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Sladen Snippet – Unit trusts and capital gains tax concessions

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Sladen Snippet – Unit trusts and capital gains tax concessions

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has issued ATO Interpretative Decision (ATO ID) 2015/8 providing further guidance to trustees of unit trusts seeking to satisfy the basic conditions for access to the capital gains tax (CGT) small business concessions.

The ATO ID states where the trustee of a unit trust has the power to accumulate income, that does not of itself cause the unit trust to fail the fixed trust tests relevant for the purposes of calculating an entity’s small business participation percentage in the trust (item 2 of the table in subsection 152-70(1) of the ITAA 1997).

New ATO online resource dedicated to privately-owned groups and wealthy individuals

New ATO online resource dedicated to privately-owned groups and wealthy individuals

On Thursday 19 March the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released their program blueprint “Reinventing the ATO”. The ATO stated that the blueprint describes the kind of experience that Australians expect to have when they deal with the ATO and that it will guide everything that the ATO does in the coming years.

 The ATO state that the blueprint has been in development for close to 12 months and has had input from thousands of different people involved in different market segments, members of the accounting and legal professions, other agencies and ATO staff.

Sladen Legal are thrilled to be awarded B Corporation Certification

Sladen Legal are thrilled to be awarded B Corporation Certification

Parent company of law firms Sladen Legal and Harwood Andrews – The Lantern Legal Group Pty Ltd – has been awarded certification as a B Corporation.

The Lantern Legal Group joins businesses such as well-known adventure apparel brand Patagonia, thriving online marketplace Etsy and ice-cream company Ben & Jerry’s to be awarded with the certification.  

Tax disputes - what to do

Tax disputes - what to do

As the old saying goes there are two certainties in life; death and taxes. Every man, woman, child and business entity in this country, whether they realise it or not, will have their day-to-day lives impacted by Australian taxation laws whether in their work, what they buy, their assets or investments, how their business operates or the cost of goods and services.

As it is the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) that administers and enforces Australian taxation laws it pays to know what to do should you ever wish to dispute a decision by the ATO. Fundamentally, if you do not agree with a decision made by the ATO in relation to your taxation liability or position you are in dispute. The real question is what are you do about any such dispute.

Sladen Snippet – 2015 Intergenerational Report and Australian migration

Sladen Snippet – 2015 Intergenerational Report and Australian migration

Underpinning any discussion of the shape and demographics of Australia into the future must consider migration.

Recently, the Commonwealth government released the ‘2015 Intergenerational Report’ which assesses the long-term sustainability of current Government policies and how changes to Australia’s population size and age profile may impact on economic growth, workforce and public finances over the next 40 years. 

IP Lesson from Shark Tank – The Sharks want IP registrations

IP Lesson from Shark Tank – The Sharks want IP registrations

What is one of the first questions the Shark Investors ask the hopeful start up business owner contestants on the Channel 10 television show “Shark Tank”?

Do you have a patent and trade mark?

There have already been some amazing inventions pitched before the Sharks.  Full of creativity and innovation, many of the business owners have developed a prototype for their invention and some have started trading prior to seeking investment from the Sharks.  The contestants are not coming to the Sharks with just an idea.  And lucky for the contestants that they don’t because it appears as though the Sharks are looking for more than just a significant percentage of their businesses.  The Sharks are seeking what all investors seek – security for their investment.

SMSFs, trusts and property development: Part 1

SMSFs, trusts and property development: Part 1

In January 2015, the first part of a two-part article, written by Sladen Legal's Phil Broderick, was published in the Tax Institute’s Journal, Taxation in Australia. This article considers the tax and regulatory issues of SMSFs undertaking property development either directly or through structures such as trusts.

Read the published article.

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Sladen Snippet – Super contributions clawed back from an SMSF because of breach of fiduciary duties

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Sladen Snippet – Super contributions clawed back from an SMSF because of breach of fiduciary duties

In the decision of Australian Annuities v Rowley Super, the Victorian Court of Appeal has held that over $1.6 million of super contributions made by a discretionary trust and members to a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) could be clawed back to a liquidator on the basis that the director of the corporate trustee breached his fiduciary duties to the corporate trustee.

Gender equality reporting requirements eased

Gender equality reporting requirements eased

Following last year’s consultation process with employers and interest groups in relation to current impediments and opportunities for streamlining the workplace gender equality reporting process, the Minister for Employment, Senator Eric Abetz, has announced a series of reporting amendments designed to ease the reporting obligations for employers.
No changes have been made to the gender equality framework under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Act).

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Sladen Snippet - A warning to exercise caution in disclosing the ‘gist’ of advice: implied waiver of legal professional privilege

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Sladen Snippet - A warning to exercise caution in disclosing the ‘gist’ of advice: implied waiver of legal professional privilege

The recent Federal Court case of Krok v Commissioner of Taxation has provided a reminder that a taxpayer may impliedly waive their right to legal professional privilege by disclosing documents which refer to the purpose and reasoning of legal advice. As a result of the implied waiver, the taxpayer may be required to discover documents that would otherwise have been protected by legal professional privilege.

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New appointments for Commercial Disputes and Employment, IR and OHS teams

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New appointments for Commercial Disputes and Employment, IR and OHS teams

Sladen Legal is delighted to announce the appointments of Leneen Forde and Louise Houlihan (formerly partners of Cornwall Stodart Lawyers) as principals of the firm.

Louise is joined by senior associate, Jane O’Brien, and associate, Joanna Shields (also formerly of Cornwall Stodart Lawyers) and together they will strengthen Sladen Legal’s existing Employment, Industrial Relations and Occupational Health and Safety team.

Leneen has joined the existing litigation group and new recruit, Lawyer, Andrew Blyth, forming Sladen Legal’s new Commercial Disputes team.

Navigating family law settlements

Navigating family law settlements

This article was written by Renuka Somers for the Tax Institute’s Journal, Taxation in Australia, published in November 2014.

It discusses some of the taxation and trusts issues encountered when structuring family law settlements. Managing these issues appropriately through careful planning and the preparation of appropriate documentation can ensure the best financial and taxation outcome for clients.

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Sladen Snippet - Death benefits cannot be paid by journal entries

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Sladen Snippet - Death benefits cannot be paid by journal entries

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has set out its view in ATO Interpretative Decisions, ATO ID 2015/2 and ATO ID 2015/3 that the superannuation laws and tax laws prohibit superannuation death benefits from being paid by mere journal entries.

In the ATO IDs, the taxpayer/beneficiary and self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustee wished to effect the death benefit to the beneficiary by the transfer of money from the deceased member's account, to the beneficiary's own account in the SMSF by way of journal entry (to save on transactions costs). The ATO noted that set offs can occur in a superannuation context, but that there needs to be “mutual liabilities between the taxpayer and the SMSF and there is an agreement between those parties to set-off the liabilities”. Here, the ATO found there was “not a mutual liability in this case as the taxpayer does not have a liability to the SMSF”.

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SMSFs, trusts and property development: part 1

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SMSFs, trusts and property development: part 1

Self-managed superannuation funds1 (SMSFs) have been carrying on property development activities ever since they came into existence. Such activities are either done directly by the SMSF or more commonly through a structure (typically, a trust). Yet, despite this, there is still a common concern that such activities will cause the SMSF to become non-complying, or subject to penalties, on the basis that such activities, and in particular undertaking a property development business, are prohibited

UPEs and the maximum net asset value test

UPEs and the maximum net asset value test

This article was written by Renuka Somers for the Tax Institute’s Journal, “Taxation in Australia”, and published in April 2014.

This article discusses the complexity associated with a trust satisfying the maximum net asset value test for the purposes of accessing the capital gains tax (CGT) small business concessions, where it is unclear whether an unpaid present entitlement would be classified as a liability relating to the CGT assets of the trust.

Shredding the Corporate Veil: Are you a Shadow Director?

Shredding the Corporate Veil: Are you a Shadow Director?

People are generally aware of the risk of personal liability as a director. For example, directors can find themselves personally liable for debts to employees, for tax debts and penalties owed to the Australian Tax Office or for breaches of The Corporations Act 2001 ("the Act").

However, the Act itself provides little guidance or limitation in defining who is a director. A director may be anyone who acts in a position of a director, or someone who gives instructions or expresses wishes and the directors of the company are accustomed to act in accordance with those instructions or wishes. The result is that a trusted company advisor can, unwittingly, become liable as if they were a formally-appointed director.

Bullying in the modern workplace – how far can it extend?

Bullying in the modern workplace – how far can it extend?

The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has handed down an important interpretive decision concerning when a worker is bullied “at work”, for the purposes of the workplace bullying provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

Current working practices now shadow the traditional workplace model, through increased mobility, work done outside of normal hours and the prevalence of social media.  As a result, in recent years courts have been required to make findings about what performing work now looks like in the modern era.

Updated SMSF deed and our new SMSF corporate trustee stakeholders agreement

Updated SMSF deed and our new SMSF corporate trustee stakeholders agreement

Sladen Legal has conducted a major review of our self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) documents including the SMSF deed, the SMSF deed update and the SMSF pension agreements. We are pleased to announce our new SMSF corporate trustee stakeholders agreement.