Recommended Reading

Company annual reports and prospectuses contain a wealth of vital data regarding the health of a company, yet few investors use these resources to their full potential. Analysing Company Accounts 4th Edition will help you to understand the information presented and to know which figures are useful and which can be misleading.

Roth’s suggestions for monitoring your portfolio are based on ratio analysis. Side-stepping the purple prose of company directors, investors can - with the help of a calculator - compare, contrast and ascertain the actual stability and growth potential of any publicly listed stock. Importantly, real examples from company reports of 15 of Australia’s Top 500 companies are used to highlight and clarify the book’s lessons.
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With recent concessions in relation to administration problems with family trust elections being made by the Tax Commissioner, it’s important for ordinary Australians to be well-informed about family trusts and how they can create wealth by arranging their family affairs in a way which is right for them.

Family Trusts 3rd Edition is an easy to understand guide covering all aspects of setting-up and running a family trust. Covering everything from the advantages and disadvantages of family trusts to the different types, how family trusts and their beneficiaries are ataxed, and how to wind one up, this is the perfect guide for everyday Australian families who are thinking of setting up a Family Trust.

Published by John Wiley & Sons (RRP $29.95) (ISBN 073149 114) Available in all good book stores or phone John Wiley & Sons on 1800 777 474.
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This book contains innovative strategies to increase returns for trustees and beneficiaries.

At the end of 2003 there were over 282,000 Self Managed Superannuation Funds in Australia with assets of $128 billion. Each year approximately 23,500 funds are established.

This is the fastest growing sector of superannuation in Australia, accounting for over 20% of the total market.

Funds and Trusts are generally established by accountants for taxation purposes. As accountants are not financial advisers, they set up the fund for the trustees but do not, and cannot, provide any advice as to what to do with the money in the fund.

This has resulted in a disproportionate percentage of the funds from SMSFs and family trust vehicles sitting in cash accounts. “Investment Freedom” includes discussion on property trusts, instalment warrants, hybrid securities and equity linked term deposits.

Published by John Wiley & Sons (RRP $29.95) (ISBN 07314 0177 8). Available in all good book stores or phone John Wiley & Sons on 1800 777 474.
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Almost everyone in the workforce today has superannuation, with many receiving regular super contributions from their employer. The money is invested, enjoys tax concessions and will hopefully provide us with adequate income during retirement to ensure that we can maintain a certain standard of living in our later years.

It’s a simple concept, but legislation has been changed and tweaked so often since its inception that many different rules apply to different earning periods and different people’s situations. The result is that most of us keep on saving and hoping that we’ll be OK. The reality is that if we want to live comfortably in retirement, we need to start taking control of our financial future now, and that’s by knowing how to go about it!

Superannuation for Dummies is a no-nonsense guide to superannuation that will answer all your questions in plain English, and includes a foreword by Dr Michaela Anderson, Director of Policy and Research at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.

Written by journalist and superannuation specialist writer Trish Power, Superannuation for Dummies covers :

• The different types of funds available
• How to work out how much super you need
• How to make extra contributions and increase your super savings
• How to set up and manage your own fund
• Choosing the right fund for you
• Where to find good advice
• What happens if you take a break from the workforce
• How social security and super work together

From understanding the importance of super to accessing it when you retire, Superannuation for Dummies is the easy way to get your super working for you !

Published by John Wiley & Sons (RRP $39.95) (ISBN 1740 310 616). Available in all good book stores or phone John Wiley & Sons on 1800 777 474.
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Finally, someone bright has written a book to help 20/30 Somethings’ get their heads around money.

Remember w Finally, someone bright has written a book to help 20/30 Somethings’ get their heads around money.

Remember when you didn’t really know much about money? With distractions like moving out of home, overseas travel, dancing till 4am – personal finances are fairly low on the average 20 year old’s ‘to do’ list.

At this stage in the financial lifecycle, the only fiscal truths you know are that you are grossly underpaid and the tax man is cruel.

To alleviate the financial anguish so many young Australians experience, Scott Pape has penned a worthwhile read; “The Barefoot Investor”.

Whatever the financial hang up - that you don’t ‘do’ finance, that you have dug yourself into a hole, or that you have a goal but not a plan - this book will help. What’s more, it’s a truly easy, entertaining read - maybe not Dan Brown; but a page turner all the same. In fact, it is currently the 5th best selling finance book in Australia. More importantly, it covers all the important stuff in only 224 pages (strictly speaking even less - there are pictures!). The only thing it will leave you wondering is why Pape’s pearls of wisdom aren’t covered in our education system.

So, if you or someone else in your life need a companion on the journey to financial freedom, Pape’s “Barefoot Investor” will provide the perfect Talisman. No mess, no fuss.

“The Barefoot Investor” is published by Pluto Press Australia (RRP $24.95 – ISBN 1864033126). Available in all good bookstores.
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Trading The ASX Way

These three books are clearly written and simply explained by the expert educator team from the Australian Stock Exchange.

• “Starting Out in Shares” providing objective information on buying and selling shares for beginner investors,
• “Trading the Sharemarket” for investors who are familiar with how the stockmarket works and want to exploit its potential to accumulate wealth, and
• “Trading Options” which explains how to get started trading options and develop knowledge and skill to allow you to profit for all market conditions.

All published by John Wiley & Sons (RRP $39.95) Phone 1800 777 4a74 to order or check book stores.
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The English philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon, once famously said that “knowledge is power”.

In the modern world nothing has changed, knowledge remains supreme. Those who possess knowledge or know how to get it are the ones that make successful investment, business and life decisions. Tax is no different and it impacts on all of our other decisions. Make sure you have the necessary knowledge to minimize the tax you pay.

The ‘Annual Tax Summary 2005 and 2006’ is an invaluable tool for investors, property and business owners, retirees, those running their own self managed superannuation funds, advisers, financial planners, and any other taxpayer who wants to keep abreast of tax issues in order to minimize the amount of tax they legitimately have to pay. It is written by the in-house experts at Taxpayers Australia and it contains the information necessary to understand the rules and identify the strategies and options available to ensure you pay the right amount of tax and not a cent more.
The summary contains approximately 1,200 pages and covers all of the rules that apply for 2004/05 as well as those changes that are likely to impact on taxpayers in 2005/06. It includes detailed summary of all federal taxes as well as State taxes. There is also information on international tax treaties that affect both Australian expatriates and foreign citizens working in Australia.
It also includes details of all of the tax changes announced in the Federal Budget as well as the changes that will commence as a consequence of the Review of Self Assessment.

Useful resource

It contains 19 separate chapters which deal with every aspect of taxation. There are chapters on rental income and negative gearing, investment income, capital gains tax, business and investment structures, assessable income, self assessment, fringe benefits tax, business deductions, deductions for individuals, superannuation, tax rebates and offsets, deductions for capital expenditure and goods and services tax. It contains a summary of land tax, payroll tax and stamp duty for each State and Territory.
This Summary will enable you to identify all of the deductions you are allowed to claim and all of the tax offsets and rebates that reduce your tax liability. It sets out your rights and entitlements if you are audited and it also identifies your objection and appeal rights in the event you have a dispute with the Tax Office. It also includes details of the Tax Office’s planned audit program and who it intends to target.

It also has a summary of every tax ruling, determination and practice statement released by the Tax Office during 2004/05
In short, this is a complete summary of all of the federal and state tax laws. It is written in plain English with lots of examples to help you understand how the law works and how it affects you. Each chapter is full of tips and traps to ensure that you make the right choices and pay the right amount of tax – not one cent more.
Regardless of whether you manage your own tax affairs or someone else manages it for you, you need to have an understanding of the rules and how they affect you. Make sure you pay no more tax than the law requires.

RRP $85.80 includes postage and handling. Phone 1300 657 572 to order.

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