Money Australia – July 2017

THIS MONTH

NEWS

&

VIEWS

SNAPSHOT Meet the reluctant investor

Source: Deloitte, ASX Australian Investor Study

Those who have never invested nominated a number of reasons for not investing

I don’t have enough money to invest Planning forretirement

0% 10%20%30%40%50%60% 0% 20% 40% 60%

Accumulating

wealth

Supplementing current

or future income

Tra ve l

Saving for a

“rainy day”

Saving for a

deposit on a home

I think it costs a lot to begin investing

I’m not interested in investing

I don't have enough time to do

research or manage investments

I’d need to take professional advice and don’t

know how to find it or how much it costs

The volatility of the sharemarket

and economy concerns me

I’m not confident that I know enough

about investing to make the best decisions

Top investment goals, all investors

75%

of share owners hold only

domestic shares while just

hold only international

shares

11%

APPOFTHEMONTH

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I

fyouarekeen

to become a

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consolidate all of your loyalty

cards in one place, allowing you

to ditch the plastic and still reap

the rewards.

Shopfully also uses your

postcode to help you discover

the best deals in shops and

supermarkets in real time. If

you’re at the office and are hop-

ing to pick up your groceries on

the way home, you can scroll

through the latest specials at

Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and

IGA before you get there.

Even better, you can stay

up to date when large retailers

such as Myer and David Jones

have a sale. This means you

can declutter your inbox and

say goodbye to those annoying

email subscriptions.

Out of town? No problem –

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ic location to tell you where

your nearest stores are and

what sales are on.

STEPH NASH

hhSh

TAX TIP

Rush to lodge can

come with pitfalls

O

ver the next few months millions of

Australians will be rushing to lodge

their tax returns in the hope of a generous

refund cheque. Whether you intend to use

a tax agent or to lodge yourself through the

myTax system, here are a couple of key tips

to bear in mind:

• Take extra care that your return is right if
  you intend to lodge early. Many people lodge
  their return during the first weeks of July to
  get a refund as soon as possible. By doing
  that, though, you expose yourself to a real
  danger of missing crucial information. These
  days, the ATO receives a wide range of infor-
  mation from third parties such as employers,
  banks and private health providers, which
  can be pre-filled on your tax return. However,
  much of that information isn’t provided to
  the ATO – and hence to you – until well into
  July and, in some cases, August. So, if you
  are an early lodger, the information down-
  loaded from the ATO may be incomplete.
  Check it carefully and ensure you have your
  own income information to hand, because if
  you lodge a return with incomplete informa-
  tion, you will get a “please explain” from the
  tax office. Remember, the burden of getting
  a return right falls on you.


• Be patient. It takes the ATO up to two
  weeks to process a tax return and issue a
  refund. There’s no point chasing the ATO (or
  your tax agent!) for your refund until that
  two-week period has passed.
  MARK CHAPMAN, DIRECTOR OF TAX COMMUNICATIONS AT
  H&R BLOCK. [email protected]

O

ver the past 30 years, China has

emerged as a world leader, politically and

economically. As a young nation built on immi-

gration, Australia, in 2017, has a large Chinese

community so it’s vital for business leaders to

be able to market assets to this community.

Chinese-born Australian academic and

accountant Barry Li, in his book The New

Chinese, draws attention to cultural nuances

and discusses how to navigate differences.

China is an economic superpower with a sus-

tained interest in Australia; understanding

how to engage with it should give a business

a competitive edge. STEPH NASH

Ten readers can win a copy.

In 25 words or less, what’s your best tip for

navigating cultural differences in business?

Send entries to Book of the Month, Money,

GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001 or email

[email protected]. Don’t forget

to include your name and postal address.

Entries close on August 9, 2017.

THE NEW CHINESE

Barry Li

Wiley Publishing, RRP $29.

BOOK OF THE

MONTH

APP OF THE

MONTH