Comfort with money

When setting up a new business one of the critical decisions that must be made relates to the structure of the business. The options are: ·         Sole Trader ·         Partnership ·         Joint Venture ·         Limited Partnership ·         Trust ·         Company Most people going into a new business or making changes to an existing activity that earns some money on the side (which is possibly just a hobby and therefore not taxable) will be frustrated by the answer from a professional to the question “Which structure is best for me?” The answer must be……”that depends”. Tax considerations are important, but depending on the type of the business, expected profitability and family circumstances, these considerations could easily be overwhelmed by other more important issues. The most recurring myth that I have had to reject repeatedly to dozens of clients over the last 30 years or so,is that establishment of a company means that you can cla

I don’t think I want to know about Bitcoin. Having said that I’m sure there are one or two real millionaires who did exceptionally well from this speculation who would tell me what a great investing opportunity I missed out on. Personally I do not speculate and my definition there is a clear distinction between speculation and investment. Investment means long term, period. The two money losing ventures that I heard about before I was even in my teens were the Tulip Bulb speculative boom of the 17th Century   and the  South Sea Bubble , an 18 th Century money making scheme run by a government  supported company riddled with insider traders and crooks. At least the last buyers of tulip bulbs had something real to look at or plant! When one of my clients asked my advice about Bitcoin my reply went something like this – “Decide how much money you would bet on a chosen horse to win the Melbourne Cup knowing that you could lose the lot. If you are that way inclined b y a