address to Australian Industry Group on Monday (7 February), Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed the federal government would look to ensure COVID-19 testing expenses are tax-deductible. “Since the start of 2022, the Government has secured more than 80 million Rapid…
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The ATO has urged businesses to consider the use of e-invoicing as it becomes the new and improved way to send and receive invoices for organisations. In a recent update, the ATO said that the adoption of e-invoicing can help businesses simplify and automate the exchange and processing of invoices. “Government agencies, business, and software…
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Capital cities, regional areas, houses and units all saw an increase in rents last quarter, culminating in the highest calendar year growth rate since 2007. CoreLogic’s quarterly Rental Review shows the national rental index increased 1.9% during the December quarter, a repeat of the figures recorded in the September quarter. Despite quarterly growth rates easing since…
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In February last year, the ATO launched a new compliance campaign targeted at late lodgements in response to concerns that a lapse in lodgement often indicates broader regulatory issues. ATO assistant commissioner, SMSF segment Justin Micale noted at the time that despite the due date for lodgement of the 2019 SMSF annual return being deferred until 30…
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Switching to less-frequent payroll periods can save time and money on payroll processing costs, but to navigate the change successfully, you need to recalculate payments, make changes to your accounting software, and communicate with your employees about the change. Weekly Payroll Sending out weekly pay slips results in processing payroll 52 times per year and…
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Interest rates could be hiked as early as May, economists have predicted following a sharp rise in inflation. Australia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose to a bigger-than-expected 1.3% in the December quarter, pushed up by soaring petrol and housing construction costs. The figure is up from an 0.8% increase over the previous three-month period. The…
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Small Business Australia is appealing for Canberra officials to replace the SME Recovery Loan Scheme with the revenue contingent loan (RCL) of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). The scheme allows SME owners to access low-rate loans with the option of deferring repayments for up to 24 months to give them more breathing space as…
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