Important Information About Self-Managed Super Funds

The popularity of self-managed super funds has continued to rise since the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008. The increasing lack of confidence in super fund managers in combination with the desire of wanting to be in control your own financial destiny has resulted in a huge rise in the number of Australians deciding to […]

Transferring Property Prior to Bankruptcy

Often, people with financial difficulties facing pressure from creditors will try to protect their property by transferring it to a spouse or family member to avoid the property forming part of the asset pool if the person later becomes bankrupt. The following options are available to bankruptcy trustees to recover property that was transferred by […]

CGT on developing the family home

Understanding the taxation consequences of splitting the family home land or starting a development.

Getting advice around this is important and makes sure you do not lose concessions.

Increase in SMSF member numbers

In late April 2018, then federal minister for revenue and financial services Kelly O’Dwyer issued an announcement [1]declaring an expansion of the limit on the maximum number of members that are able to comprise a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF). The raise – from four to six – was implemented by the then Turnbull Government so as to […]

Trust Tax Losses

Australian trust loss rules are complex, poorly understood and onerous to apply. As a result, business or investment trusts risk claiming losses incorrectly, a situation that can result in a significant tax liability. By making a family trust election (FTE), small to medium sized privately-held businesses operating as a trust can satisfy the trust loss […]

Is your Div 7A Compliant?

Division 7A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA36) is an integrity measure that was designed to prevent companies from making tax-free distributions to shareholders or their associates. This can occur where distributions of profit are disguised as loans or other transactions. This effectively allows the shareholder or their associate to […]

Intercompany loans and debt forgiveness

What is an intercompany loan? Intercompany loans are loans that are made from one business unit of a company to another. Usually intercompany loans are made either to shift cash to a business unit that would otherwise have a cash shortfall, shift cash into a business unit where the funds are aggregated for investment purposes […]

Launch of our video platform

We have recently been working through a range of education and information videos to support our partners or to give you some understanding of the issues that arise in the management of taxation or restructure issues. Understanding that some of the issues that arise are complicated and need further explanation, each video tries to cover […]

Pushing back a vesting date

What is a trust vesting date? The vesting date is the date that the trust will end, which is usually stated in the trust deed. You can’t change the vesting date of a trust after that date has passed. Can I change the vesting date? In all states other than South Australia, your trust must […]

Investment of company funds in Hybrid Trusts

The Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) has recently removed from its website legal database the edited text of a private ruling regarding the investment of surplus funds of a private company into a hybrid unit trust. It is unsurprising that the ruling has been removed, since the ATO had months earlier added the rider at the […]