The federal government has announced financial support is available for flood-impacted victims, as major flooding continues in South-East Queensland and the NSW North Coast. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Queenslanders impacted by the unfolding “flooding disaster” can apply for up to $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child, as part of the government’s Disaster…
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National Australia Bank (NAB) has warned mortgage holders that their loan repayments could climb by a third, or an average of $721, during the next 18 months. A surge home loan pain would also see Australian borrowers experiencing the tightest budget pressures in a decade. NAB has forecasted mortgage rates to increase by 2.25 percentage…
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Small business owners often waste time. Even though a study conducted by TSheets (now QuickBooks Time) found that nearly 60% of self-employed workers in the U.S. said they either worked every weekend or every other weekend, if you’re truly honest with yourself, you’ll probably admit that there’s a difference between spending time on work-like activities…
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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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