Rebecca Meredith announced as new Partner

The Partnership and all staff congratulate Rebecca Meredith on her promotion to Partner, effective 1 July 2021.
Rebecca grew up locally, graduating from the University of Tasmania in December 2005 before heading to England for a working holiday. On her return to Hobart she joined WLF, then Wise, Lord and Ferguson, starting in the Audit, Assurance and Advisory division in October 2007.
Rebecca quickly felt an affinity for the firm,
“From fairly early on I felt that I’d landed in a firm and in a position that clicked for me, and which came fairly naturally.”
“As I�…

State Government support for businesses affected by Tasman Highway closure

The Tasmanian State Government has announced a critical support grant for businesses impacted by the closure of the Tasman Highway for remedial work at Paradise Gorge near Orford. Applications open on 11 June 2021 at 12 pm and close on 23 June 2021 pm.
Eligibility criteria:

Must be an active business, accessible via the Tasman Highway and located south of the Lake Leake road or in (or must contribute to the supply chain through the delivery of essential goods and services in and out of) one of the following towns:

Buckland
Orford
Triabunna
Little Swanport
Swansea

Be re…

Straight talk and trust are the tonics for post-pandemic work: building and shaping desired workplace culture

The pandemic has taught us that we need to be in the community. Just as we recognise it takes a village to raise a child, we now appreciate we need close engagement with our workplace community, in its various contexts, to be fully effective and for each of us to truly belong.
As we emerge from the pandemic and work our way through the challenges posed by toxic workplaces, many individuals, professional or workplace groups, teams and organisations deserve and probably need a tonic.
People benefit from belonging to and participating in social groups that confirm their sense…

2021 Tax Planning Guide for Business

Here’s a helpful guide to the strategies you can use to minimise your businesses tax leading up to the end of the financial year.
IS YOUR BUSINESS A ‘SMALL BUSINESS’ ENTITY?
Small businesses can access a range of tax concessions from the ATO. To qualify as a “Small Business Entity”, the business must have an aggregated turnover (your annual turnover plus the annual turnover of any business connected / affiliated with you) of less than $10 million and be operating a business for all or part of the 2021 year.
REDUCTION IN COMPANY TAX RATES
The 2021 company tax rate…

2021 Tax Planning Guide for Individuals and Families

Now’s the time to review what strategies you can use responsibly to minimise your tax before 30 June 2021.
SUPERANNUATION CONTRIBUTIONS
While you might not be flush with cash and able to put large amounts into superannuation, it’s important that you are aware of the different ways to maximise your super balance and possibly reduce your tax at the same time. The below is general in nature and as always, before acting please seek professional advice from a licensed financial planner, such as UNICA Wealth.
DEDUCTIBLE SUPER CAP OF $25,000 FOR EVERYONE
The tax-deductible supe…

What the 2021/2022 Federal Budget means for you

It seems the trend of announcing budget measures in the weeks leading up to budget night continues, with no real surprises coming from Treasurer Frydenberg’s budget speech in parliament last night. The budget focusses on recovery, with continuation of some stimulus measures, infrastructure spending and new initiatives to encourage investment in biotechnology.  Many of the announcements have a delayed start date of 30 June 2022 or later.

We are pleased to provide you with this brief summary of the main impacts f…

Government announces further support for tourism sector, post JobKeeper

Today the government announced a package of measures aimed at assisting the regional tourism sector in its recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The package headlined the half-price airfares to certain regional locations (including Launceston, Devonport and Burnie) for tickets purchased between 1 April and 31 July 2021 for travel up to 30 September 2021.
In addition to the half-price flights, there is specific support for the aviation sector. Measures include underwriting of some domestic flights, direct support to ancillary services and funding for the …

Nine new team members and significant anniversary celebrations

February 2021 was a great month for our team at WLF, with new staff and some significant anniversaries to celebrate.
We were delighted to welcome nine new team members. Shantelle Brown, Sean Cruz and Jake Saunders commenced in the Audit, Assurance and Advisory division after recently graduating from the University of Tasmania. Our Business and Personal Advisory division has grown to include Troy Britton, Gordon Hamilton, Ellia Kelleher, Jacob Quinn, Benjamin Vaszocz and Navoda Ranaweera. 
Gordon, Ellia and Jacob all joined our team through the Undergraduate Cadetship Acc…

Carry-forward Concessional Contributions

A reminder about the ability to make further super contributions and claim a tax deduction for them.
Where superannuation is paid on your behalf and claimed as a tax deduction, either by you or your employer, the maximum annual contribution is capped at $25,000.
From 1 July 2018, individuals who have a total super balance of less than $500,000 can carry forward any unused cap to the next financial year on a rolling five-year period.
For example, your employer contributed $5,000 of superannuation guarantee on your behalf in 2019 and you made a personal contribution of a fur…

Relearning the art of job seeking in a post-COVID world

Forget what you were told about going out and selling yourself.
In a post-COVID world, where opportunities for people of all ages may be reduced, there is an increased need for all of us to help and support one another to understand our purpose, who we are and how we find our next job.
We also need a different approach to how we find and succeed with new work opportunities and make the best contribution we can to our employer and our community.
To truly understand how we can make a real contribution to the success of our future employer’s business we firstly need to unde…