This paper was presented by Phil Broderick on SMSFs Engaging in Property Developments, at the Ninth Annual SMSF Conference of the Television Education Network, on 4-5 September, 2014.

Self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) have been carrying on property development activities ever since they came into existence. Yet despite that, there is still a common concern that such activities will cause the SMSF to become non-compliant, or subject to penalties, on the basis that such activities, and in particular undertaking a property development business, are prohibited.

New guidelines released by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will assess tax compliance risks associated with the allocation of profits from professional services firms operating in the accounting, architectural, engineering, financial services, legal and medical professions.

The Consumer Affairs Legislation Further Amendment Bill 2014 (Bill) is currently before the Victorian Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend several Acts, including the Owners Corporation Act 2006 and the Sale of Land Act 1962.

When superannuation funds consider structuring through, or investing in, another private entity, the choice is generally between a company and a unit trust. When the decision is made to invest in a unit trust, it is primarily made in order to take advantage of a unit trust’s “flow-through” nature under the current tax laws. However, this flow through nature will be lost if the unit trust is deemed to be a public trading trust.

Sladen Legal Principal, Meagan O’Connor, was recently interviewed as part of a discussion with Business Chicks about why you need a mentor, and how it might be the best thing for your career.

In this article (published in “Latte” - the Business Chicks magazine), Meagan discusses her outlook on mentoring in the workplace, and how the corporate world is becoming better structured to mentor women through their careers.

The Transfer of Land Amendment Bill 2014 (Bill) has been introduced to the Victorian Parliament. The Bill proposes a number of amendments, including provisions to facilitate the phasing out of paper certificates of titles in preparation for the introduction of electronic conveyancing system.

A South Yarra accountant was today sentenced in the Melbourne County Court to five years and eight months jail on charges relating to the loss of at least $67 million dollars of investors’ money in property investment schemes controlled by him.

This paper was presented by Phil Broderick at the Legalwise Seminar on Will Drafting and Estate Planning, held on 12 August, 2014.

Superannuation benefits do not automatically form part of a member’s estate upon the death of the member. As such, a member’s will cannot deal with their super benefits, unless the benefits are paid to the estate of the member.

Consequently, a person’s super benefits must be dealt with separately in the estate planning process. Rather than dealing with super in a person’s will the tools for dealing with super death benefits are binding death benefit nominations (BDBNs), reversionary pensions, and the control of the decision making process through the control of the super fund trustee.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) event E4 will arise when a beneficiary receives a payment from a trustee of a trust in respect of the beneficiary’s unit or interest in that trust and either some, or all, of that payment is not included in the taxpayer’s assessable income.

An Australian Taxation Office (ATO) private binding ruling, and minutes from the National Tax Liaison Group, suggest that CGT event E4 will not arise when the payment of a non-assessable amount is made to an owner of discretionary units.

This paper was presented by Rob Jeremiah at the 2nd Annual Trusts and Companies Taxation Symposium Television Education Network, held on 7 August, 2014.

The paper focuses on dealing with situations where non-compliance with of Division 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 has been discovered, and understanding the operation of the Commissioner of Taxation’s discretion to disregard Division 7A. The paper considers the interplay of making a voluntary disclosure and requests to apply the Commissioner’s discretion and the application of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Australian Tax Office’s Internal Facilitation process.

On 30 July 2014 the Australian Taxation Office issued Taxation Ruling TR 2014/5 (previously released in draft form as TR 2013/D6) to address the tax effect of private companies paying money or transferring property to shareholders or their associates, in order to satisfy Family Court orders made pursuant to section 79 of the Family Law Act 1975.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has confirmed in ATOID 2014/23 that a loan from a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) to a unit trust, where the SMSF and its related entities held less than 10% of the units in the unit trust, and did not otherwise ‘control’ the unit trust, will not be treated as an in-house asset.

The Australian Taxation Office has confirmed in ATOID 2014/22 that an adult child can be a death benefits dependant under the superannuation laws. In the particular facts of the ATOID, the adult child had given up work to care for a terminally ill parent and received no financial support from anyone, other than the parent, during that time. The child was found to be both financially dependent on, and an interdependent of, the child’s mother. Consequently, any death benefits paid to the adult child would be tax free.

To what extent do directors of a corporate trustee owe duties to a corporate trustee, its shareholders and/or the beneficiaries of the trust?

This article examines a Federal Court case in which a director of a private company, acting as trustee of a private trust, was found to have breached his fiduciary duties to the company by entering into a series of transactions to effect superannuation contributions.

The Options Paper, Australia’s Charities and Not-for-profits has been released to seek feedback on proposed arrangements for charities in Australia following the Government’s planned repeal of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). The Government’s proposed arrangements attempt to balance reducing the administrative burden of reporting obligations with the need for public accountability.

There is no requirement to file the underlying agreement that gives rise to a security interest on the Personal Property Securities Register (Register).  This has the potential to give rise to fake or sham registrations because the Register cannot determine if a registration is in fact a genuine security interest. This creates a situation where the Register can be compromised by the lodgement of sham registrations.

Effective from 1 July 2014, the definition of “motor vehicle” under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (PPSA) has been amended to include a motor vehicle that:

- is capable of travelling at more than 10km/hr; and
- has a total motor power greater than 200W.

The Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) today appointed Mr Andrew Barnes, Financial Controller for the Lantern Legal Group, as its President, following the departure of Mr Anthony Bleasdale who has accepted a new role as Director of BigHand in Asia Pacific.

As previously reported, the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme (EIP) was announced by the Federal Government, with funding of $484.2 million over 5 years. The EIP has an objective to improve the business capabilities of Australian small to medium enterprises, to make them more competitive on the global stage.

It’s happening.  The internet is changing, growing, expanding.  The .com domain will soon be competing with specific business-owned domains for greater visibility and control on the internet.  What does this all mean?

It means there will be many more domain names available for registration.  Business will have the ability to carve their own personal internet space by obtaining their own top level domain.  And us internet users will see, over time, many more top level domains emerging so web addresses will change too.