Are there any hidden taxes I should be aware of? (Richard, Newcastle)

Answer

All of the taxes in Australia are fairly well known, but there are some aspects of the Australian tax system that are peculiar to migrants and should be borne in mind when you are moving to Australia. These include the liability that can arise if a newly arrived migrant decides to transfer UK pension benefits into an Australian superannuation fund more than 6 months after commencing tax residency in Australia.
Australia also operated what was called the Foreign Investment Fund legislation until relatively recently. The FIF rules affected migrants who became tax residents of Australia who retained certain types of investments located outside Australia, including endowment policies, ISAs, and Bonds, and required such taxpayers to include the annual growth in the value of these investments in their assessable income, even if the investment had not been sold. This legislation was abolished from the end of the last income tax year, on 30th June 2010.

ABOUT THE EXPERT

Alan Collett is a qualified Chartered Accountant in UK and Australia. With Jane Cooper (also tax qualified in both countries), he owns and operates Go Matilda Accounting and Tax, which provides tax advice and ongoing tax compliance services such as tax return preparation for those who are moving to Australia. Go Matilda has offices in the UK and in Australia, and can be contacted in the UK on 023 80 30 25 24, and on the Internet at www.gmtax.com.au. Jane also operates a pension transfer consultancy business in Australia.