Principals of Ryan and Rankmore Chartered Accountants, Kevin Rankmore and Roger Estens wish to congratulate new Principal Tim Lacey in being granted his Registered Company Auditors licence by the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC). Roger Estens explains;

“As Ryan & Rankmore Chartered Accountants, has continued to grow, Kevin and I discussed adding a new Principal to the firm to assist with the management of our client base. Tim has worked at the firm and has demonstrated the skills and experience we were looking for, so he became the obvious choice to make the progression to being Principal, which occurred on the 1^st of July 2016.”

Roger continued “After meeting the educational and experience requirements set out by ASIC Tim completed the extensive application process and was granted his auditors registration.”

With four (4) Registered Company Auditors, Ryan and Rankmore Chartered Accountants provides auditing services to a wide range of clients including;

• Not for Profit Entities.
• Private Schools.
• Licenced Clubs, Sporting and Community Organisations.
• Aboriginal Medical Services an Local Aboriginal Lands Councils

If your organisation requires assistance with an audit or requires an obligation free quote please contact Kevin, Roger and Tim today on (02) 6884 4474 (Dubbo), (02) 6845 2177 (Wellington), (02) 6847 2177 (Gilgandra) or email on administrator@ryanrank.com

The Principals of Ryan and Rankmore Chartered Accountants are pleased to announce that the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) has granted the firm a limited Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) as of the 25^th May 2017.

Principal, Kevin Rankmore, explained that as of the 1^st of July 2016 the exemption Accountants were operating under which allowed them to provide specific advice in regards to Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) was removed.

“In order for Accounting firms like Ryan & Rankmore to continue to provide specialist advice around SMSF’s, the Principals of the firm have completed a Diploma of Financial Planning. This has allowed us to meet the educational requirements to apply for a limited AFSL. In effect, the granting of the limited AFSL allows Ryan & Rankmore to continue to provide the services we have always been providing.”

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of an SMSF or need assistance in the establishment, management and auditing of your SMSF, contact Kevin, Roger and Tim today on (02) 6884 4474 (Dubbo); (02) 6845 2177 (Wellington) and (02) 6847 2177 (Gilgandra) or email on administrator@ryanrank.com

Principal Roger Estens has been added to the Register of Approved Auditors by the New South Wales Aboriginal Lands Council (NSWALC) as of the 3rd May 2017.

Any local Aboriginal Lands Councils that require accounting or audit services are encouraged to contact the team at Ryan & Rankmore on

02 6884 4474 – Dubbo

02 6845 2177 – Wellington

02 6847 2177 – Gilgandra

or email administrator@ryanrank.com

The ATO has reminded taxpayers that that the assessable income threshold for claiming a tax offset for contributions made to a spouse’s eligible superannuation fund will increase to $40,000 from 1 July 2017 (the current threshold is $13,800). The current 18% tax offset of up to $540 will remain in place. However, a taxpayer will not be entitled to the tax offset when their spouse who receives the contribution has exceeded the non-concessional contributions cap for the relevant year or has a total superannuation balance equal to or more than the general transfer balance cap immediately before the start of the financial year when the contribution was made. The general transfer balance cap is $1.6 million for the 2017–2018 year.

The offset will still reduce for spouse incomes above $37,000 and completely phase out at incomes above $40,000.

TIP: Contact us for more information about making the most of super contributions for you and your spouse.

Our offices will be closing at 5:00pm on Thursday 13th April 2017 for the Easter Long Weekend. We look forward to welcoming you back from 8:30am on Tuesday 18th April 2017.

Kevin, Roger and Tim, along with our team wish you a happy and safe Easter with your family and friends.

The ATO will visit more than 400 businesses across Perth and Canberra in April as part of a campaign to help small businesses stay on top of their tax affairs. The primary focus is on businesses operating in the cash and hidden economies. ATO officers will be visiting restaurants and cafés, hair and beauty and other small businesses in these cities to make sure their registration details are up to date. These businesses represent the greatest areas of risk and highest numbers of reports to the ATO from across the country, and the visits are part of the ATO’s ongoing program of compliance work.

Our offices will be closed from 1pm Friday 23rd December 2016 and will reopen from 8:30am on Monday 9th January 2017 for the Christmas break.

Kevin, Roger and Tim, along with all of our staff would like to wish our valued clients a Merry Christmas.

A taxpayer has been unsuccessful before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a land tax dispute in arguing that there was a “constructive trust” in relation to three residential properties. The taxpayer, a father, had purchased the properties for each of his three adult children to live in. There were agreements that the children would pay their parents rent and, upon the death of both parents, as specified in mutual wills, the property would be left to the respective child. The Queensland Commissioner of State Revenue assessed land tax on the aggregate value of the three properties as at 30 June 2013 and 30 June 2014 respectively. The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner’s decision, holding that the taxpayer was the “owner” of the properties and it was not convinced that there was a “constructive trust”. Therefore, it held the exemption under the Land Tax Act 2010 (Qld) to assess separately trust land did not apply. In this case, the Tribunal hinted at the possibility that in future assessments the taxpayer could, on sufficient evidence, persuade the Commissioner or Tribunal otherwise.

For parents looking to assist their adult children with buying homes, this case highlights the need to consider land tax implications. It is important to note that the land tax regimes differ from state to state. Please contact our office for assistance.

An individual taxpayer has been unsuccessful before AAT in seeking to have excess superannuation concessional contributions for the 2014 financial year ignored. In addition to having a full-time job, the individual also held a number of casual part-time jobs. To grow his retirement savings, he salary sacrificed super, but he did not check on his super balances. In June 2015, the individual was advised by the ATO that he had excess concessional contributions of around $11,000 for the 2014 financial year, an amount which was added back to his taxable income. He was therefore charged interest of $250. The AAT praised the individual’s efforts to save for his retirement, but it said the circumstances did not amount to “special circumstances” in which it could invoke its powers to ignore the excess contributions.

The taxpayer’s ultimate tax bill in this case would have been the same if he had stayed under the relevant cap, albeit the tax bill would have been met by PAYG deductions over time. Even so, this case is a good reminder for to monitor your super balances to ensure you don’t have a tax burden caused by extra contributions being added back to your taxable income.