Morning Briefing: ATO reveals no taxable income for third of foreign banks in Australia

Almost a third of the 26 large foreign banks in Australia had no taxable income last year, ATO data reveals... Tax speculation, increased desire for positive cash flow help duplex resurgence...

ATO reveals no taxable income for third of foreign banks in Australia
Australia's four major banks paid $9.5 billion in income tax for 2014. In contrast, new data from the Australian Taxation Office shows nearly a third of the 26 large foreign banks operating in Australia had no taxable income in 2014, according to the Australian Financial Review. 

Eight banks with total revenue of $9 billion had no taxable income, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Lloyds and BNP Paribas.

The big four Australian banks, the top taxpayer was ComBank, which paid $2.87 billion at a tax rate of 29.1 per cent.

All Australian banking and lending institutions reported taxable profits, but most paid lower tax rates than foreign banks.

In depth: Making staff management a breeze

Tax speculation, increased desire for positive cash flow help duplex resurgence
Speculation about changes to Australia’s taxation system and an increased desire from investors for cash flow positive properties have helped result in a resurgence in the popularity of duplexes according to one property expert.

Lloyd Edge, director and founder of investment advice firm Aus Property Professionals, said the last 18 months had seen his company filed an increasing number of inquiries from people looking to buy or build a duplex.

“There’s been some talk that negative gearing, which I personally think is a little outdated, might be looked at so people are starting to look for investments that are cash flow positive,” Edge said.

“The other thing is the depreciation side of things, with a duplex you’ve got two lots of depreciation you can claim, which is attractive to a lot of people as well,” he said.

While not all investors are looking for properties that are cash flow positive, Lloyd said those more interested in capital gains should also re-evaluate their opinion of duplexes.

“One of the things people often say about property is that you can’t get good capital growth and good yields at the same time, but with a duplex you get two streams of income that can put your yields at 6.5% to 7%,” he said.

In depth: Clients: An old but new referral source