Section 99B, the “sequel” to 2022’s s 100A focus, may make taxpayers and advisers wish they had a bigger boat.

A recent Full Federal Court decision reflects the diversity of issues which can arise in the complex world of discretionary trusts.

On the setting up of a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF), the starting position is that, all members are required to be individual trustees or directors of a corporate trustee. However, life events such as incapacity and death, may require someone to fill the shoes of the replaced individual.

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:

A recent Supreme Court of Queensland decision serves as another reminder that strict adherence to the requirements in the trust deed is paramount for BDBNs.

In the absence of fraud, a mutual will agreement does not create a trust obligation on the surviving spouse in favour of other beneficiaries of the will.

Revenue NSW has determined that foreign surcharges breach international tax treaties. Will other revenue offices follow suit? How do you ensure that your trust is not a foreign trust?

It is well known that Division 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 can apply to distributions or benefits provided by a company to a shareholder or associate, or a company that has an unpaid present entitlement from a trust.

Discovering that distributions have been made to an invalid beneficiary may only be the beginning of your problems.

It has become common practice to make family trust and interposed entity elections to deal with carry forward losses and franked distributions without considering the impact on the future of the group.

During the stages of administration of a deceased estate, a beneficiary may become presently entitled to the income. It is important to recognise this to determine who is responsible for the payment of income tax on that income.

The High Court has confirmed that, in certain circumstances, the presumption of advancement can apply to contributions to the purchase price of property or the transfer of assets.

The general requirement of an self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is that all members must be trustees of the SMSF or directors of the SMSF corporate trustee. As such, putting aside disputes between trustees/directors, generally members are making the decisions about their benefits and the assets of the SMSF.

When a company becomes presently entitled to trust income, it is imperative that the rules in Division 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 are front and square in the minds of the trustees and their advisors.

According to the ATO’s March 2022 statistical data (see here), the total value of crypto assets held by SMSFs was $220 million. That is less than 0.03% of all SMSF investments. The number of SMSFs that held crypto assets was 3,345 SMSFs being 0.6% of SMSFs.

Trusts are generally known to have a flexibility that can achieve favourable tax outcomes, whether used as a vehicle for operating a business or as the entity to hold investments.

Recent decisions of the Victorian Supreme Court have confirmed that the consequences for trustees are potentially disastrous if trust documentation is mislaid and cannot be located.

Discretionary trusts are common structures for family businesses. How do we effectively transition these structures to the next generation?

This workshop will use case studies to explore some of the unique SMSF issues that may arise through investing via unit trusts including:

The structure of a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is often based on a family unit. A very common SMSF structure is, for example, two spouses as the members and trustees/directors of the corporate trustee.