Month: September 2011

There could well be a few of you out there that don’t realise that Renault, that great French brand that has never quite made it here, are the owners of a very large slice of Nissan Motor Company.

So we see at the moment both Nissan and Renault marketing some very aggressive finance rates.

With Renault, you can get a 2.9% Interest Rate on the Megane, the new Latitude Sedan and the Fluence Sedan and a 3.9% Interest Rate on the commercial range, namely the Kangoo, Trafic and Master vans.

With Nissan, they are offering a 1.9% Interest Rate on the new Micra.

On top of these they are offering free servicing and a 5 year warranty on some models which all seems quite compelling.

However, as with all of these special offers there is small print, which you must read. Both are restricted to 36 month terms and it is interesting that the comparison rate referred to in the advertising relates to a 60 month contract for $30,000, when the Micra costs half of this amount! So, go figure!

As with all of these deals, whilst on the face of it they may seem attractive, it is always best to try and compare apples with apples. You may find that the rate is only available for the car if you pay the full ticket price for the car. Whereas you may be able to negotiate a discount and then finance the vehicle at normal rates and end up better off.

There is no doubt that for some people, these are well worth considering but we would recommend that you do your homework first and don’t get drawn in by some slick salesperson’s spiel.

Back in May, there were some changes to the way that FBT is calculated on Company vehicles. This has lead to a much simpler way of calculating the tax, but in the interim I have been asked many times how this impacts existing contracts, so below I will try and explain in plain English.

One thing is clear, there is no longer a benefit for those travelling large numbers of kilometres per annum because there is now one flat rate of 20% across the board.

HOW THE OLD STATUTORY FORMULA METHOD WORKS

Under the old statutory formula method, the taxable value of car fringe benefits is based on the cost of the car multiplied by the relevant statutory percentage. The percentage depends on the number of kilometres the car has travelled, taking into consideration the number of days in the year that you provided car fringe benefits.

Where the last commitment in relation to a car has been entered into before 7.30pm AEST on 10 May 2011 the old statutory rates will continue to apply, as outlined in table 1.

However, if a pre-existing commitment is altered, it may be considered a new commitment that is subject to the new arrangements.

Table 1

HOW THE NEW STATUTORY FORMULA METHOD WORKS

The new flat statutory rate of 20% applies regardless of the distance travelled.

The new flat rate applies to all car fringe benefits after 7.30pm AEST on 10 May 2011, except where there is a pre-existing commitment in place to provide a car.

All pre-existing commitments will remain under the old statutory rates unless there is a change that would amount to a new commitment.

Statutory rate

So there you have it, plain and simple up until April 2014, but if you have any other questions relating to this, make sure you talk to the people at FinCar.

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Employee Contribution Method

Interest Rates

Tuesday, 10 May 2011 08:06

The Employee Contribution Method (ECM) is an evolution of the Novated Lease product that was initially introduced as a method of payment for Executives and high income earners to save money (taxes generally) regardless of their job description.

The original Novated Lease was established using the Statutory Fraction Method, more commonly known as the FBT method for those people who fell into the highest marginal tax bracket.

However, since July 30 2008, the top marginal tax rate rose to $180,000 from $150,000 which reduced the glamour of this product to many people.

So as not to disadvantage these people from this fundamental shift in tax rates the (ECM) was implemented to maximise the benefit from vehicle packaging for PAYE tax payers under $180,000 (after packaging).

The ECM is a more tax effective arrangement for those under the top tax margin simply because the FBT method uses a formula that is based on the capital value of the vehicle, the statutory fraction and highest marginal rate; E.g. Capital Value X Statutory Fraction X 45% X 2.0647 (easy hey!!not)

Basically, if you are under the top marginal rate of tax and you want to package your car you can contribute to the value of the vehicle pre-tax and the running cost post tax; saving you the difference on the margin.

For every dollar the employee contributes to the running costs of the vehicle they reduce their FBT liability of the vehicle by the same amount. So you are substituting the FBT costs for standard tax.

As a rule of thumb, you will save (on spending) approximately 10% of the value of the car each year. It may not seem too much, but if you purchase a $30,000 you will be about $3,000 per year better off than with the Standard Novation agreement. That is definitely better in your pocket than the ATOs!

Ask the people at FinCar for more information on ECM when you call.