Sladen Snippet - Disclaimer of an interest in a trust – can this be tax effective?
Creating Entitlements in Discretionary Trusts
Modest and infrequent maintenance activities of a property whose “main use” is to derive rent will not entitle a taxpayer to access the small business CGT concessions.
In its recent decision in The Executors of the Estate of the late Peter Fowler and Commissioner of Taxation, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) held that Mr Fowler was not entitled to apply the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions in Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, on the sale of a block of 10 residential units (Manly Property) as he was not carrying on a business and the Manly Property did not qualify as an “active asset”.
Sladen Snippet – Foreign person duty surcharge to increase to 7% from 1 July 2016 and related changes
The Victorian Government has passed legislation to increase the duty surcharge on purchasers of residential property by foreign persons to 7% for contracts entered into from 1 July 2016. The changes contain a number of other changes to the foreign purchaser duty regime.
Sladen Snippet - super funds can now qualify for the primary production land tax exemption (s 67 Land Tax Act)
In in an unheralded move, the Victorian government has extended the land tax exemption for primary production land in an urban zone (contained in section 67 of the Land Tax Act 2005) to include land owned by a trustee of a super fund of which all the members or beneficiaries are relatives and at least one of those members or beneficiaries is normally engaged in a substantially full-time capacity in the business of primary production of the type carried on on the land.
Profit from the development and sale of a commercial property on capital account despite development activities undertaken by private family group
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) recently held in FLZY and Commissioner of Taxation that profit arising from the sale of a building by a family trust gave rise to a capital gain despite the property building, development and investment activities undertaken by the privately held family group (Group).
EOFY seminar - streaming issues and tips and traps for the new small business rollover.
Sladen Snippet - Overarching obligations and the Court’s discretion to award costs
The Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Act) provides the Court with a relatively broad power to make orders in respect of a person that has breached any overarching obligation in the Act. In particular, section 29 of the Act gives the Court the discretion to sanction parties and/or lawyers by making costs orders against them. Yara Australia Pty Ltd v Oswal (Yara) is one of the most publicised cases to examine the scope of the Court’s discretion under section 29 of the Act.
Sladen Snippet - Minimum wage to rise 2.4%
Sladen Snippet – Date to fix up non-commercial LRBA loans extended to 31 January 2017
Foreign trusts and foreigner duty surcharge
In March 2016, Foreign trusts and foreigner duty surcharge written by Sladen Legal's Phil Broderick was published in the Tax Institute’s Journal, Taxation in Australia.
Sladen Snippet - Court interprets ‘economic entitlement’ stamp duty provisions in favour of developer
The Supreme Court of Victoria has recently handed down the first decision interpreting the ‘economic entitlement’ provisions in the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) (Duties Act). These provisions were introduced in 2012 as part of the shift from a “land rich” to a “landholder” model for assessing duty in Victoria on the acquisition of interests in certain land owning entities.
Sladen Snippet – Back to the future – public trading trust rules will not apply for super funds from 1 July 2016
Sladen Snippet - Lawyer's immunity from suit
Australia has for a long time been one of the only common law countries to enshrine a lawyer’s immunity from suit. The common law principle provides lawyers with an immunity from any claim made against them for negligence arising out of their conduct of a Court case and/or work undertaken outside of Court that results in a decision affecting the conduct of the case in Court.
The ATO’s administrative treatment of acquisitions and disposals of interests in ‘no goodwill’ professional practices
The ATO has recently released guidelines on its administrative treatment for the application of certain tax issues when interests in ‘no goodwill’ professional partnerships, trusts and incorporated practices (practices) are acquired or disposed.
Sladen Snippet – super changes in the 2016 Budget
It’s hard to know what to do with a budget handed down by a Government that will not have enough time to pass any measures before it goes into an election. Do you follow the current laws or the laws as they are proposed to be changed in the future (if the Government is re-elected and if it can pass the measures in the newly constituted parliament)? That is the situation we currently find ourselves in with the proposed super changes and in particular the lifetime non-concessional contributions cap.
Sladen Snippet – public trading trust rules here to stay? - changes lapse in Parliament.
We have previously noted in our Snippets in September and December 2015 that, under the legislation to introduce the new managed investment trust rules, it was proposed that self managed superannuation fund(s) (SMSFs) (and other exempt entities that are entitled to a refund of excess imputation credits) be excluded from the 20% tracing rule for the public trading trust rules. This would have resulted, from 1 July 2016, in the public trading trust rules not applying to unit trusts merely because a SMSF held more than 20% of the units in the trust.
Win/Lose - Tribunal axed but ABCC bill defeated
The Federal Government has succeeded in abolishing the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) after the Senate voted last night to approve the legislation that repeals the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012. The legislation passed the Senate without the support of Labor or the Greens – with all but one cross-bencher siding with the Federal Government.
Update on Contractor Driver Minimum Rates Order – Stay Overturned
Further to our Snippet on Monday, the Federal Court has now lifted the stay on the Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016 (Order).
The Full Federal Court dismissed NatRoad’s application for a stay pending the hearing of its substantive application as to whether the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal made legal errors in rejecting industry calls to defer the commencement date of the Order. The substantive application is set down to be heard on 9 and 10 May 2016.