Updates on financial regulations and compliance requirements
The AICPA is pushing Treasury and the IRS for clarification on Section 174A(c) elections after Rev. Proc. 2025-28 left practitioners confused about whether R&E capitalisation is a yearly election or a permanent accounting method. The ambiguity matters for 2025 returns and potential amended filings.
The Grattan Institute told a Senate committee that cutting the capital gains tax discount from 50% to 25% could raise $6.5 billion annually. That revenue could fund the shift away from stamp duty, which economists have been complaining about for decades.
The federal government has noted rather than accepted critical recommendations from the Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry into accounting ethics. Small practitioners now face eight new breach reporting obligations while reforms targeting large partnerships remain watered down.
Family Courts can override shareholders agreements in divorce settlements, treating business shares as matrimonial assets. Just 41% of Australian family businesses have these agreements anyway.
ISAs, OEICs, unit trusts and UK occupational pensions routinely map onto US foreign trust, PFIC and asset disclosure regimes in ways UK practitioners miss. This isn't double taxation. It's classification and disclosure going wrong at scale.
The Employment Rights Act received Royal Assent in December 2025. Key changes roll out April 2026 to January 2027, including day-one unfair dismissal rights, sick pay from day one, and no compensation cap. CFOs and HR need to audit policies now.
Seattle's 5% tax on compensation above $1 million collected $115 million in its first year, 75% higher than estimates. 170 employers paid up by the 31 January deadline. Nobody fled to Bellevue.
Chartered accountant Vjekoslav Fak has been suspended for five years and ordered to pay $9,247 in costs after ASIC disqualified him as an SMSF auditor. The accounting body proceeded without him after he ignored multiple contact attempts.
Financial therapists report clients with tens of millions who believe they're poor, and retirees terrified to spend despite solid balance sheets. It's not about the numbers. It's about perception disconnected from reality.
The US Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs 6-3 on 20 February, ruling the president lacks authority under IEEPA. Republicans need Democratic support to legislate tariffs, but slim majorities and midterm pressures make passage unlikely.
Jason Sward disposed of $119,500 before bankruptcy and sold a Porsche for $70,000 during bankruptcy without telling his trustee. AFSA says it's prioritising enforcement against deliberate deception.
The average federal refund hit $2,290 as of 6 February, driven by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's expanded Child Tax Credit and new tips deduction. Total returns received dropped 5.2%, with IRS processing down 12.3%. April is going to be interesting.