Sladen Legal is pleased to announce that the 2016 version of the Trust Structures Guide (written by Sladen Legal and published by The Tax Institute) is now available.

The Trust Structures Guide has long been considered to be invaluable guide for professionals advising on structuring and tax matters relating to trusts.

In December 2015, an article written by Sladen Legal's Sam Campbell was published in the Tax Institute’s Journal, Taxation in Australia.

The article discusses the tax issues raised when creating and dealing with unpaid present entitlements by trusts, including CGT issues, which should always be carefully considered before embarking on a proposed transaction.

The recent release of the Federal Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda outlines key measures to promote and support the growth of innovation and entrepreneurial ventures in Australia.

The Full Court of the Federal Court has dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal in Breakwell v Commissioner of Taxation [2015] FCA 1471 and confirmed the earlier Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision to include an allegedly statute-barred loan of $1.1m in the calculation of the taxpayer’s net assets for the maximum net asset value (MNAV) test when determining the taxpayer’s eligibility for small business CGT concessions.

The taxpayer was the beneficiary and trustee of a family trust (ABFT), which was in turn the beneficiary of a unit trust (ETUT). In July 2007 the ETUT sold its finance broking business for $500,000. In its 2008 income tax return, the ETUT excluded the capital gain from the sale of the business by applying the small business CGT concessions.

An exposure draft and explanatory statement have been released for public comment with proposed amendments to the Private Ancillary Fund Guidelines 2009 and the Public Ancillary Fund Guidelines 2011.

The Private Ancillary Fund and Public Ancillary Fund Amendment Guidelines 2015 (amending guidelines) include a number of amendments, including to update the Private Ancillary Fund Guidelines 2009 to incorporate improvements in the later made Public Ancillary Fund Guidelines 2011, and to reflect the introduction of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).