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    Income tax

    This Month

    While it’s technically possible for someone to pay no income tax, it’s highly unlikely.

    Is it possible to pay no income tax?

    It is nonsensical to spend money just to get a tax deduction because you’re still out of pocket.

    • Penny Wise

    July

    The change will turn Australian tax principles on their head.

    There is a simpler, fairer way to tax super above $3m

    Australia will soon become the only pension system in the world to tax unrealised capital gains.

    • Peter Burgess
    Why is Australia doing well on income mobility relative to other countries? One big reason is tertiary education.

    The land of the fair go is taxing social mobility

    Australia’s antiquated over-reliance on income taxes means that if you do manage to succeed, then that success is taxed heavily.

    • Richard Holden
    Middle Australia has every opportunity to rise up the income ranks, according to new Productivity Commission analysis.

    Middle Australia is indeed the lucky country

    A suite of new data sources has enabled the Productivity Commission to revise its measure of economic mobility. The result surprised everyone.

    • Tom Burton

    Four ways to build wealth with your tax cuts

    Whether you’re trying to pay off your mortgage early or boost your super, put your extra income to good use.

    • Duncan Hughes
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    June

    Fast-rising wages and asset prices will leave more Australians facing Division 293 tax on their income and deciding whether to pay it from their super.

    Why you could be caught by the ‘wealth tax’ this year

    Fast-rising wages and asset prices will leave more Australians facing Division 293 tax on their income and deciding whether to pay it from their super.

    • Tom Richardson
    Wentworth MP Allegra Spender.

    Spender, Pocock join forces against $3m super tax grab

    The teal independent and the crossbench senator are working to stop the government taxing unrealised gains in its plans for large superannuation balances.

    • Phillip Coorey
    Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock are opposed to taxing unrealised gains.

    New blow to Labor’s tax hit on super

    Government plans to lift the tax rate on super accounts of more than $3 million have suffered a blow, with key Senate crossbenchers opposed to the changes.

    • Phillip Coorey
    If you’re someone who has historically been lax with record keeping, you can expect an audit from the Tax Office’s new AI-powered systems.

    How much extra tax you stand to pay because of bracket creep

    The average taxpayer will lose $2000 to the so-called stealth tax in the next four years, which will deliver the federal government an extra $29 billion in revenue.

    • Michael Read
    Did you gain stocks through an employee share plan? There are some issues to consider to reduce the tax bill.

    How to cut tax if you have an employee share plan

    Don’t assume the taxman won’t come knocking – this is how it works and what you can do to soften the blow.

    • Colin Lewis
    The top 1 per cent of earners paid a fifth of all income tax.

    Top earners and companies bear record tax burden

    Newly released ATO data reveals the top 1 per cent of earners are forking out almost one-fifth of personal tax revenue.

    • Michael Read and Tom McIlroy
    Divorce doesn’t have to be expensive and adversarial.

    Australia’s highest-paid jobs revealed

    Newly released Tax Office data showed surgeons topping the list of highest-paid professions, taking home a total income of more than $480,000.

    • Michael Read and Tom McIlroy
    Bring deductions forward and push income into the next financial year to take advantage of the stage three tax cuts.

    Eight ways high earners can maximise their tax returns

    The key message this tax time is to bring deductions forward and push income back.

    • Michelle Bowes
    Narendra Modi is set to become only the second prime minister in India’s history to return to office for the third straight term.

    Modi is still the boss

    Readers letters on the taxation system; Narendra Modi’s win in the Indian election; migration cuts; and tensions in Australia over the Gaza war

    Federal Treasury office building.

    Treasury is addicted to income tax to fund spending

    Virtually everyone is protected by the government from inflation eroding their real incomes, except the humble wage earner.

    • John Kehoe
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    May

    Debt recycling is a strategy used by the rich to get richer.

    How the rich use this tax strategy to get richer

    For many people, debt is a scary word. But debt can help build wealth so long as you’re careful about it.

    • Michelle Bowes
    Labor’s plan for Australia involves a much bigger role for government.

    Albanese’s crucial test: will people buy his big vision?

    The prime minister has unambiguously embraced a bigger role for government in Australia. The Coalition, in turn, sees an opportunity.

    • Ronald Mizen
    South Australia is the only state to exempt dentists operating in large medical centres.

    New tax hit could push up cost of your dentist visit

    Patients accessing dental services in large medical clinics around the country face possible price hikes from new payroll tax liabilities being imposed by state governments.

    • Tom McIlroy
    The ATO says Melbourne-based eReports owes it $1.4 million in unpaid taxes, while liquidators Cor Cordis says the company owes service providers more than $7.2 million.

    Victoria, South Australia exempt GPs from payroll tax

    The Victorian decision represents a backflip by the Allan government that will cost the state budget $10 million a year.

    • Gus McCubbing
     The Di Petta’s collection of Ford Mustang muscle cars, such as these examples pictured, were frozen by the court.

    ATO freezes former Young Rich Lister’s muscle cars, mansion

    The flamboyant accountant Steve Di Petta, who has a penchant for Ford Mustangs, is facing allegations he and his wife owe the Tax Office over $3 million.

    • Max Mason