Luckily we live in a country that gives investors some...

Luckily we live in a country that gives investors some consolation for having experienced an investment as bad as QTK.....

At the end of the day money is money & where can it be best used at any given point in time? Nobody can say that over the past 18 months there would have been a worse place to park your cash than in QTK.....

As for a miraculous turn around, well none of us can say it is impossible. Nothing is impossible. As highly unlikely as it may be it is not impossible. However given the deplorable history of this company over a period of a decade, it is just that, highly unlikely!!!

Offsetting of Capital Losses Against Capital Gains

The treatment of capital losses under the new rules is quite simple. Capital losses on assets purchased at any point in time (and held for any period of time) can be used to reduce any taxable capital gains.

Taxpayers can choose the most beneficial method for using a capital loss to reduce taxable capital gains. For example, a loss on a share held for more than 12 months can be used to reduce the taxable gain on an asset held for less than 12 months.

Capital losses are offset against the full value of any discountable capital gains. Put another way, losses are deducted before applying the 50 per cent discount to relevant gains.

An optimal offsetting arrangement against capital gains can be described in three sequential steps:

* firstly offset capital losses against capital gains from shares that were held for less than twelve months as these shares do not qualify for the new concessions (ie. 50% reduction);
* if the old CGT system is chosen, any remaining capital losses are offset against the indexation-adjusted capital gains on the shares that were held for longer than 12 months; and
* the remaining capital losses, if any, can be offset against the capital gains from shares that were held for longer than 12 months and are eligible for the 50% reduction concession.

This sequence might leave some discountable capital gains, which would then be discounted by 50 per cent before being brought to tax.

If your losses exceed gains in any financial year, then your net capital loss will be carried forward into the next income year for future capital gains offsetting opportunities.