Jeff Brockway Advised me in 2001 about investing in my families future.

Put 100% into the family home - it is un-taxed and appreciates at 8% to 10 % per year over a 10 year period.  Low risk and low family stress.

If you want to make money on property investments - ie subdivision, redevelopment or building,  You become a Speculator  -  

THE RULE IS:  

1. If your speculation Investment  breaks even after all costs, taxes, and builder adjustments,  you    have done well.

2   If you make $50,000 you have done really well on the risk.

3. If you make more profit than that, you have won the lottery on this deal.

Great wisdom to think about future investments.  Jonathan Keys.  June 30th 2010

Investing Your Money    
     
Overview

Using your money to try to make more money or gain assets is called investing.

All investments come with risks. Plan your investments carefully to make sure they meet your needs and you avoid dodgy schemes.

Some of the common ways of investing your money are:

You need to declare the income from your investments in your income tax return. Income includes rent you receive, dividends, interest on savings and income from trusts.

You can claim deductions for many of your investment expenses – for example, you can claim deductions for interest on money you borrowed to buy investment properties or shares.

If you sell investment property, shares or managed fund investments for more than you paid for them, you have to declare the profit, or capital gain, in your income tax return because the profit is taxable.

It’s important to keep records of your investment transactions from the start so you can meet all your tax obligations and claim all your tax deductions. Incomplete records could mean paying more tax, especially when you sell an asset.
 

Don't take the bait
   
Dodgy schemes can come back to bite you

This brochure is also available in Portable Document Format to download. [PDF 178 KB]

Beat the dodgy promoters

Promoters of some tax planning arrangements are simply fishing for your money. Their bait is the promise of high investment returns and generous tax breaks.

Take the bait, and you could be the one that’s bitten. You could lose your money and you might have to pay back any missing tax, plus interest and penalties.

This brochure can help you determine whether an arrangement is genuine tax planning or a tax avoidance scheme.

Tempting bait.
It can sometimes be hard to tell a good investment from a bad one. Promoters can come with convincing sales pitches, and it can be difficult to tell if you're getting sound advice. It can be confusing, with promoters offering you big tax deductions, especially towards the end of the financial year.These are a few lines that you should be wary of:

• ‘There are no risks. We guarantee the returns.’
•  ‘You don’t need credit or asset checks. We’ll lend you the money.’
•  ‘Even if the investment doesn’t go ahead, you’ll still make a profit from your tax refund.’
•  ‘There’s no need to ask the Australian Taxation Office if it’s okay.'
•  ‘You can get up to 100% tax deductions.’
•  ‘A top lawyer or accountant has looked at the investment and they think it’s great.’
•  ‘We’ll put your money in a tax-free overseas account.’
•  ‘You can run your business through your own offshore company.’
•  'Trust us, the ATO is okay with it.'
•  'It is complex but you don't need to understand it, we will look after everything for you.'