Robins Accountants Newsletter February 2007
It’s a
pleasure doing business with….
Redlands Kitchens
“The lifestyle kitchen specialists.”
Mark and Shelley Van Horssen opened Redlands Kitchens three years ago. Being a
hairdresser and starting up a new business in a new industry, Shelley found it a
little scary. However, Mark was excited about bringing over 25 years of
experience into the business, and they knew they had a lot to offer.
Mark, being very creative loves a good challenge and his role in the business
reflects his creativity. Mark is the workshop manager. He organises the staff,
purchases the stock, liaises with the clients and designs the kitchens and
furniture himself - among other things.
Mark and Shelley put on an apprentice 3 months after opening shop. They soon
outgrew their first workshop, and decided to shift to a larger workshop in
Capalaba. With 8 staff members today, the apprentice is now 4th year, and is
just about trade qualified. They enjoyed working with a young apprentice so they
have recently put 2 more on for cabinet making.Mark and Shelley tackled their
own kitchen last year, and finished it just in the nic of time to cater for a
large family Christmas! Great timing!
Redlands Kitchens have projects operating just about anywhere from Redland Bay
to Mt Isa and can tackle kitchens all over Australia! They specialise in custom
designed kitchens, furniture and shop fit outs. Their goal is to provide high
quality specialised kitchens that are difficult to find elsewhere. They make
quality and attention to detail their priority, and work hard towards giving
customers exactly what they want. Please give Shelley and Mark a call on
0431696010 for Mark's mobile or 32457788 for the workshop.
redlandskitchen@optusnet.com.au
www.redlandskitchens.com.au
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The Summer Of Cricket
The test match, Summer of Cricket recently came to an end. Those zealots amongst
us were treated with a memorable display of brilliance by the Australian cricket
team. The series was more than simply about regaining the Ashes; it was about
vindication and validation. The series offered an insight as to where this team
will sit in the hall of fame of truly great cricket teams. The 2005 ashes defeat
gave credence to opinions offered by commentators and former players that the
sucess of the current side has built more upon the weakness of its opponents
than it's own strength. Finally when a genuine contender emerged on the
international scene the Australian Cricket team responded in the only way it has
ever known - to collectively and relentlessly attack and defeat its opposition
utterly. It was a fitting closing curtain on the careers of some of Australia's
finest cricketers.
- Bill Parkes - bill@robinsaccountants.com.au
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You Think You Know Everything?
A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
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Dont respond to this ATO letter!
EMPLOYERS are being warned to be on the lookout for hoax Tax Office letters
seeking personal information about their employees.
The letter suggests the employer is being audited, and asks them to provide
personal information about their workers.
This includes the employees' names, date of birth, addresses, sex, tax file
numbers, gross annual salary and Australian citizenship details.
The letters state:
'The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has the responsibility under the Workplace
Realations Act 1996 (the act) for ensuring federal awards, agreements and
legislation are observed...'
However, since the Tax Office does not administer the Workplace Relations Act,
this paragraph should be an 'immediate warning'.
Also, people who normally have tax related correspondence sent to their tax
agent or accountant rather than directly to their business, should be very
cautious if they receive this letter.
Employers should contact the Tax Office if they have received a letter like
this, or if they have any concerns,
by calling 13 28 66
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"You're going to make mistakes in life. It's what you do after the mistakes that
count." Brandi Chastain
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The Lens
A teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a
fruitless search, he told his mother the lens was nowhere to be found.
Undaunted, she went outside and in a few minutes returned with the lens in her
hand. "How did you manage to find it, Mom?" the teenager asked. "We weren't
looking for the same thing," she replied. "You were looking for a small piece of
plastic. I was looking for $150.
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Super splitting..
The government has introduced new laws that will allow individuals to split
their superannuation contributions with their spouse under certain
circumstances. Contributions made on or after 1 January, 2006, are eligible to
be split where funds choose to offer this service to its members. (HESTA members
are able to split contributions). Not just after-tax contributions either, you
can direct your 9% superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions into their
account as well as any salary sacrificed contributions. The maximum amount able
to be split is 85% of taxed splitable contributions and 100% of untaxed
splitable contributions.
- Please contact our office for further information - Bill Parkes
bill@robinsaccountants.com.au
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For your convenience....
Payment of Fees can be made by EFT to Robins Accountants Bank Account - Details
are.. Account No: 1110 51919 BSB: 014 218
Please ensure you always remember to show your client code or invoice number as
the reference when making payments.
Diane McDermott - Accounts Receivable
diane@robinsaccountants.com.au
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Check out one of our client's, Gail Bruce's column in the Redland Times every
third Friday of the month to find out what plants best suit you and your garden.
If anyone has any gardening, mulching, plant or water-saving tips that you would
like to share with our newsletter readers, feel free to email those to her on
gailbr@telstra.com and we'd love to put them in our newsletter too!
emma@robinsaccountants.com.au
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Rid garlic and onion smells by rubbing your fingers on your stainless steel sink
- the smell disappears!!
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Due diligence in business purchases - Essential!
More than 80 per cent of potential buyers would have paid too much for a
business if they hadn't carried out financial due diligence. One in five
respondents to a recent CPA survey, said that 70 per cent of clients didn't go
ahead with the purchase after doing so. All respondents said that at least some
of their clients would have been out of pocket had they gone ahead with their
purchase without undertaking due diligence.
- Bill Parkes, bill@robinsaccountants.com.au
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It's on again!!!!!
You are invited to join Robins Accountants and City Pacific Finance
FREE NRL 2008 Footy tipping competition at OzTips.com
Again, it’s free and anybody and everybody is very welcome to join –
***INVITE AS MANY AS YOU LIKE...FRIENDS FAMILY and especially ENEMIES***
- it’s EASY!!!!
If you have any "challenges" joining just give megan a call on 38225566 or you can
email me at megan@robinsaccountants.com.au and I will talk you through it….
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What Year Am I?
During this particular year Bob Hawke was Prime Minister of Australia.
It was the year in which the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Steffi Graf also defeated M. Navratilova - (6-2 6-7 6-1) at Wimbledon.
Comedian Lucille Ball also passed away this year, as did Bette Davis, famous
artist Salvador Dali and Laurence Olivier.
Eric Clapton released his album ‘Journeyman’, The Cure released ‘Disintegration’
and Elton John also released ‘Sleeping With the Past’.
Some of the top hits of this mystery year include ‘Another Day in Paradise’ by
Phil Collins, ‘Beds are Burning’ by the controversial Midnight Oil, ‘We didn’t
start the fire’ by Billy Joel and ‘The Crack – Up’ by The Black Sorrows.
The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder were both inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Towards the end of this year an earthquake measuring a 5.6 magnitude hit
Newcastle on the Central Coast of N.S.W. and took the lives of 13 people.
This year proved to be a momentous one when Australia regained The Ashes on
English soil for the first time in 40 years - defeating England 4-0 in the 6
test series.
What Year Am I?
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SUPERANNUATION AGE BASE LIMITS
Generally, super contributions are deductible in the year you make them, up to a
certain limit. These are the deduction limits for the 2007 financial year based
on the age of the employee.
Under 35 yrs old $15,260
Age 35 to 49 $42,385
Age 50 to 70 $105,113
Contributions made over these limits will not be tax deductible.
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Quick tips from the girls at Robins to stay fit and healthy this year!
* Stay hydrated..drink plenty of water
* Get outdoors! Get a partner and schedule some early morning or afternoon
walks!
* Get into boxing or personal training at your gym! It's a great cardio workout
and/or really tone up with a good cardio boxing!
* Get some achievable realistic goals happening. Make sure they're short term
and then you'll feel like you're achieving something. The Robins team will be
participating in quite a few up and coming fun runs and walks this year, so
watch this space for more details. We'd love for you to join us!
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What will you be doing next year?
What profit are you expecting to make from your business?
How much tax do you expect to pay?
What will your debtors' and creditors' levels be like?
What is your businesses break even turnover mark?
How much stock do you need to carry?
Interesting questions, but do you really know the answer?
How do I find out this information?
Well the best way to plan for your business is to get yourself a financial
plan……. a budget……..a budget of forecasted sales and expenses, debtor payments
and creditor payments. The budget can be high tech or relatively straight
forward, but every business should have one.
If you need help in creating a budget to suit your business, please contact your
accountants to discuss your needs. For further information, please contact
Tracey McGuinness tracey@robinsaccountants.com.au
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PERSONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUPER
Is your assessable income less than $58,000?
You may be eligible for the government co-contribution.
The government will match ever $1 you contribute with a co-contribution of $1.50
up to a maximum of $1500.
The Maximum co-contribution is payable when your assessable income is under
$28,000 and a reduced rate is paid until your assessable income reaches the cut
off limit $58,000.
To be eligible you must make your personal super contribution by 30 June 2007.
The co-contribution will be calculated by the ATO and paid directly to your fund
once you have lodged your Tax Return.
If you have any questions, please contact our office on 3822 5566.
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Healthy Tips!
Watermelon is a refreshing treat on hot, summer days. It can also ease sunburn
discomfort when applied to the skin. Watermelon juice help cleanse the urinary
tract and kidneys, is a great diuretic and is very beneficial for cystits
suffers. It's also rich in potassium, which is important for a healthy nervous
system and heart!
(Source: Feel Better magazine, January 2007 )
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Key dates for your diary!
Just a reminder that the December quarter BAS is due on the 28 February 2007 &
the March quarter BAS is due 28 April 2007
The March Quarter Superannuation is due on the 28 April 2007
Don't forget to get them in!! megan@robinsaccountants.com.au
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If you change any
post address, ASIC does not need this information. However,
our office will need this information so we can update our data base, so please
notifyus as soon as you can. You only have 28 days to lodge any address
changes. If the documents are lodged after the 28 days ASIC will charge a $65
late lodgement fee (minimum). So timing is crucial and documents need to be
sent back to us within that time. So please contact our office if you have an
address change to make sure all your corporate address details are up to date.
hayleym@robinsaccountants.com.au
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Robins Accountants
BIRKDALE: Level 1 120 Birkdale Road BIRKDALE
QLD 4159
PO Box 896 CAPALABA QLD 4157
Phone: 07 3822 5566 Fax: 07 3822 5577
CLEVELAND: 19 Middle Street CLEVELAND QLD
4163
Email: emma@robinsaccountants.com.au