Our team

Peter Radford : Principal

Peter holds a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy & Finance) and is both a Registered Tax Agent and Fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants. Peter is also a Justice of the Peace (C.Dec).

Having 42 years experience in the accounting industry, with 16 years working in public practice you can be assured of Peter’s knowledge of taxation and small business expertise.

Contact: peter@radfordtax.com.au

Donna Irwin : Accountant

Donna has extensive expertise, experience and knowledge in accounting and taxation, having worked in public practices for over 29 years.

Donna is a specialist in preparing individuals, contractors and all business entities Tax returns, financial statements and Business Activity Statements.

Contact: donna@radfordtax.com.au

Neil Radford: Accountant

Neil is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) with over 11 years experience in public practice. He holds a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy and E-commerce) and is a Registered Tax Agent. Neil is a QuickBooks Online Certified Pro Advisor and a Justice of the Peace (C.Dec).

Neil is experienced in individual and business taxation, fringe benefits and capital gains with a particular interest in SMSF’s and Business Planning.

As an Authorised Representative of the SMSF Advisers Network Pty Ltd, Neil is able to help you with your superannuation and self managed superannuation funds needs.

Authorised Representative No 124 7494 of
SMSF Advisers Network Pty Ltd
AFSL No. 430062 ABN: 64 155 907 681

In order to provide personal advice to our clients in relation to superannuation and self managed superannuation funds, Radford Financial Advisory Services (QLD) Authorised Representative No 124 7493 has chosen to be authorised through the SMSF Advisors Network Pty Ltd (SAN) – the Australian Financial Services Licence of the National Tax and Accountants’ Association Ltd (NTAA).

Contact: neil@radfordtax.com.au

Mary Radford: Receptionist

Mary has worked at Peter Radford Accountant and Tax Agent since its commencement in 2001. You can be guaranteed of Mary’s warm welcome to greet you when you arrive at our office.

Contact: info@radfordtax.com.au

latest news

What Is A Retirement Planning Scheme?

Posted on April 21, 2021 by admin

With a significant number of Australians approaching retirement and looking at the best ways to maximise their retirement assets and income from their super for it, retirement planning makes sense.

Unfortunately, there are those who want to target people approaching and planning for their retirement with schemes designed to ‘help’ retirees and prospective retirees avoid paying tax by channelling their income through a self-managed super fund.

Retirement planning schemes are designed to help people avoid paying tax on the income earned through their assets (often in an illegal manner). Those schemes may seem like a simple get-rich-quick solution in maximising assets and income for retirement but can put people’s entire retirement savings at risk.

Anyone can fall prey to a retirement planning scheme. Anyone who is looking to put significant amounts of money into superannuation can be at risk of being ensnared, particularly those who are over 50, and who are:

• SMSF trustees
• Self-funded retirees
• Small business owners
• Professional service providers
• Individuals who are involved in property investment

Checking for standard features of retirement planning schemes can be an excellent way to avoid becoming tangled in one. Retirement planning schemes usually:

• Are artificially contrived and complex, with SMSF members often targeted and encouraged to use their SMSF as part of the scheme
• Involve a lot of paper shuffling
• Are designed to leave the taxpayer with a minimal or zero tax, or even a tax refund
• Aim to give a present-day tax benefit by adopting the arrangement
• Sound too good to be true – in most cases, they are.

Currently, there are a number of schemes targeted towards those individuals who currently have an SMSF, as they have a high level of control and autonomy in the way that their retirement savings are invested (subject to applicable tax and super laws).

Some examples of retirement planning schemes include:

• Some arrangements involving SMSFs and related-party property development ventures.
• Refund of excess non-concessional contributions to reduce taxable components
• Granting legal life interest over a commercial property to SMSFs
• Dividend stripping
• Non-arm’s length limited recourse borrowing arrangements
• Personal services income
• Liquidating an SMSF

To avoid becoming a part of a retirement planning scheme, seek professional advice on super or SMSFs from an accountant.

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