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Trade Business Accountants Specialist tax accounting and bookkeeping for Australian trade and construction businesses.

Busy means you're either good or cheap.Cheap fills your calendar, good fills your bank account.
26/10/2026

Busy means you're either good or cheap.

Cheap fills your calendar, good fills your bank account.

ATO debt is now one of the most expensive debts your business can carry. 11.51% interest, compounding daily, and none of...
23/10/2026

ATO debt is now one of the most expensive debts your business can carry.

11.51% interest, compounding daily, and none of it deductible.

Not to mention, the ATO has statutory collection powers no bank has.

In 1985, Australia’s income tax act was 1,475 pages. Today it’s nearly 8,000 pages. That’s a new page of tax law every t...
22/10/2026

In 1985, Australia’s income tax act was 1,475 pages.

Today it’s nearly 8,000 pages.

That’s a new page of tax law every three days for 41 years.

The government isn’t slowing down, and neither should your tax planning.

The ATO credit card ban deadline has been extended.For many business owners, paying BAS on a credit card has been a quie...
21/10/2026

The ATO credit card ban deadline has been extended.

For many business owners, paying BAS on a credit card has been a quiet habit for years.

Usually not for the points, but for the timing. The BAS is due on a fixed date, but the card isn’t due for a few more weeks. When cash comes in on progress claims, that gap matters.

Then, on 1 October, the rules around card payments changed.

The Reserve Bank’s surcharge ban came into effect. Businesses can no longer add a surcharge for Visa, Mastercard or eftpos payments.

That included the ATO.

The same day, the ATO announced it would stop taking credit cards after 30 November – a two-month notice period.

Their reasoning: merchant fees were costing almost $200 million a year.

But around 5% of small businesses paid their tax by credit card in 2024–25, so business groups and accountants pushed back.

Eight days later, on 9th October, the Government stepped in.

It is funding the ATO to keep accepting credit cards until 30 June 2027, with the cost to be finalised in the mid-year budget update.

After 30 June 2027, you can’t pay the ATO directly by credit card. You’ll still be able to use a third-party payment provider, but they charge their own fees.

Debit card, BPAY and bank transfer stay available.

There’s one detail that’s easy to miss.

The June 2027 BAS isn’t due until after the cut-off. For quarterly lodgers, that means three more BAS payments can go on a card, not four.

If a credit card is part of how your business manages its tax, you now have until June to work out what replaces it.

Tax changes disrupt common super retirement strategyFrom 1 July 2027, new tax rules will fundamentally change how deduct...
11/09/2026

Tax changes disrupt common super retirement strategy

From 1 July 2027, new tax rules will fundamentally change how deductible super contributions can be used alongside capital gains.

For years, the strategy has been relatively simple.

Someone approaching retirement could wait until their income dropped, sell an investment property, shares or another asset, apply the CGT discount, then use unused concessional super caps to make a large deductible contribution.

The contribution deduction reduced their taxable income, which could substantially reduce the tax ultimately payable in a year where a large capital gain was realised.
But from 1 July 2027, that changes...

Australia is introducing a minimum 30% tax rate on most real capital gains accruing from 1 July 2027. At the same time, the existing 50% CGT discount will generally be replaced with inflation-based cost base indexation for those gains.

The important part? A deductible super contribution cannot reduce the capital gain used to calculate that 30% minimum tax.

That creates a problem.

You can still make the deductible super contribution and the deduction can still reduce your taxable income. But if that deduction reduces the tax attributable to the relevant capital gain below the 30% minimum, a new “top-up” tax can apply to bring it back to that minimum.

Once the tax paid on the contribution inside super is also taken into account, the contribution can, in some circumstances, actually result in more tax overall.

This doesn’t mean deductible super contributions are dead. They can still be extremely valuable, particularly where there is sufficient other income such as salary, business income, rent or dividends being taxed at 30% or higher.

The change specifically limits the ability to use a deduction to push the effective tax on a post-1 July 2027 capital gain below 30%.

The new treatment only applies to gains accruing from 1 July 2027. For assets already owned before then, the gain attributable to the period before 1 July 2027 generally retains the existing CGT treatment.

That makes timing, valuations and record keeping increasingly important. Because from 1 July 2027, a strategy that used to save tax could, in some circumstances, cost more.

Most businesses don't need more clients, they need better clients.This usually means higher prices, better positioning, ...
10/09/2026

Most businesses don't need more clients, they need better clients.

This usually means higher prices, better positioning, and stronger marketing.

More isn't better, better is better.

What separates the builders from the spectators...One of my favourite quotes hanging in my office is ‘The Man In The Are...
08/09/2026

What separates the builders from the spectators...

One of my favourite quotes hanging in my office is ‘The Man In The Arena’ by Theodore Roosevelt, because it’s easy to have opinions when you’re not in it.

It’s easy to critique, point out where the strong man stumbled, or how the doer of deeds could have done better.

But you’re not the one in the arena taking the hits. Covered in dust, sweat, and blood, carrying the weight of the outcome.

And that’s the difference.

Because the man in the arena gets it wrong. He falls short, makes mistakes, and has moments where it doesn’t all work. But he’s the one who showed up and that’s what really counts.

You see the same divide in business.

Builders and spectators.

Builders accept the cost. They make decisions without perfect information. They take responsibility for the outcome. And when it doesn’t work, they adjust and go again, because that’s the price of doing anything meaningful.

The spectators on the other hand don’t understand that.

They don’t make the calls or live with the outcomes. So everything looks obvious from where they’re standing.

But their view is cheap.

It didn’t cost them anything to be sitting there in the stands.

If you listen to spectators long enough, they’ll cause you to second guess or trick you into playing smaller than you should.

So the best people aren’t sitting on the sidelines with the loudest opinions.

They’re the gladiators in the arena, daring greatly.

In yet another change to the May Budget trust tax proposal, the Government has offered existing discretionary trusts a n...
08/09/2026

In yet another change to the May Budget trust tax proposal, the Government has offered existing discretionary trusts a new way around the proposed 30% minimum tax.

The catch?

To qualify, you have to give up one of the main reasons you established a trust in the first place – discretion.

A discretionary trust does exactly what the name suggests. It gives the trustee discretion over who receives income each year. One year, income might be distributed 70% to one spouse, 30% to another. The next year could look completely different.

That flexibility can be extremely valuable because family circumstances change. A spouse returns to work, someone sells a business, retirement happens, investment goals vary, and the distribution strategy can change with it.

The new option changes that. An eligible existing trust could avoid the proposed 30% minimum tax, but it would need to pre-nominate beneficiaries, which can include individuals and companies, and fix the percentage they receive going forward.

Under the current draft, beneficiaries cannot simply be added or replaced later. Changes are contemplated only in limited circumstances, including death or divorce. Even questions around future children and grandchildren still require clarification.

If the trust departs from the nominated distribution arrangement, the election can be lost. Under the current draft, the trustee can then be taxed at 47% on the trust’s taxable income for that year. From the following year, the trust falls into the 30% minimum tax regime.

That leaves eligible existing trusts with three broad options.

1 – Keep full discretion but remain subject to the 30% minimum tax regime.

2 – Keep the existing trust and avoid the minimum tax but fix beneficiaries and distribution proportions.

3 – Restructure using the proposed federal rollover relief while separately considering legal, commercial and state duty consequences.

Most business owners overpay tax for one reason. They don’t control three decisions: Where income is earned. Where profi...
06/09/2026

Most business owners overpay tax for one reason.

They don’t control three decisions:

Where income is earned.

Where profit flows.

When income is extracted.

Get these right, and you gain control.

Get them wrong, and you pay for it.

Will bucket companies survive Labor’s new trust tax changes?The Government has changed its proposed family trust tax aga...
06/09/2026

Will bucket companies survive Labor’s new trust tax changes?

The Government has changed its proposed family trust tax again, with existing trusts now potentially able to keep their bucket companies, avoid the new 30% minimum tax and avoid restructuring.

But there is a significant condition attached...

In the May Budget, Labor proposed a minimum 30% tax on most discretionary trust income from 1 July 2028. The changes were designed to reduce the tax benefits of income splitting between family members and distributions to corporate “bucket companies”.

For many, restructuring then became part of the conversation. One option was to move the business or assets out of the discretionary trust and into a company structure. The Federal Government proposed rollover relief so that restructuring would not necessarily trigger an immediate federal CGT or income tax bill.

But there was another problem...

The federal government doesn’t control stamp duty. This is imposed by the states and territories. So even if a restructure received federal tax rollover relief, moving valuable assets out of a trust could still create a significant stamp duty cost. Business groups raised concerns that this could make restructuring commercially unrealistic for some businesses.

Now the government has offered another way out...

Under draft legislation released this week, qualifying existing discretionary trusts could elect to nominate beneficiaries in advance, fix the percentage distributed to each, and avoid the proposed 30% minimum tax.

A company can also be one of the nominated beneficiaries. So an eligible trust could continue distributing a fixed percentage to its existing bucket company.
But to avoid the minimum tax, the trust would give up its ability to change distributions freely each year. Beneficiaries would need to be nominated in advance and their distribution percentages would be fixed.

In effect, the Government is offering to preserve the trust structure while taking the discretion out of the discretionary trust.

But none of this is law yet, this is draft legislation with consultation closing on 18 September 2026.

The Government has, however, indicated it wants the legislation passed before Christmas. The proposed rules are intended to commence from 1 July 2028.

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Unit 1/55 Tradelink Road, Hillcrest
Brisbane, QLD
4118

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