Week 6 Flashcards
Tax Planning
BE AWARE OF CHANGES ANNOUNCED BY THE LABOUR PARTY AND ALSO ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE ANNUAL BUDGET
Awareness of tax planning issues and strategies is of paramount importance to financial planners in their provision of comprehensive financial planning services
The awareness is based on maximising the real rate of return of the taxpayer taking into account:
inflation factor
taxation incident
Tax effective common strategies
Gearing - Negative gearing Income splitting Buying tax-effective investments Salary packaging Income vs capital growth Business structures
Building wealth with borrowed money
‘Gearing’ simply means borrowing money to invest.
Gearing
Gearing describes the use of borrowed money to buy investment assets.
Benefits of Gearing
Increase in value of leveraged asset.
Service debt from existing income.
Risks of Gearing
‘Servicing’ of borrowed funds.
Decline in asset value.
Negative Gearing
Negative gearing occurs
where an investor buys an asset using borrowed funds, and
the costs of owning the asset are higher than the income from the asset.
Popular because the ATO allows losses to be claimed against personal income.
Most common types are rental properties, share portfolio or investment in managed funds.
Positive Gearing
Positive gearing is the use of borrowed funds to purchase an income producing asset where the income is greater than the interest expense and other associated costs.
Not considered tax effective.
Good retirement income strategy.
Risk-minimisation strategy for investors particularly if seeking long-term capital gains.
Margin Lending
Margin lending occurs when a lender advances funds and the amount borrowed is secured by investment assets.
Money is generally borrowed to invest in shares and managed funds.
This value is set at the beginning of the loan and will change as the market value of the portfolio changes.
It is appropriate strategy for high risk investors.
BENEFITS
Margin Lending
Greater access to wealth-creating assets Diversification Liquidity Personal income tax benefits Direct investing and management
RISKS
Margin Lending
Capital losses
Funding interest payments
Funding margin calls
Fluctuating value of the portfolio
Margin Lending- Mechanics
The maximum amount you can borrow against each security is called its Security Value, and is determined by the Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) assigned to that security.
The Lender determines the LVR and is highest for stocks with high capitalisation and low for small or speculative stocks.
LVR= Amount of loan / Total investment portfolio
The LVR must be maintained and if it is exceeded a margin call must be made
Lender may provide a buffer ( usual 5 -10%) above the LVR of the stock or portfolio before a margin call needs to be made.
Margin Lending- Issues
Investor profile must be high risk tolerance Diversify portfolio Monitor your investment Maintain a low LVR ratio Maintain emergency cash for margin calls Use Options to protect severe downturns Interest rate costs Reinvest Dividends Read terms of the loan agreement Who owns the shares? Seek Financial Advice
Income splitting
Overall tax can be reduced through shifting certain income from a high marginal rate taxpayer to taxpayers at lower marginal rates.
Shifting income to minors is not feasible.
Is only possible for investment income. Income from personal exertion and income of certain professional partnerships (e.g. accountants) cannot assign income.
Strategies:
setting up trusts
diverting income to minors through family trust: $416
investments in name of non-working spouse
Tax effective investments
Investments in shares (dividend imputation)
Superannuation (income earned within the fund taxed at maximum of 15%)
Friendly society and insurance bonds
Investment in forestry schemes eg plantations
- tax deductible