Pocket Guide to Taxation in Australia

The Treasury has released a pocket guide to taxation in Australia. Its 28 pages long...

The Drags

I should probably explain. I went to the Winter Nationals a few weeks back as I got in for free. I did take a few pictures but the thing I found the most funny and annoying... just watch the video.



This next vid is especially awesome.

Vision

I visited the optician today, as I have been concerned about my deteriorating vision and unsurprisingly I need new lenses. It has only been a year since I acquired my last set prior to that I was having new glasses every 2/3 years, the optician said it can fluctuate but that near plane (is there another word?) work (that’s what I spend my waking hours doing) can accelerate the process. It has also meant my new lenses will be thicker and heavier so I opted for the slightly more expensive kind of plastic that is thinner. The difference in cost was not that great, but the total was still close to $300 which is a bit of a shock. I do use software called work rave to monitor my computer usage and alert me when I need a break but most of the time I just skip as I can’t be bothered actually following through with it. It does have a snooze button which is about as effective as a snooze button on an alarm clock that has the off button right next to it…

Budget 09: Super Changes

Changes announced in the Budget included:

• The annual cap for concessional superannuation contributions has been halved from $50,000 to $25,000, and the transitional concessional cap has been reduced to $50,000 per year from its former limit of $100,000
• The superannuation co-contribution scheme will be reduced to a rate of 100 per cent for contributed amounts for the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 years, increasing to 125 per cent for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 years and returning to 150 per cent for the 2014/15 year
• The increase in the age pension qualification age to 67 years from 2017.

'It was disappointing to see these changes to super, however, it is pleasing to see the reduction of the co-contribution is only temporary and back to the 150 per cent in five years time,' said Hugh Elvy, Head of Financial Planning and Superannuation at the Institute.

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