Employee Share Schemes: How Far Are They Moving The Goal Posts?

Too Quick a Recovery?

The ASX 200 his its highest level in almost 9 months, having rallied +465 points or +12.4 per cent in just 13 trading days (at the time of writing this article).
While plenty of experts think the markest have shot ahead of themselves, they are still below the post-Lehman collapse!

Looking back at the rally...

Let’s look at the collection of better news that supports the comeback in cyclical stocks as stock markets surged higher recently off record lows. (Read more)

Looking ahead to the second half...

The rally took much of the extreme undervaluation out of the equity markets, meaning that second half returns will be driven more by earnings than valuations.
With economic growth still in question, as there is still much uncertainty about the ultimate success of the stimulus efforts, we believe the scope for earnings-driven equity returns is far from certain too.
In the short term, share prices may consolidate after such a solid rebound.
In the long-term, however, we are confident that company earnings will begin to rebound over the next few years and in turn this should drive our market higher.

If you would like to discuss please call knp Financial Solutions on + 61 3 9824 5411 and speak to our Certified Financial Planners.

The Tax Office has also released the general interest charge (GIC) and shortfall interest charge (SIC) rates for the first quarter of 2009/2010 income year (i.e. 1 July 2009 to 30 September 2009):

The Tax Office has announced that it will conduct an ongoing share market transaction CGT data matching program.

The program will focus on the income tax obligations of taxpayers in relation to the disposal of shares. It will also focus on GST registration obligations of entities.

The AAT has upheld superannuation guarantee charge default assessments against a partnership for failing to make minimum superannuation contributions for an independent contractor operating within its business.

After considering the factors that indicate the existence of an employee/employer relationship, the Tribunal held that the contractor was an employee.