Welcome to the June edition of our Newsletter.
Winter has begun and thankfully the extended dry spell has broken with some early winter rains to start the season for our all-important agricultural sector and to water our parched gardens. I am sure the farmers will be looking skyward keen for follow up rains very soon and for those that may have missed out, commencing rains.
I have spent a bit of time on the health system lately, which has made me pretty keen to stay out of it! Trying to assist my elderly Mother navigate the healthcare system is both complicated and time consuming. Elderly people left to try and do it alone would face considerable difficulty. The lack of information sharing between health providers renders the system significantly less efficient and effective than it otherwise could be. It doesn’t appear to be a major issue for political parties to focus on when there is just such an extreme amount of energy put into the move to a greener economy and carbon neutrality.
The pragmatic and practical are considerably left behind when there is such a hyper focus on an issue to which Australia apparently contributes just over 1%. I’m not suggesting it’s not important, however the domination of the issue in our society allows many other issues to really get little focus or attention, to our significant detriment.
June is the last month of the financial year, and a good time to take stock of your business or personal financial affairs. Touching base with your accountant to consider year-end tax planning and simply looking over how you have performed over the previous twelve months, is a good idea. Considering what you might like to do both prior to June 30 and for the ensuing twelve months is a worthwhile exercise.
We saw the latest Federal Budget handed down on 16 May in which some items of interest to our clients were included. The instant asset write-off for small businesses was extended out to 30 June 2025. Small businesses can buy assets up to $20,000.00 and fully depreciate them in the year of acquisition for a further twelve months. This is not limited to one asset only but can be applied to multiple assets under that value.
For individuals and eligible small businesses, the energy rebate will be welcome, it provides $300 for individuals and $325 for eligible small businesses. Whilst clients should be aware of the new tax thresholds and the increase in superannuation guarantee charge that commence on 1 July. The Superannuation Guarantee moves to 11.5% from 1 July and also importantly for clients looking to continue to build their super balances, the cap on contributions has been lifted to $30,000.00 per annum from $27,500 for concessional contributions. The non-concessional contributions cap increases from $110,000.00 to $120,000.00 as of 1 July 2024 also.
Winter is a good time to cozy up, enjoy some time with family and friends, drink good red wine and take stock of where you are at and where you are going. Enjoy the cold and make the most of each day, even though there appears a fair bit of chaos out there, it’s still great to be alive and meet the challenges as they present.
Enjoy this month’s newsletter and I trust you all have a healthy, happy and successful June; as always if you have any questions or concerns in areas where we may be able to assist, feel free to give us a call, as we say… we’re here to help!
Please telephone our main office number on (08) 8231 6100 or email reception@ezralegal.com.au.
For information on the range of legal advice and services that we provide, head to:
Michael Fabbro
Practice Principal
Ezra Legal
