Posted on September 12, 2014 by Christabelle Harris
When someone close to you passes away it is an emotional time. At a time when you are grieving for a loved one, the last thing you want to consider is financial and taxation issues. Unfortunately, this is a reality, but please know that we are here to help make this part of the process easier for you.
Deceased estates are taxed differently from individuals and other Trusts. It is the executor’s responsibility for managing the deceased estate and ensuring all taxation requirements are fulfilled.
When a person passes away there is generally a requirement to lodge two income tax returns.
Firstly, there will be a final personal tax return for the deceased for any income earned from the start of the financial year until the date of death.
Secondly, there may also be a tax return for the deceased estate for any income from the date of death to the end of the financial year. An estate return may need to be lodged for each income year until the deceased estate is fully administered.
A deceased estate will be taxed at individual rates with the benefit of the full tax-free threshold for the first three tax returns while the deceased estate is being administrated. If the administration goes beyond the three years then special tax rates apply which are significantly higher than individual tax rates.
Deceased estates have specific rules surrounding lodgement and taxation of estate income and assets. We recommend you contact our office should your required any assistance in administering the tax affairs for an estate.
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Posted on March 24, 2014 by Christabelle Harris
Aged care provider Southcare has appointed its first board member under 30 years of age in a move it hopes will motivate other young people to follow suit.
Ashley Dawson, who is 29, was officially appointed to the board following a program intended to inject more youth into the aged care sector.
Southcare chief executive Nicky Howe is one of the key drivers of the Young Leaders in Aged Care program launched earlier this year, which is funded by a social innovation grant worth $180,000.
“You only have to look around the boards and committees of most aged care and community organisations to see that they are full of, dare I say it, grey-haired men”. Ms Howe told Business News.
“So the motivation for me was about getting diversification on to boards and making sure that we have good governance and future governance.”
Fellow aged care providers MercyCare and Baptistcare were also part of the program to educate young leaders on board directorships and have since appointed younger members, but Ms Howe said it took some convincing to get involvement from others.
“I’d have chief executives ring me up and say “are you for real?” she said.
“I think (older board members) do have legitimate concerns, when you’re a board member you do have a lot of responsibilities they saw (lack of experience) as the barrier.
“But lack of experience is only one of the issues of not being an effective board member, there’s a whole load of things that make a board member ineffective.”
Ms Dawson was introduced to the Southcare board under a traineeship, and appointed as a member at the board’s last meeting.
She said her motivation for getting involved stemmed from working the aged care sector as a university student, reinforced by her accounting experience and seeing clients navigate boardroom strategy.
But the agreed there was a definite scepticism at her ability to contribute.
“It’s just about age, and I think there’s an assumption that a young person doesn’t have life experience, so how can they contribute to a board.” Ms Dawson said.
“But it’s not just about having a number of years clocked up on the board, it’s also about having a different skill set and a different perspective.
“The not-for-profit sector as a whole needs to embrace programs like this, otherwise in five or 10 years’ time we’re going to be severely lacking n board members at all.”
Seats on a not-for-profit board can often open the door to corporate directorships, but Ms Dawson said that was not her intention.
It shouldn’t be a springboard just to get on to a corporate board. The sector is just crying out for new people,” she said.
Source: WA Business News Article published on 21st November 2013 written by Shanna Crispin
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