Changing directors: landholder duty trigger
SMSFs and NALE That Triggers NALI Let's Get Specific
Non-arm’s length income (NALI) has been a hot topic of discussion and debate in the SMSF industry in recent years, in particular since the ATO first released their draft ruling on non-arm’s length expenditure (NALE) in 2018 (and its subsequent iterations). Recently, the long debated amendments to NALE provisions were passed in Parliament and received Royal Assent in June 2024.
Rollovers - practical strategy and compliance insights
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. The disposal of an ownership interest in a business or its assets may trigger tax consequences for the business or business owners on capital or revenue account.
One Certainty in Life is Death – Taxes May Have a Little Give
Whilst the saying, “the two certainties in life are death and taxes”, is still as relevant as ever, the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) does at least provide a bit of leeway on the second one.[1] This session explores various exemptions and concessions available when it comes to tax and deceased estates, including:
Appointors sacking trustees to appoint themselves
Session 4: Trusts and small business CGT concessions – Oil and water or peas and carrots?
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.1 However, despite a recent judicial pronouncement that the Concessions should be interpreted beneficially,2 the legislative conditions for relief are intricate and complex.
Distribution Resolutions And Trust Income
Restructuring – To Roll Or Not To Roll?
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.
Trust Vesting: The Tax Implications
1. The High Court has described the trust as a “…creature of equity…” subject to the jurisdiction of a court of equity. The essential feature of every trust is that one person is an owner of property, but is bound to use their position as owner for the benefit of another or for the advancement of a purpose.
It’s a Small World: Jurisdictional considerations when contract drafting.
Bare trusts, resulting trusts and dealings in land
A Matter of Trusts
A failure to document a trust relationship at the time of acquisition may not always be fatal.
Introduction
Typically, but not always, land is legally and beneficially owned by the person registered on the title. However, sometimes the legal owner owns the land as trustee, the terms of which are supported by a written trust deed.
In the absence of a written trust deed, your client may maintain that the land is owned pursuant to a “bare trust” and the person registered on the title is the trustee (the legal owner) holding the land on trust for a beneficiary (the beneficial owner, or owners if there is more than one beneficiary).
Where the bare trust relationship is undocumented, the client might be concerned as to whether expected dealings in respect of the land trigger undesired tax outcomes.
In particular, issues can arise when:
the parties wish to vary the land title deed to record the beneficiary on the title (ie remove the trustee from the title);
a party has passed away and there is uncertainty about whether the land forms part of their estate; or
a party asserts that they qualify for the CGT main residence exemption in respect of the disposal of the land (and dwelling).
Is the absence of a written trust deed or declaration of trust at the time of purchase fatal? As discussed below, not necessarily, as objective facts can be persuasive in supporting the intentions of the parties.
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Protecting Against Death Benefits Challenges
Super guarantee – Same, same but different
This paper has been built on a previous paper on the superannuation guarantee (SG) regime, titled Super Guarantee – no longer the toothless tiger. That paper was designed to take a holistic examination of the SG regime. In this paper, we have built on that approach and added a number of developments, including:
