Tag: Federal Government

Business owners concerned about registering an already trademarked business name are being given Government assistance, with the launch of TM Check.

Tim Wolfenden blogs about how the carbon tax will likely affect already rising electricity prices.

“Although there’s definitely merit in the immediate need drive some positive action on climate change, I fear this will be a crippling blow for small and medium businesses Australia-wide.”

The Federal Government has introduced a stringent payment regime obliging state agencies to pay small business creditors within 30 days, or they’ll face penalties for late payment.

In the wake of yesterday’s Carbon Tax announcement, the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) has said it will do its best to ensure the scheme doesn’t disadvantage small business owners in time or cost.

Julia Gillard yesterday confirmed long-held speculation her Government would place a carbon tax of $23 a tonne on the country’s 500 worst polluters, with the price to rise 2.5 percent per annum each year after 2012.

The first national study into the impacts of local government regulation on business by the Productivity Commission has been given the green-light, a move backed by the Federal Government.

The recent news that the Federal Government is pushing the National Tax Summit to October and will not be covering key tax issues such as GST, the proposed carbon tax and the mining tax is worrying.

After 30 June, 2011, employers will become ‘paymasters’ responsible for distributing funds under the government’s new paid parental leave scheme, with employers urged to make sure they are ready for this added burden before July 1.

With the arrival of 2011, employers should familiarise themselves with their obligations under the paid parental leave legislation which came into force on 1 January 2011.

The federal government’s review into the taxation of trusts is the most significant attempt at trust tax reform in the last decade, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.