The 2021-22 Federal Budget is a balancing act between a better than anticipated deficit ($106 bn), an impending election, and the need
to invest in the long term.
It is also a human budget (cynics would say voter focussed), with $17.7 billion dedicated to aged care, more money in the pockets of low
income earners, the COVID vaccine rollout, $2 billion for mental health, a women’s economic package including a child care subsidy increase
and funding to prevent violence, and a Royal Commission into defence and veteran suicide.
KEY FEDERAL BUDGET INITIATIVES
Falling behind on your BAS lodgements looks like an administrative problem. Left long enough, it becomes an expensive one, because the GST you collected stays payable indefinitely while the GST credits you are owed disappear after four years. Here is what that looks like in dollars.
With negative gearing now quarantined for established dwellings, new house and land has become the sensible play for investors — but there is a trap in the first eighteen months. Interest on the land is denied, while interest on the construction is not. If the bank has written one loan, someone has to do the sums. Here is why it pays to split the loan before you sign.
When the draft legislation for the trust minimum tax was released, it came with a reassurance: if you do not want to restructure, you can simply make an election instead — no restructure, and no state stamp duty. That is accurate, but it is also a very small part of the decision. Here is why you should choose your structure for the eventual sale of your business, not for the announcement.
