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Home / Author: Jon Kalkman

Jon Kalkman

Taxpayers with lowest tax rate are hardest hit

Two studies dive into the numbers to argue that Labor's franking policy will hit low income earners the hardest, because a franking credit is a constant 30% of the taxable income.

What is Labor’s franking impact outside of super and pensions?

Labor’s policy on franking credits denies some taxpayers the benefit of taxes paid on their behalf, but a franking credit is money withheld by the ATO until the shareholder’s tax return is completed, just like a PAYG taxpayer.

The myth about Costello’s super generosity

Peter Costello's 2007 changes made payments from superannuation tax free after age 60 for those who are fully retired. Is he responsible for making super unaffordable which is now forcing policy changes?

Why an SMSF pension is tax-free and receives a refund

Denying imputation credit tax refunds to the SMSF as taxpayer will reduce its income, causing pension funds to deplete faster, and its members to turn to the age pension quicker. This isn’t an outcome the Government desires.

Tax-free super drives the politics of envy

Labor has been forced to exempt 'pensioners' from its franking credit refund policy, but the target remains the zero tax paid by large SMSFs in pension phase. That will sustain the class war.

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Interviews

AFIC on the speculative ASX boom, opportunities, and LIC discounts

In an interview with Firstlinks, CEO Mark Freeman discusses how speculative ASX stocks have crushed blue chips this year, companies he likes now, and why he’s confident AFIC’s NTA discount will close.

Investment strategies

Solving the Australian equities conundrum

The ASX's performance this year has again highlighted a persistent riddle facing investors – how to approach an index reliant on a few sectors and handful of stocks. Here are some ideas on how to build a durable portfolio.

Retirement

Regulators warn super funds to lift retirement focus

Despite three years under the retirement income covenant, regulators warn a growing gap between leading and lagging super funds, driven by poor member insights and patchy outcomes measurement.

Shares

Australian equities: a tale of two markets

The ASX seems a market split in two: between the haves and have nots; or those with growth and momentum and those without. In this environment, opportunity favours those willing to look beyond the obvious.

Investment strategies

Dotcom on steroids Part II

OpenAI’s business model isn't sustainable in the long run. If markets catch on, the company could face higher borrowing costs, or worse, and that would have major spillover effects.

Investment strategies

AI’s debt binge draws European telco parallels

‘Hyperscalers’ including Google, Meta and Microsoft are fuelling an unprecedented surge in equity and debt issuance to bankroll massive AI-driven capital expenditure. History shows this isn't without risk.

Investment strategies

Leveraged single stock ETFs don't work as advertised

Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver some multiple of an underlying index or reference asset’s return over a day. Yet, they aren’t even delivering the target return on an average day as they’re meant to do.

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