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Play the role of the federal Treasurer. People representing organisations and government departments will try and convince you to fund their initiatives in the forthcoming Budget. The following lists some budget categories in the annual federal Budget. From your point of view, which of these is the most important? Rank the seven categories in order of priority. Table 1: Budget spending categories Spending category in the Budget…

What is super?Currently employers in Australia must, by law, pay into a super fund, super to their eligible employees to the tune of 11.5% of the employee's ordinary time earnings. This is called the superannuation guarantee (SG).Ordinary time earnings are what you generally earn for ordinary hours of work; it includes over-award payments, bonuses, allowances and some paid leave. Overtime is not included.In Australia, super was made compulsory…

Most people have super and it will make their lives better when they retire. Use the moneysmart retirement planner to investigate the retirement funds of the people in the following scenarios. Ludie is 60 and works part time as a nurse. Her taxable income is $32,000 per year. She is hoping to retire at age 67. She has a super balance of $150,000. She does not make extra contributions. Her husband is 72 years old and has just retired. He has no…

Some businesses sell services, such as an electrician or plumber. However, if a person only works for one business, it is possible that they are an employee and not a contractor.Go to the ATO website to learn more about the difference between employees and contractors.Compare employees and contractors and explain the difference.Analyse each scenario below to decide if each individual is an employee or contractor. Justify your decision.Table 1-3…

Some businesses (and individuals) deliberately try to avoid paying tax by operating outside the tax and regulatory system. This is known as the shadow economy, the black economy, cash economy or underground economy. Businesses can engage in the shadow economy by: under reporting income failing to declare income (such as sharing economy contractors) paying cash wages off the books underpaying wages sham contracting ABN fraud selling…

Now that you have learned about the shadow economy and different shadow economy business activities, consider the following ‘what if’ scenario: Due to a worldwide pandemic and shrinking revenue, there is a significant increase in the number of businesses engaging in shadow economy activities. Draw a consequence wheel on a large piece of paper. Identify one shadow economy activity from the explainer and write this in the inner-most circle of…

Does tax law reflect Australian values and the key ideas underpinning our democracy? Taxation cannot be collected unless a law has been passed to allow it. In Australia, tax law is statute law. This means that tax law or amendments to an existing law are made by parliament. Research and review one type of tax in Australia and amendments to the law to discover the extent to which the tax law supports our values and the key ideas underpinning…

You are a qualified financial advisor for a reputable financial planning company. Work in pairs to provide advice to 2 hypothetical clients regarding which super investment options they should choose to reach their retirement goals. Objective You have 2 clients in unique situations, each seeking superannuation advice. Each partner chooses a different client to develop advice for. Your task is to analyse your client’s circumstances and…