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.

The Victorian Supreme Court in Alphington Developments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] VSC 709 considered the dutiable value for a transfer of land under paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) and whether payments required to be made by the vendor under a contract were able to reduce the headline purchase price for stamp duty purposes.

The ART decision in XLZH v FCT looked at whether pre-CGT assets owned by a discretionary trust kept that status under Division 149 and to the extent to which ATO Ruling IT 2430 can be relied upon in applying Division 149.

#CGT, #Division 149, #discretionary trusts, #Tax, #IT 2430

New Division 296 tax, as outlined in a Treasury Fact Sheet, includes two indexed thresholds ($3 million and $10 million) and taxation on realised (not unrealised) earnings from 1 July 2026. However, critical details about how realised earnings will be calculated—particularly regarding pre-1 July 2026 gains—remain unclear.

#superannuation #SMSF #tax #Div296 #totalsuperbalance #$3million #unrealisedgains #10million

Division 296 tax to be amended to remove taxation of unrealised capital gains, according to a media release by Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

#superannuation #SMSF #tax #Div296 #totalsuperbalance #$3million #unrealisedgains

The article explains the arguments contained in the parties’ submissions to the High Court in the appeal by the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) from the Full Federal Court’s (Full Court) decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15 (Bendel). 

Sladen Legal has been recognised as a Third Tier Leading Tax Law Firm in Victoria for 2025 by Doyle's Guide. Doyle's Guide is a respected and independent directory that highlights Australia’s top firms and legal professionals.

On 12 June 2025, the High Court granted the Commissioner special leave to appeal the decision of the Full Federal Court in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15 (Full Court Decision) that we wrote about here.

On 19 February 2025, the Full Federal Court handed down its decision in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15. On 18 March 2025, the ATO applied for special leave and, on 19 March 2025, the ATO updated its interim decision statement (DIS) on the case.

We review the updated DIS below.

#Division 7A, #UPE, #Unpaid present entitlements, #Tax, #Trusts, #TD2022/11, #Bendel, #109D #Special leave #Decision Impact Statement

On 19 February 2025, the Full Federal Court, in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15 (Bendel), held that an unpaid present entitlement (UPE) with a corporate beneficiary is not a loan under subsection 109D(3) of Division 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

The ATO has finalised its practical compliance guidance Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2024/3 (Guideline) to clarify how the ATO will apply its compliance resources in relation to the application of section 99B when Australian residents receive payments or benefits from non-resident trusts. The guideline outlines common scenarios, record-keeping expectations, and low-risk arrangements.

Sladen Legal has been recognised as a Third Tier Leading Tax Law Firm in Victoria for 2024 by Doyle's Guide. Doyle's Guide is a respected and independent directory that highlights Australia’s top firms and legal professionals.

Is the payment of a death benefit to a spouse’s estate tax free? The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a Private Binding Ruling 1052273158502 (PBR) in which it determined that it was not under section 302-10(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 97).

Over the course of the last year, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has repeatedly indicated in various forums that advisors are in the ATO’s sights.

On 28 August 2024, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) published Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2024/D2 (Draft PCG) on Personal services businesses and Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

On 31 July 2024, the ATO released draft TD 2024/D2 and draft PCG 2024/D1 on aspects of section 99B.

While we welcome the ATO guidance on section 99B, it is not what taxpayers and advisors want– section 99B requires legislative amendment. However, is the draft ATO guidance what advisor’s need?

We wrote about the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) in Quy v FCT [2024] AATA 245 here. In that decision, the Tribunal held that Mr Quy, who was physically in Australia for less than 2 months each year, was a resident of Australia for tax purposes.

In the current economic landscape, business owners may be considering a restructure, merger, or demerger to adapt, survive, or enable growth. A change in the structure of a business typically involves either the transfer of ownership interests in the entire business or of specific assets of the business.

This is the first article in a series that aims to demystify the application of the tax consolidation rules in Part 3-90 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 for private groups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

As we’ve noted previously, commercial and industrial properties sold or transferred on or from 1July 2024, will enter the new commercial and industrial property regime. Broadly, the regime will operate such that future transfers will not trigger land transfer (stamp) duty but rather the property will be subject to a (further) set of land tax, known as commercial and industrial property tax (CIPT).