Australia at a glance – July 2021

These emails 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.

July 2021

  1. In Australia, small business accounts for 35% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and employs 44% of the Australian workforce.
  2. Over 300 different languages and dialects are spoken in Australia, which includes 45 Indigenous languages.
  3. When planning a business trip, the optimal time to visit Australia is between March and November, given the holiday (and tourist) season takes place from December to February.
  4. Businesses use activity statements (BAS’s), to pay their periodic tax obligations such as GST, income tax instalments, PAYG withholding, and fringe benefits tax (FBT) instalments.
  5. The Australian tax system allows losses on investments to be deducted from an individual’s taxable income (e.g. losses from a rental property).
  6. When engaging in conversation in Australia, typical topics of interest include the weather or sports (particularly rugby league or rugby union in New South Wales and even more so Australian rules (AFL) in Melbourne).
  7. It is mid-winter in most of Australia. And it does get quite chilly in many places! But in the very north there are just two seasons: the wet season and the dry season. The wet season runs from October to April.
  8. Australia is home to the ‘Highway 1’ network, which is the longest highway in the world. The highway spans over 14,500km (9,000 miles), circumnavigating the country and joining all mainland state capitals.
  9. In the 2019-20 financial year, the Australian government collected taxation revenue of $552 billion.
  10. In Australia, companies are required to pay an annual review fee each year. A notice is sent from the corporate regulator (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) to the company officers to advise when this is due.

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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