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Are you on top of your taxes this year?

By Greg Bell

Leasing commercial property on the Gold Coast offers a number of benefits for you and your business. You gain access to a huge amount of foot traffic, a burgeoning tourist dollar, and also what we think are some of the greatest views known to humankind.

However, with reward comes responsibility. And at this time of year, that means sorting out your taxes. We're edging ever closer to June 30, which is the end of the financial year, and it's time to make sure you've crossed the t's and dotted the i's on your financial information.

It can be a drag, and for those that don't employ an accountant to do this it can be downright difficult. But some things just have to be done. To make sure you're organised with your taxes, there are many things you can do.

Use the available resources

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has a number of helpful hints, and even an app that can aid you when it comes to filing a tax return. Their myTax online lodgment system has been upgraded for the 2014-2015 financial year, which means you can do more online, and do it more efficiently. 

This system is improved every year based on people's feedback – and it looks like these changes have been working. 

"The feedback we received last year was that people found myTax a much less complex and time-consuming experience, with some completing their return in as little as ten minutes," said Graham Whyte, assistant commissioner of the ATO. 

Upgrades to the online system this year include the ability to track your super as well as your tax return, check up on your HELP debt or other tertiary loan balances, and you can even make changes to previous tax returns. Receipts will come straight to your email inbox, and there will soon even be a function to help you track any deductions on your tax.

The simplification of the process means that you can get back to your commercial property on the Gold Coast much more quickly. 

Don't be afraid to make a mistake

In the BDO 2015 tax reform survey, 45.9 per cent of respondents agreed that the tax system was too complex, and that this tangle of numbers got in the way of effective business management. On top of this, 33 per cent of those surveyed strongly agreed. Only 14.3 per cent of respondents disagreed, strongly or not, with this statement. 

This complexity might have you thinking that mistakes will be made in your tax return, but this isn't something you should worry about, as Mr Whyte has already pointed out. 

"If you do accidentally get something wrong and it turns out you owe the ATO money, naturally you will have to pay the tax you owe. However the ATO will not penalise you for the mistake," he stated. The inverse of this also applies – if you make a mistake and it turns out that you are entitled to a refund, you will not be penalised for this. 

When you are retail leasing on the Gold Coast, running a team of staff and also balancing the books, oversights can be made. But clearly, you need not worry about this. 

Whether you're interested in picking up industrial real estate for sale on the Gold Coast or already own commercial property here, it's likely that you will have to conduct some form of tax return. If you haven't done it already, now is a great time to do it. And when you want to find out more about the real estate itself, don't stress – come and speak to us. 

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