Federal Taxes
We provide specialist federal tax advice to private enterprise, family groups and professional advisers.
Sladen Legal’s federal tax lawyers advise private business owners, family groups, family offices, privately held businesses and professional advisers on complex Australian federal tax matters. We advise on structuring, transactions, trusts, succession and cross-border arrangements. We also represent taxpayers in Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reviews, audits, objections and litigation.
Our advice combines specialist tax law analysis with an understanding of the commercial, trust and succession issues that influence the practical outcome. We work directly with clients and alongside accountants, financial advisers and other lawyers where a matter requires detailed legal analysis, careful documentation or a considered dispute strategy.
How our federal tax lawyers can assist
Federal tax issues arise when ownership structures change, assets are sold, wealth passes between generations, businesses expand across borders or the ATO examines a taxpayer’s position. We provide advice at the planning stage and continue to assist if an issue develops into a review, audit or dispute.
We advise on income tax consequences for companies, trusts, partnerships, individuals and private groups.
We structure and review commercial transactions, business reorganisations, roll-overs and investment arrangements.
We advise on capital gains tax, including small business CGT concessions and the tax treatment of business and asset sales.
We advise private companies and family groups on Division 7A, trust distributions, family trust elections and related tax risks.
We advise on tax consolidation, group restructures and the tax consequences of entities joining or leaving consolidated groups.
We advise on international tax, tax residency, cross-border investment and financing, and foreign trust and company issues.
We represent taxpayers in ATO reviews, audits, objections, settlement negotiations and tax litigation.
We advise on tax-effective estate planning, business succession, deceased estates and intergenerational transfers.
We advise on foreign investment requirements and prepare and lodge applications for foreign acquisitions of direct and indirect interests in Australian real property.
Contact Us
To discuss how we can assist you, please get in touch.
Phone: +61 3 9611 0104
Email: tax@sladen.com.au
Awards and Recognition
The Tax team has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide consecutively as a Leading Victorian Tax Law Firm. These listings detail firms practising in taxation advisory and disputes matters in the Victorian legal market who have been identified by their clients and peers for their expertise and abilities in these areas.
Taxation Insights
Income tax advice and tax-effective structuring
Tax outcomes depend on the legal structure used and the way an arrangement operates in practice. We advise before transactions are implemented and review existing arrangements when a business, investment or family group has changed.
Our work addresses the income tax consequences of structures, reorganisations, financing, distributions and commercial agreements. We also consider the documentation and implementation steps needed to support the intended tax treatment.
We advise on the income tax treatment of business and investment structures, including companies, trusts and partnerships.
We assess revenue and capital treatment, deductions, tax losses, franking and other company tax issues.
We advise on reorganisations, roll-overs, internal transactions and changes to ownership structures.
We assess anti-avoidance risks and prepare legal opinions, position papers and private ruling applications where appropriate.
We advise on employee equity and incentive arrangements when tax treatment affects structure, documentation or compliance.
Capital gains tax and transaction advice
Capital gains tax can materially affect the proceeds of a business sale, property transaction, investment disposal or internal restructure. Early advice can identify available concessions and roll-overs, clarify valuation requirements and allow transaction documents to reflect the intended tax position.
We work with clients and their advisers on the tax consequences of acquisitions, disposals, restructures and ownership transitions. We also consider GST and other federal tax issues where they form part of the same transaction.
We advise on CGT arising from the sale or transfer of businesses, property, investments, shares and trust interests.
We assess eligibility for the small business CGT concessions and relevant CGT roll-overs.
We advise on asset sales, share sales, mergers and acquisitions, founder exits and family transfers.
We review transaction structures, valuations and contractual tax provisions for consistency with the intended tax outcome.
Private companies, Division 7A and trust taxation
Private group tax often depends on the interaction between company law, trust law and the income tax rules. We advise private companies, trustees, beneficiaries and family groups on current arrangements and on historical issues that require correction, disclosure or restructuring.
Our trust taxation work includes distribution and entitlement issues, family trust elections and the tax consequences of changes to trust structures. We also advise where private company benefits, loans or unpaid entitlements create Division 7A or related tax risks.
We advise on Division 7A loans, payments, benefits, minimum yearly repayments and remediation of historical issues.
We advise trustees and beneficiaries on trust distributions, present entitlements, unpaid present entitlements and section 100A risk.
We advise on family trust elections, interposed entity elections, family trust distribution tax and trust loss rules.
We advise on trust restructures, changes in control, franking issues and distributions involving non-resident beneficiaries.
We advise on the interaction between trust taxation, deceased estates, succession planning and family group restructures.
International tax and cross-border arrangements
Cross-border ownership, investment and mobility can change the Australian tax treatment of income, gains, distributions and financing. We advise Australian residents with offshore interests, foreign residents with Australian interests and private groups with members or investments in more than one jurisdiction.
International tax advice often requires close attention to the relevant entity, the source and character of income, tax residency, treaty provisions and the way funds move between jurisdictions.
We advise on the tax residency of individuals, companies and trusts.
We advise on inbound and outbound investment, tax treaties and cross-border business arrangements.
We advise on cross-border financing, thin capitalisation and debt deduction creation rules, transfer pricing, foreign currency issues and the taxation of financial arrangements.
We advise on controlled foreign companies, transferor trusts, section 99B and Australian tax issues involving foreign trusts and funds.
We advise on tax consequences affecting non-resident beneficiaries, deceased estates and Australian property or business interests.
Tax consolidation
Tax consolidation can simplify the income tax treatment of wholly owned groups and support some group restructures, but the formation of a consolidated group and later changes in membership require detailed analysis. We advise corporate groups and their advisers on the legal and tax issues that arise at each stage.
Our work includes eligibility and formation, transfer and use of tax losses, entry and exit allocable cost amount calculations, tax cost setting, intra-group transactions, restructures and the consequences of entities joining or leaving the group.
Where required, we prepare and update tax sharing and tax funding agreements for consolidated groups, including arrangements that address the allocation and funding of group liabilities when members join or leave. We can also prepare indirect tax sharing and funding agreements for GST groups. This documentation supports clear liability allocation and internal funding arrangements.
Further Information
ATO reviews, audits, objections and tax litigation
Early legal advice can materially affect the conduct of an ATO review, audit or dispute. We assess the legal position, the available evidence, procedural options and commercial objectives before recommending a response strategy. We also advise clients before formal ATO activity when a client identifies a tax risk and a voluntary disclosure or other engagement may be appropriate.
Our tax disputes work covers the full dispute process. We prepare objections and settlement submissions, advise on penalties and interest, and represent taxpayers in the Administrative Review Tribunal and Federal Court proceedings. We also act in appellate matters where required.
We manage responses to ATO reviews, audits, questionnaires, information requests and formal notices.
We advise on legal professional privilege, evidence, document production and Freedom of Information applications.
We prepare voluntary disclosures, objections, amended assessment challenges and penalty or interest remission applications.
We conduct settlement negotiations and advise on tax debt, recovery and collection issues.
We represent taxpayers in merits review, Federal Court proceedings and appeals.
Tax can also become a material issue in shareholder disputes, family law disputes, transaction claims and broader group disputes. In those matters, we address the tax analysis alongside the evidence, settlement terms and wider litigation strategy.
Tax planning for estates, succession and family arrangements
Tax considerations can influence the transfer of a business, investment assets and family wealth. We work with clients and their advisers to identify tax consequences before succession and estate arrangements are implemented, and to address tax issues that arise during the administration of an estate.
Our advice is informed by Sladen Legal’s broader work in trusts, business structuring and personal succession planning. We consider the tax analysis together with the legal documents and control arrangements that give effect to the plan.
We design and review tax-sensitive business succession and intergenerational transfer arrangements.
We advise on restructures undertaken before a business sale, retirement or transfer of control.
We advise on CGT, Division 7A, trust and residency issues affecting deceased estates and succession structures.
We advise on family arrangements and property settlements when tax consequences require specialist analysis.
Foreign investment advice and applications
Australia’s foreign investment framework, commonly referred to as the FIRB regime, can apply when foreign persons acquire Australian land directly or through companies, trusts and other entities. We advise on whether a proposed acquisition requires approval or notification and on the steps that should be addressed before the transaction proceeds.
Our Federal Taxes team advises on, and prepares and lodges applications for, foreign acquisitions of direct and indirect interests in Australian real property. We can assist with applications to Treasury or the ATO, as applicable, and coordinate the foreign investment requirements with the transaction structure and timetable.
Working with professional advisers
A significant part of our Federal Taxes practice involves working with accountants, financial advisers, family office professionals and other lawyers. We can act on a discrete tax question or join an existing adviser team for a transaction, restructure, succession plan or ATO matter.
We focus our advice on the legal conclusion, the material risks and the implementation steps that follow. When a matter also involves business law, trusts, personal succession, dispute resolution, state taxes or superannuation, we can involve the relevant Sladen Legal practice so that we address the federal tax position with the wider legal issues.
Discuss a federal tax matter
For specialist advice on a federal tax issue affecting you, your business or your client, contact Sladen Legal’s Federal Taxes team.
Phone: +61 3 9611 0104
Email: tax@sladen.com.au
