September 2017 Report

It was another relatively quiet month financially. Here are our monthly accounts (in AUD):

"Current other income" was $14.7k. I got paid about $2.5k of backpay. Spending (not counting mortgage) was about the same as last month moderate at $6.8k. Rates (property tax) and the body corporate (condo) fee added more than $1k. After deducting the mortgage payment of $4.0k (which includes implicit interest saving due to our offset account - the actual mortgage payment was about $840 less than this), we saved $3.9k on the current account and added $2.1k in housing equity. Retirement contributions were $3.5k. Net saving was, therefore, $9.5k across the board.

The Australian Dollar fell slightly from USD 0.7922 to USD 0.7839. The ASX 200 lost 0.02%, the MSCI World Index gained 1.97%, and the S&P 500 2.08%. All these are total returns including dividends. We gained 0.97% in Australian Dollar terms and lost 0.09% in US Dollar terms. So, we outperformed the Australian market and underperformed international markets. The best performer in dollar terms was the various Platinum Funds, gaining $6.0k. IPE was the worst performer losing $2.0k. That was the result of a tick down of 0.5 cents in the share price to the bid rather than ask side of the spread. Hedge funds were the best performing asset class in percentage terms, gaining 3.55%. Private equity was the worst performing asset class, losing 4.11%. Commodities were also down, 1.58%. All other asset classes gained.

As a result of all this, net worth rose AUD 22k to $1.910 million (new high) or rose USD 2k to USD 1.498 million (also a new high).

Moominmama's Taxes 2016-17 Edition

I've filed Moominmama's tax return for this tax year. The tax year runs from 1st July to 30th June in Australia. The figures ignore employer and employee contributions to superannuation (retirement account) which amount to a lot of extra income. Everything is in Australian Dollars of course.

Her salary is down because she went on maternity leave and the average tax rate also falls as a result. Investment income is up though.

Here are the reports on Snork Maiden's taxes for all previous years:

2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
2012-13
2012-13
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-9
2007-8

Moominpapa's Taxes 2016-17 Edition

I have now completed my tax return. Looks like I should get a $2,870 refund. This huge increase in refund compared to last year is mainly due to the 16% increase in tax witholding by my employer relative to only an 11% increase in tax owed. My taxable income is up by 8%. But my tax is up 11%. This is because the increase in income is taxed at the maximum marginal rate, which is 49%. Gross cash income is before tax income ignoring franking and other tax credits and adding in net undiscounted capital gains (not deleting losses from previous years). It was up 16%.

I again checked what information the government knows about my tax affairs as revealed by the prefilled information on my tax return. They are still missing as much information as last year.  I filed Moominmama's return online for the second time, using the prefilled numbers plus deductions.

Previous years' reports:

2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
2012-13
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-9
2007-8

Interactive Brokers Australia

Interactive Brokers have set up a subsidiary in Australia and are requiring all clients resident in Australia to move their account to the new broker. The only declared difference is that they won't hold cash in currencies apart from AUD and USD. A few years ago they told Australian clients that they couldn't borrow on margin any more. Maybe that was fixed in the meantime. In any case, the website indicates that you can borrow on margin. Formally, it doesn't change the obligation to pay US estate tax on US assets. These start at an estate of only USD60k for non-US citizens. But it would probably make it easier to avoid. I still have a US retirement account, which is a bit over the USD 60k limit and a US mutual fund worth USD 14k. I also have a bank account, but that isn't included in the estate tax liable assets. It seems though that the US-Australia estate tax treaty means that my estate wouldn't be required to pay US estate taxes.*

* This wasn't the case for my mother who lives in a country that doesn't have an estate tax treaty with the US.