Tax for shares, page-8

hi Paolo

1. if you are doing short-term trades of forex, you are taxed on the profit of $1,200. Withdrawing your capital does not make any difference because you are taxed on your profit or loss rather than on your capital contribution to the account

2. 50% discount capital gain tax is for investment assets, such as shares, property, business structure, etc. Investment assets are assets you plan to hold for a long term period. If you trade assets repetitively on a short-term basis, they are not investment assets. For example, if I trade shares in 100 different companies many times during one year but hold shares in 5 companies for more than 12 months (because the share price keeps rising), those shares held for over 12 months are trading stock & not investment assets

3. the $5,000 dividend rule is for dividends earned on shares you have not held for 45 days.

4. for foreign shares dividend, you should receive a foreign franking credit, which you put in your Australian tax return as tax already paid

5. no dividends are tax-free. the $5000 dividend rule is about franking credits. if you hold shares for less than 45 days, you can only use your franking credits for $5000 of those dividends. those $5000 in dividends are still taxed but you have the 30% franking credit as tax already paid

regards