Australia at a glance – February 2024

These 10 points are designed for those investing into Australia and those who have plans to do so. We aim to keep the points short and sweet, and to merely list snippets of relevant but easy to read information. 

February 2024

  1. The top individual tax rate of 45% applies on income above AUD 180,000.
  2. Australia is the world’s second largest exporter of coal (after Indonesia, with Russia and the US in third and fourth places).
  3. Most small Australian companies do not need to publish financial statements of any kind – and do not need to be audited. An exception applies in the case of those small companies controlled by an overseas company. And even they can be exempt if the required formalities are attended to.
  4. Australian corporate law requires that certain legal documents are created and kept by the company even though they do not need to be submitted to any government agency.
  5. There is no minimum share capital for a private limited company (a Pty Ltd).
  6. A private limited company is referred to as a ‘Pty Ltd’. In Australia; ‘Pty Ltd’ is usually expressed verbally with the full ‘propriety limited’, Apex Pty Ltd is not called ‘Apex Pty’, and we don’t write it as ‘Apex PTY’, as our UK friends often do.
  7. Great care needs to be taken to ensure that a ‘consultant’ or an ‘independent contractor’ or the like is not an employee in reality.
  8. The superannuation contribution will increase from 11% to 11.5% of an individual’s salary from 01 July 2024.
  9. The tax free threshold for an Australian resident individual is AUD 18,200.
  10. The taxation of non-resident individuals on dividends from Australian companies is usually harsher than in the case of resident individuals – residents are entitled to ‘franking credits’.

This message is not given in the form of an opinion, legal opinion or tax advice. If any of the information provided is of interest or relevance to you or your company we would strongly recommend you contact us or another qualified professional for specific advice. 

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