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Showing posts with the label Tax Practitioners Board

INCOME FROM A CHILD’S INVESTMENT

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Income from a child’s investment It is a generous act for a parent or aunt or uncle to start a savings account for their kids or a new addition to the next generation. It is uncommon among the warm and generous emotions that accompany giving such a gift to the newly arrived family member, to factor in the taxation obligations that may eventually come along due to this generosity. A young child may not be able to use the ATM or see over the counter at the bank, but they can certainly have bank accounts. Naturally it is a child’s guardian who will manage their financial matters, and therefore a parent may operate a savings account on behalf of a child. For taxation however, while the account may be in the child’s name and the funds in that account are the property of that child, the underlying legal principle that prevails is that investment income (in this case, the bank account’s interest) is assessable to the person who  beneficially owns  the money (and not ...

BENEFITS OF USING A TAX AGENT

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Benefits of using a Tax Agent Takes the stress out of completing your tax return. Saves you time, as they lodge your return for you on your behalf. Completing the form yourself can take hours. Can help get you more tax back by claiming all legitimate deductions that you may not be aware of. You can claim the cost of a tax agent as a deduction in the following year’s tax return. A tax agent can also provide personal advice in areas of taxation law. What qualifications should my tax agent have? Tax agents must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) before they are able to charge for their service. Some practitioners can give advice and act as tax agents without being registered, as long as they are operating under a group that is registered by the TPB. To be eligible as a registered tax agent, the individual must have a good record with no recent convictions, involvement in tax exploitation, ongoing bankruptcies, or imprisonment. Once registered, pra...