Family trusts, bucket companies, and UPEs are back in the spotlight. Treasury’s consultation paper on a 30% minimum tax for discretionary trusts gives tax advisers a short window to be heard.

Our preliminary thoughts on the Treasury Consultation paper on “minimum tax on discretion trusts’ are below.

On 18 November 2025, ATO guidance QC 105857 was updated after the ATO raised concerns with arrangements where newly incorporated beneficiary companies claim franking credits.

Following first round consultation, the Government has announced an increase in the turnover threshold for the small business 50% active asset CGT reduction from $2m to $10m and, following the release of a consultation paper, further concessions for start-ups and early-stage investors. It has also confirmed that all testamentary trusts will be exempt from the minimum tax, with detail to follow in consultation.

The death of a family trust's test individual creates significant difficulties under the family trust election (FTE) rules Schedule 2F. This article examines the FTE rules in the context of succession.

TR 2026/1 finalised. Holiday homes that double as rentals face a new section 26-50 hurdle. The ATO denies ownership deductions unless the property is mainly rented out, and reserving peak weeks for family use is a red flag. Transitional relief ends 1 July 2026.

A new Victorian case has looked at whether a person has a life interest in a holiday home and the land tax position for holders of life interests.

Some early industry discussion on the 2026–27 Budget measure has suggested that the effective tax rate on trust income distributed to a bucket company will rise to around 51 per cent once the minimum tax commences on 1 July 2028.

‍ The Commissioner has not applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court the Full Federal Court decision of Commissioner of Taxation v Morton [2026] FCAFC 31.

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The Tribunal highlights why a standalone written loan agreement may be best practice for Division 7A compliance.

The small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions (Concessions) in Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 97) offer significant opportunities to reduce or eliminate tax levied on capital gains. However, despite a recent judicial pronouncement that the Concessions should be interpreted beneficially, the legislative conditions for relief are intricate and complex.

This paper equips SME and private-wealth advisers to identify when "big-end" corporate tax rules affect their clients and when to escalate to specialist advice. The five regimes covered are: Debt Deduction Creation Rules (DDCR), thin capitalisation, transfer pricing, hybrid mismatches, and taxation of financial arrangements (TOFA).

‍The Victorian Supreme Court in its recent decision has refused the taxpayer leave to appeal the VCAT decision of Tao v Commissioner of State Revenue [2024] VCAT 637.

This upholds the decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal that imposed landholder duty on a change of shareholder and director of a trustee company and confirms the drastic widening of the landholder duty change of control provisions which no longer requires the acquisition of units or shares or any rights similar to share or unit ownership.

What happens if I get a land tax assessment or a vacant residential land tax assessment that I do not agree with?  Can I appeal or object a land tax assessment or vacant residential land tax assessment?

The Div 296 bill was introduced to parliament on 11 February 2026. So what were the changes from Treasury’s draft legislation? For a summary of the draft legislation see our articles – part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

As the holiday season concludes and the countdown to another 30 June begins, we highlight 10 income tax issues that we expect will dominate the Australian private wealth landscape over the coming months.

This is our fourth article on the draft legislation for the new Div 296. Our first article examined the core legislation; our second article examined the transitional rules and the third article considered the problem that arises for indirect assets. This article will examine other issues with the proposed new Div 296.

This is our third article on the draft legislation for the new Div 296. Our first article examined the core legislation; while our second article examined the transitional rules. This article will examine how Div 296 will operate for indirect assets – for example where an SMSF holds assets via a unit trust or a company.

This is our second article on the draft legislation for the new Div 296. Our first article examined the core legislation. This article will examine the transitional rules including the CGT adjustment and two rules that just apply for the 2026/27 year.

Treasury released its draft legislation on 19 December 2025 for the new Div 296 and at the time of writing this article the draft legislation was open for consultation (closing 16 January 2026).