Monday 20 June 2011

Currency Effect on International Investing

A great overview of relation between currency exchange rates and investment performance in international arena. This is noteworthy, considering current performance of Australian Dollar.

Read more:

http://internationalinvest.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/currencyeffect.htm

Taxation and Investment in Australia 2011

Deloitte's publication on taxation and investment in Australia in 2011:

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Global/Local%20Assets/Documents/Tax/Intl%20Tax%20and%20Business%20Guides/2011/dtt_tax_guide_2011_Australia.pdf

Taxation Guide for Investors in Australia

General Taxation Arrangements section of the Taxation Guide for Investors, published by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, contains useful definitions of Dividend Imputation and Dividend Witholding Tax Exemption for Foreign Source Dividend Income.

http://www.ret.gov.au/resources/Documents/Minerals%20and%20Petroleum%20Exploration/Guide_for_%20Investors_18Taxation.pdf

Australian Equities - Tax Issues for Individual Investors

A paper that describes the Australian taxation system for investors, both resident and non-resident; the effect of franking credits on Australian equities, and compares it to the environment in the US and UK.

Australian Equities - Tax Issues for Individual Investors

http://www.winstonprivate.com.au/pdf/wp_australian_equities.pdf

Australian Fixed Interest Education

Here are few useful links on (fixed) interest rate securities on ASX. Fixed interest securities are available on Australian Stock Exchange and the texts below summarize what is available and then describe the basic characteristics of each type of security.
  • Understanding ASX Interest Rate Securities (link)
  • Corporate bonds/notes (link)
More resources at the Interest Rate Securities page on ASX (link).

Australian Manufacturing is Disappearing

A few interesting details on the stats for the Australian manufacturing industry.

Since 1990, manufacturing's share of Victorian gross state product has fallen from 16 per cent to 10 per cent and that decline is increasing. According to a paper sponsored by Visy, that will mean the loss of some 587,000 jobs in the next decade, 27 per cent of state household income and 24 per cent of state income.

Nationwide, manufacturing's share of income has declined from 15 to 8 per cent over the same period.

The practical effects are someting along the lines of

Infrastructure needs, and just what needs to be done to support the mining sector, will be part of the study, which will look at how tertiary education can be directed more at mining service sectors. In short, more IT and engineers and fewer lawyers.

Source:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/national-broadband-network-is-an-industry-game-changer/story-e6frg9if-1226077373546

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Residents and Foreign Residents - Taxation Australia

Australian Taxation Office contains a text that illustrates several different edge situations, where it might not be clear whether a person is a resident for taxation purposes or not. It is a good reference, as I was not sure what my status would be in the next couple of months. From these guides, it appears I will still be Australian resident for tax purposes even though the travelling might be for an extended period of time.

Examples of residents and foreign residents