Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. All big four banks now aligned with Reserve Bank’s rate rise After last week’s decision by the Reserve Bank to raise the official cash rate to 2.35 per cent, Westpac is the last of the big four banks to raise its interest rate to align. Public holiday may hurt…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Markets continue to wobble The ASX followed Wall Street’s shaky lead last week, closing flat. Traders are reacting to a handful of uncertainties including surging inflation, recession fears, ongoing supply chain issues, and record low unemployment. What rising interest rates mean for those who don’t have a mortgage It’s…  Read more

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme The government is developing a claims scheme to provide a simple, streamlined process to compensate eligible people who suffer a moderate to significant impact following an adverse reaction to an approved COVID-19 vaccine without the need for complex legal proceedings. The scheme covers the costs…  Read more

 Treasury has released its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (‘MYEFO’) for 2019/20 forecasting a surplus of approximately $5 billion.   Proposed new record-keeping course One new tax-related measure of note in the MYEFO was the announcement the ATO would be provided with a new discretion to direct taxpayers (found to be lacking in their substantiation efforts under audit) to undertake an approved record-keeping course, instead of applying financial penalties. This…  Read more