Tax time for small businesses, 2021 Buy Now Pay Later report & classic car boom: This week’s best banking news

• Navigating tax time as a small business in 2021
• Tighter home loan lending conditions
• 2021 BNPL Report: Aussies have a new go-to for their biggest purchases
• Meet Hiver: New ethically-focused, digital bank for essential workers
• Aussie classic car market booms
• Interest rate hike to come sooner than expected

All in this week’s best banking news recap: editor’s pick.

How to navigate tax time as a small business in 2021

After the rollercoaster of a financial year we’ve had during the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses might find completing their 2021 corporate tax returns to be a little trickier than in previous years.

According to CPA Australia’s senior manager of tax policy, Elinor Kasapidis, it’s essential that businesses claim all that they’re entitled to this year.

This includes things like tax write-offs for assets you’ve purchased or tax refunds on any losses or bad debts faced as a result of the pandemic.

Read full article: What to do at tax time: a guide for your small business in 2021 for everything you need to know about prepping your corporate tax return in 2021.

Tighter home loan lending conditions

Applying for a home loan could soon become more of an uphill for borrowers, with regulators currently exploring new policy options to try and stabilise Australia’s unpredictable property market.

APRA is now considering introducing macro-prudential controls, which are set to come with tighter debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios, plus stricter rules around interest-only and investor lending.

Read the full article: Home loan check: Are tighter lending conditions on the way? to get the full rundown.

Aussies have a new go-to for their biggest purchases

Aussies have flocked to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services like Afterpay and Zip since their conception a few years ago, but according to our 2021 Buy Now Pay Later Report, BNPL is here to stay.

Through our research, we’ve found that not only have Aussies welcomed BNPL into their digital wallets with open arms but, for many, it’s become their standard payment method for bigger purchases. 

Australians are using BNPL to their fullest advantage and are becoming savvier spenders in the process.

Read the full article: Mozo’s 2021 Buy Now Pay Later Report: Aussies have a new go-to for their biggest purchases to learn about how Australians use BNPL in 2021.

Meet Hiver: New ethically-focused, digital bank for essential workers

On Thursday (June 24th), Teachers Mutual Bank (A.K.A., one of Australia’s biggest mutual banks) launched a brand new ethically-conscious digital bank for essential workers, Hiver.

Initially, the neobank will only be available to Teachers Mutual Bank’s core customer base of essential workers - including members working in the education, emergency services and health sectors. However, it will likely open up to other customers further down the track, though.

Read the full article: Hiver: Australia’s new ethically-focused, digital bank for essential workers to learn more about this new digital bank.

Aussie classic car market booms

Always wanted to drive around in a retro 1963 Mercury Comet like the one Peyton Sawyer rocked in One Tree Hill? Well, now might be the time.

With high demand for secondhand cars due to the huge backlog in supply for new vehicles following the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re currently in the midst of a massive classic car market boom in Australia. 

Interestingly we’re seeing that many of the more basic vintage car models are now going for significantly more than their original price.

Read the full article: Aussie classic car market booms to get all the tea on the rise in the value of classic cars across Oz.

Interest rate hike to come sooner than expected says CBA

According to economists from the Commonwealth Bank, we can expect to see the Reserve Bank of Australia raise the cash rate above its current historic lows in November 2022.

CBA’s head of Australian economics, Gareth Aird, predicts a 15-basis-point increase (bringing the cash rate up to 0.25%), followed by an additional 0.25% increase in December 2022 and three more 0.25% increases throughout 2023, bringing the cash rate up to 1.25% by September 2023.

At this point, the current average variable interest rate for P&I owner-occupier home loans sits at 3.27% p.a. If these predictions play out, this will skyrocket up to a whopping 4.42% p.a.

Read the full article: Interest rate hike will come sooner than expected, says CBA to read more about the CBA’s predictions.

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