The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recently released Taxation Determinations TD 2019/D6 and TD 2019/D7 (together the Determinations) that concern Australian discretionary trusts distributing capital gains to foreign beneficiaries.

Members and trustees of self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) will sometimes become estranged because of disputes involving their family or business relationships.

Primary producers in Melbourne will soon be faced with a greater likelihood of paying land tax on their farms due to the proposed reform, and narrowing, of the primary production land tax exemption as proposed in the State Taxation Acts Further Amendment Bill 2019.

Challenging death benefit payments from superannuation funds has followed four broad categories over the years. Interestingly, they have developed in relatively discrete time periods.

On 6 February 2019, and as previously reported here, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) withdrew its longstanding public guidance that a company could forgive a debt for “natural love and affection” under the exception in the commercial debt forgiveness rules (CDF Rules) in Division 245. At that time, the ATO said it is developing guidance on the issue.

This article looks at what determines the tax residence of a trust and what the consequences can be from a change of tax residence.

Sladen Legal is delighted to welcome the team from Bernie O’Sullivan Lawyers who will be practicing under the Sladen Legal brand from today, 1 October.

On 24 September 2019, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) updated its guidance on “Assessing the risk: allocation of profits within professional firms”.

The Victorian Supreme Court’s decision in favour of the taxpayer has been overturned by the Victorian Court of Appeal. We have previously discussed the Victorian Supreme Court decision.

The government’s previously announced amnesty for unpaid superannuation guarantee payments, which lapsed will the calling of the previous election, has been reintroduced into parliament in the  in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Bill 2019.

On 13 September 2019, the High Court refused the Commissioner of Taxation’s (Commissioner) application for special leave to appeal the Full Federal Court decision in Harding v Commissioner of Taxation (Harding).

When involved in a dispute with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), dealing with the interest and penalties that may be imposed by the ATO in relation to a tax liability by seeking remission of those amounts, objecting, or having a reasonably arguable position opinion can be an important part of any dispute resolution strategy.

The ‘economic entitlement’ provisions are unique in Victoria. Pursuant to the amendments to the legislation as part of the Victorian 2019/20 budget, from 19 June 2019 these provisions now apply to impose duty where an economic entitlement is acquired in relation to Victorian land and any Victorian landholding entity.

Sladen Legal have launched Sladen Learning, an online professional development platform delivering interactive, specialist courses to professionals Australia wide. Developed by the team of lawyers at Sladen Legal, Sladen Learning combines information, resources and activities to deliver engaging and educational short courses. 

Members and trustees of self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) will sometimes become estranged because of disputes involving their family or business relationships.

We’re delighted to announce that Bernie O’Sullivan Lawyers will be joining Sladen Legal, effective 1 October 2019. Coming together under the Sladen Legal brand this development will add depth and expertise to our already impressive team of Estate Planning, Tax, Business, Superannuation, Trusts and Dispute Resolution lawyers.

When a shareholder in a company wishes to leave, and the remaining shareholders are happy for this to occur, basically there are two ways the separation can occur:

·       The remaining shareholders can purchase the shares from the departing shareholder; or

·       The company can buy back its shares.

Estate planning involves identifying assets and putting in place the necessary documents to pass control of those assets.

Our international tax series considers tax issues for non-resident beneficiaries of Australian trusts and Australian beneficiaries of non-resident trusts. The series considers the tax residency rules and income tax and capital gains tax (CGT) consequences for beneficiaries and trusts alike.

Treasury has released exposure draft Taxation Administration (Private Ancillary Fund) Guidelines 2019 (2019 Guidelines), in anticipation of the sunsetting of Private Ancillary Fund Guidelines 2009, which is scheduled to occur on 1 October 2019.