Epoch News
Federal Budget 2025-26: For You and Your Family
From tax cuts to energy bill relief, here's our breakdown of what's in the federal budget for individuals and families. "Modest" two-stage personal income tax cut From1 July 2026 The Government will provide a "modest" tax cut to all taxpayers from 1 July 2026 and...
Federal Budget 2025-26: For Business
From beer tax pauses to the banning of non-compete clauses, here's what's in this year's budget for business. Non-compete clauses to be banned DateFrom 2027 The Government has announced that it will ban non-compete clauses for low and middle-income employees (under...
Trade wars and tariffs
Global Google searches for the word "tariffs" spiked dramatically between 30 January and 2 February 2025, a +900% increase to the previous 12 months. We look at what tariffs really mean. Who pays for tariffs? Tariffs increase imported goods' prices and reduce trade...
FBT 2025: What you need to know
The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends on 31 March. We've outlined the hot spots for employers and employees. FBT exemption for electric cars Employers that provide employees with eligible electric vehicles (EVs) can potentially qualify for an FBT exemption. This...
Threshold for tax-free retirement super increases
The amount of money that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement account will increase to $2m on 1 July 2025. The transfer balance cap is the amount that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement account. Each December, the cap is indexed to the Consumer Price...
What happens to super when you die?
The Government has announced its intention to introduce mandatory standards for large superannuation funds to, amongst other things, deliver timely and compassionate handling of death benefits. Do we have a problem with paying out super when a member dies? The value...
Why the ATO is targeting baby boomer wealth
"Succession planning, and the tax risks associated with it, is our number one focus in 2025. In recent years we've observed an increase in reorganisations that appear to be connected to succession planning."ATO Private Wealth Deputy Commissioner Louise Clarke The...
Tax deduction denied for signature basketball shoe R&D
The Federal Court has denied a sports company's appeal to claim research & development incentives for the creation of an Australian signature basketball shoe. The Movie Air highlighted the importance of the signature Air Jordan shoe to Nike. While...
What’s ahead in 2025?
The last few years have been a rollercoaster ride of instability. 2025 holds hope, but not a guarantee, of greater stability and certainty. We explore some of the key changes and challenges. An election Welcome to political advertising slipping into your social media,...
The tax and tinsel Q&A
Can you avoid giving the Australian Tax Office a gift this Christmas? The top Christmas party questions What can I do to make the staff Christmas party tax deductible or tax-free? Not have one? Ok, seriously, it's likely that you will pay tax one way or another; it's...