Month: May 2025

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Detectives from Major Crash Investigations Unit have now charged a 43-year-old male in relation to a pedestrian strike that occurred last Thursday.

He has been charged with Drive motor vehicle cause death, Careless drive cause death and Drive with drug in body. He has been bailed to appear in Darwin Local Court on 3 June 2025.

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry

Michelle Grattan:

The Reserve Bank has given homebuyers a small bit of good news this week – a modest quarter of a percentage point cut in interest rates. Welcoming the rate cut, Treasurer Jim Chalmers sees the fight against inflation as at last being won, or at least largely so. In this term he wants to turn to finding ways to promote productivity in Australia, where we’ve been losing that battle.

Meanwhile, most immediately, the Treasurer is fighting critics who are campaigning against his tax hit on those with more than $3 million in their superannuation accounts. The government plans to increase the tax on these accounts but, most controversially, to tax their unrealised capital gains.

Jim Chalmers joins us today to talk about these issues.

Jim Chalmers, we saw the Reserve Bank this week lower rates again. But the bank’s Monetary Policy Statement used the word ‘uncertain’ about the aspects of the future multiple times – many, many times. How are you planning for an uncertain economic environment to come?

Jim Chalmers:

First of all, Michelle, very good news that interest rates were cut for the second time in 3 months. That does reflect the progress that we’re making together on inflation.

But it does also recognise this very uncertain global economic environment. The language that the Reserve Bank Governor used yesterday and that the Board used in their statement is not dissimilar to some of the things that I’ve been saying for some time now. The escalating trade tensions, the weakness in the Chinese economy, conflict in the Middle East and Eastern Europe – all of these things are casting a dark shadow over the global economy, and that has implications for us as well.

But I think overwhelmingly this rate cut was about both kinds of inflation being within the target band. The Reserve Bank said that they were increasingly confident they were getting on top of things, that the upside risks to inflation were subsiding. And so that’s a very good thing. But also it recognises the international environment, as does the government.

Grattan:

Much of the uncertainty is coming from the Trump administration’s unpredictable tariff policy. The RBA has modelled 2 scenarios for tariffs, what it calls ‘trade peace’ and ‘trade war’, and Governor Bullock hasn’t ruled out a recession. What’s your reading of this?

Chalmers:

I think, first of all, the Reserve Bank is doing diligent work, looking at a range of scenarios from best case to worst case and central case, just like the Treasury does. We think through the various ways that this can play out.

And I think it’s helpful to remember if you look at the Reserve Bank’s forecasts and the Treasury’s forecasts, neither the bank nor the Treasury is expecting our economy to shrink. In fact, in both instances the forecasts say that the economy will grow more strongly next year compared to the financial year that we’re about to finish.

And so the bank and the Treasury expect our economy to continue to grow. Of course people think through the various scenarios. The international environment is casting a dark shadow over the global economy and our own economy. And that’s why it’s so important that the Australian economy has got the characteristics that you would want going into this volatility and unpredictability – the lower inflation, the higher wages, the low unemployment, the budget is in better nick than most countries around the world, we’re starting to see interest rates come down, the market’s expecting further interest rate cuts.

And so we’re well placed and well prepared, but it is good, diligent work by the Reserve Bank, by the Treasury and others to think through what the best and worst‑case scenarios might be. But our central case, our expectation and our forecasts all reflect some degree of confidence that our economy will continue to grow, not shrink as other countries have.

Grattan:

Parliament doesn’t meet until July, but obviously you’ll be thinking ahead. What are your priorities when it sits again?

Chalmers:

I think the Prime Minister has made it really clear that one of the things we’re really excited about legislating is the cut to student debt. That will take some of the burden off graduates but it will also provide some cost‑of‑living help to students or graduates repaying a student debt. So that’s going to be a big priority.

In my own portfolio, obviously we’ve got the changes to the super arrangements, we’ve got the standard deduction we announced during the campaign, we’ve got some payments reforms that we need to legislate. So it will be a really busy agenda, but I share the Prime Minister’s view that one of the big priorities when the parliament returns will be cutting student debt for millions of people.

Grattan:

On superannuation, you’ve had legislation which you haven’t got through to increase the tax on superannuation balances over $3 million. At the moment that’s 15 per cent, you want to take it to 30 per cent but also, and most controversially, you want to tax unrealised capital gains – that is gains that people haven’t actually cashed out. How is that fair?

Chalmers:

This is a modest change that we announced almost 2 and a half years ago now. We announced it at the beginning of 2023. We’re now in the middle of 2025. And what this change is about, it’s about making concessional treatment for people with very large superannuation balances still concessional but a little bit less so. And that will help us fund our priorities, whether it’s Medicare, the tax cuts and other priorities in budget repair. So it’s a modest change.

In terms of the calculation of unrealised gains, that’s actually not unique in the system. There are other ways in the super system and more broadly that unrealised gains are calculated. Now, we did, I think, 3 rounds of substantial consultation on these changes in the last 2 and a bit years.

And what we learnt throughout that consultation process is that nobody could propose to us a better way of making this calculation. Some of the alternatives would impose costs on everyone in the fund rather than just people over $3 million. And there are other options as part of that consultation as well.

And so Treasury advises us that this is the best, simplest way to go about it. I know that people have views about it. I know that there’s a campaign in a couple of our newspapers about it. But this is all about making sure that it’s still concessional treatment, it only impacts about 0.5 per cent of people in the super system with very large superannuation balances. It makes the system a bit fairer, and it’s important in terms of the sustainability of the budget.

Grattan:

Just on the practicalities, if you or I have more than $3 million in our superannuation fund, how do you actually calculate this unrealised capital gains, given that the fund could include a farm, it could include a small business?

Chalmers:

It’s the value at the start versus the value at the end –

Grattan:

Of the financial year?

Chalmers:

Yeah, allowing for withdrawals and contributions. And, again, this calculation is made elsewhere in the superannuation system, the way that a number of the funds have to report makes this calculation. So the calculation is not new. And if you make a loss you can carry the loss forward. There’s a whole bunch of appropriate arrangements made in the calculation.

Grattan:

It sounds very complicated. You’d need a good accountant.

Chalmers:

Typically people with more than $3 million in superannuation have got access to pretty useful advice, that’s the first point. But, secondly, we did consult on this for some years, and this is the way that we propose to go forward.

Grattan:

One of the critics, one of the strongest critics, has been Paul Keating. Now, he would consider himself father of the superannuation scheme, right? He says that the non‑indexation of the $3 million just introduces bracket creep.

Chalmers:

First of all, I mean I think you know – you and I have spoken on a number of occasions over the years – you know the regard that I have for Paul, and I do talk to him from time to time, including about this issue. And I respect him too much to kind of relay or convey those private conversations –

Grattan:

– it would have been a lively discussion, I’d imagine.

Chalmers:

I think there’s a range of views, and Paul’s views, I think, are relatively well known on this. When it comes to indexation, I understand the argument. There are so many instances in the tax system where thresholds aren’t indexed, and from time to time governments take decisions to raise those thresholds. I’m anticipating that that’s what would happen here. Some of these calculations about what people’s liability would be in 40 years assume that the $3 million threshold never changes.

Grattan:

So why not do it at the start?

Chalmers:

I think we’re making it consistent with other areas of the tax system where the threshold is not indexed. I fully anticipate that governments of either, if not both political persuasions at some point in the future will change the threshold. And that’s why a lot of the calculations that you see reported in the media are based on a pretty unrealistic assumption about what the next 30 or 40 years will look like.

Grattan:

Now, you’ve got a problem of getting this through the parliament, which, with the new Senate, means getting it through the Greens. What are the chances of that happening, do you think?

Chalmers:

I’m not sure yet. We haven’t had that discussion with the crossbench. I think the final makeup of the Senate is not yet clear, and the parliament is not coming back in the next couple of weeks and so we’ve got time to have those discussions. No doubt the new Leader of the Greens, Larissa Waters, no doubt will appoint a Treasury spokesperson and we’ll engage with them in the usual respectful way to –

Grattan:

– what’s the main sticking point there, do you anticipate?

Chalmers:

Last time they wanted a lower threshold, last time it was in the parliament.

Grattan:

And you’re not up for that?

Chalmers:

Not something that we’ve been considering. And they’ve talked about indexation as well, the question you asked me about a moment ago. But, again, we’ll see who we engage with. We’ve got a bit of time. They’ll have a view. They know our policy. But those conversations haven’t begun.

Grattan:

Let’s turn to productivity. You’ve said that this will be a key focus during this term. But you’ve also noted that you need more than 2 terms to really get major progress here. Why does it take so long?

Chalmers:

The point that I’ve made about productivity is that this is a challenge that hasn’t just been hanging around the last couple of years, it’s been hanging around the last couple of decades.

And if there was a quick fix for productivity, if there was some kind of switch that we could flick, somebody would have flicked it already. So it’s one of those economic objectives where there’s not the same kind of instant policy gratification that you might see in other indicators in our economy.

I’ve tried to be upfront with people and say productivity was a big focus in the first term. Some of the changes that we made around strengthening and streamlining foreign investment and competition and the payments system, the changes we make in human capital, the announcements we’ve made about abolishing non‑compete clauses and a national regime for occupational licensing – those are all substantial reforms and they’re all about productivity.

But what we’ve said is in the first term we focused primarily on inflation without forgetting productivity. In the second term we will focus much more heavily on productivity but being upfront with people that you don’t expect quarter‑to‑quarter, instant changes in the level of productivity in our economy from some of these medium‑term policies that we’re putting in place.

So I’m working closely with the Productivity Commission on the next steps in our productivity agenda. We think productivity and the future of our economy will come from the energy transformation, from human capital and giving people the skills to adapt and adopt technology, the artificial intelligence revolution. It will come from making sure we get value for money in the care economy. And it will come from making our economy more competitive and dynamic.

So on each of those fronts we’ve already done a heap of work. We’re looking for more reforms in those areas, working with the Productivity Commission to do that, but being upfront with people about how quickly we can turn around this problem that has been really one of the defining features of our economy now for decades.

Grattan:

There was, of course, in 2023 a Productivity Commission report which ran to some 9 volumes, I think, and had 70‑odd recommendations. And yet a lot of that hasn’t been done.

Chalmers:

There were 29 different reform directions in that report and we think that we are progressing in some form more than two‑thirds of them. And I know that’s not general accepted wisdom about that report, but more than two‑thirds of the 29 directives we are progressing in one form or another.

The other thing is, of the 71 specific recommendations, we think about half of those – around 36 of those – involve state and territory governments either partly or fully. And so a bit of perspective on all of that.

Specifically, we picked up and ran with some of their ideas on vocational education and training, cybersecurity, government data, skilled migration. So more of that report is being acted on than I think is broadly accepted. But if the point, the kernel of the question is, should we try to do more on productivity, I’ve already flagged that that will be a big priority.

Grattan:

The Productivity Commission has called for ideas from the public to improve productivity. And it’s now identified what it calls 15 priority reforms for further exploration. And one is to support business investment through corporate tax reform. Are you willing to even contemplate this? You’ve been quite shy about tax reform that’s robust.

Chalmers:

First of all, again, we actually progressed a whole bunch of tax reform in the first term – income tax reform, production tax credits, tax breaks for small business, tax breaks for build‑to‑rent –

Grattan:

Maybe it was the easy stuff.

Chalmers:

We changed the PRRT arrangements. That didn’t feel easy at the time.

Grattan:

Modestly.

Chalmers:

Multi‑national tax reform is no small thing. And so, again, a bit of perspective. We did half a dozen meaningful tax changes in the first term.

When it comes to the consultation that the PC is doing, and I think it’s terrific that they’re doing that consultation, and that consultation reflects some of the asks that are put to us from time to time from the business community in particular, and I welcome that, too. Let’s have a proper, national conversation about that.

When it comes to company taxes, I’m the only person in this, or Katy Gallagher and I are the only people in this that have to make it all add up. And so sometimes our constraints are fiscal.

We’ve got to work out what we can afford to do in a world where we’ve got to fund these priorities – strengthening Medicare, investing in the care economy, some of the big pressures on our budget, defence. We’ve got to fund all of that. And so some of these proposals on tax reform which are costly to the budget need to be seen in that light as well.

Grattan:

Yes, but that doesn’t really go to the fundamental question, and that is whether you think it would be a good idea to have this on the agenda.

Chalmers:

I don’t have an ideological view about company taxes. I have an economic view. One of the things that’s good that Danielle Wood and the PC are consulting on is we’ve got this challenge in productivity and the thing that the economists call capital deepening – whether or not we have a deep and robust enough capital base.

And so they’re consulting on whether tax has a role to play in that. I don’t have an ideological view about that. I’ve got a fiscal view about that, and I’ve got a view about where the productivity is going to come from in a modern economy like ours. I think it’s important that we don’t over focus on some of the areas that have been perennial parts to this conversation – scorched earth industrial relations, the headline company tax rate.

These are parts of the productivity discussion, but they’re not the whole thing. Energy, human capital, competition and dynamism, care economy, AI and technology. I’m trying to have a broader conversation about how we get more productivity in our economy because in some of those areas, that have not been central enough to the national conversation about productivity, I think that’s where we might find that we can make the most progress.

Grattan:

But isn’t company tax important when we’re trying to compete internationally for investment?

Chalmers:

Again, it does get raised with me from time to time by investors, but it’s not the whole story, and often it’s not the main story. When international investors are weighing up whether to invest in Australia, they care about the stability of our laws, they care about our skills base, our human capital. They care about access to cleaner and cheaper energy. They care about how long it takes to get approvals.

There are real areas here where there’s a productivity dividend if we get it right, where we become more attractive as an investment destination if we get it right. And that conversation, which I have relatively frequently with global investors and domestic investors, is not a conversation wholly and solely about company tax.

Grattan:

Just finally, Jim Chalmers, you like to indulge in some blue sky thinking from time to time, a bit of essay writing. You might have a little time over the winter break. What’s on your horizon in that regard?

Chalmers:

I’ve already had a discussion today with Katy Gallagher setting out what the rest of the year looks like and how that relates to some of these priorities that you’ve been kind enough to talk with me today about. I’m trying to do a bit more reading this term than what I did last term.

Grattan:

What are you reading?

Chalmers:

I just finished that Ezra Klein book called Abundance, which goes right to the core of some of these things you’re talking about. How do we think in a progressive way about making our economy more efficient and more productive. That Ezra Klein book called Abundance is a ripper. I am grateful to Andrew Leigh for suggesting it to me, and I’ve gotten through it now. So that kind of reading. I confess I’ve started the book about Joe Biden, the Jake Tapper book, as well.

Grattan:

About his health?

Chalmers:

About his health, yeah. And, like everyone, I send my best wishes to the Bidens after that news that we got earlier in the week about his health. So try to do a bit more reading.

But I’m really excited about a new term, a new opportunity working closely with Katy to make sure we finish the fight on inflation, we make our economy more productive, we think more expansively about the big opportunities from AI and energy and some of these things that we’ve been talking about today. And I have been finding inspiration in trying to do a bit more reading this term so far than what I managed last term.

Grattan:

Jim Chalmers, thank you very much for joining The Conversation’s Politics podcast.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

A 46-year-old hiker has been rescued from the Larapinta Trail following a multi-agency response to an activated Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) yesterday afternoon.

Around 3pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received notification that a PLB had been activated near the Hugh Gorge Junction. The beacon was registered to a woman known to be hiking the trail alone.

The woman was able to contact emergency services via a two-way messaging device, advising she had sustained an ankle injury and was unable to continue walking.

NT Police Search and Rescue Section (SRS), Parks and Wildlife and St John Ambulance coordinated a response and located the woman approximately 3.5km south of Hugh Gorge Junction. A St John Ambulance paramedic and a NT Police member were transported by helicopter to a nearby landing area and hiked 4.3 km to the woman’s location, where they remained overnight to provide care.

This morning, NT Police members, Parks and Wildlife rangers and NT Emergency Service members drove to Hugh Gorge Junction and walked the 3.5km to the woman’s location. She was then carried back to Hugh Gorge on a stretcher and conveyed to Alice Springs Hospital for treatment to her ankle.

Sergeant Matthew Hall said, “This is a clear example of how beneficial it is to be adequately prepared for hiking expeditions in the Territory.

“Thanks to the hiker’s use of a PLB and communication device, we were able to quickly locate her and coordinate a safe and timely rescue.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of this rescue and want to remind anyone who plans to explore the outdoors in the Territory to let people know you plans, buy a PLB or EPIRB and ensure you have enough food and water.”

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

To understand why succession planning is important for privately owned and wealthy groups, watch this short video to gain an overview and then read our more detailed article below.

Succession planning can involve a number of considerations, and, at times, it can seem like a complicated process. However, private groups need to prioritise it, as, succession without planning may lead to unintended tax consequences. Our refreshed guidance will help you meet your tax obligations. 

Louise Clarke, Deputy Commissioner for Private Wealth Client Experience, advises: 

‘Considering the tax consequences of succession planning should be a priority for private groups, particularly where they’re preparing to sell a family-controlled business or planning to transfer control or wealth to the next generation. Even when a controlling individual isn’t looking to retire or step back from the day-to-day operations of the business in the immediate future, they should have a plan in place for their succession, and the tax implications should be front and centre.’

We know that every private group is different, and each succession plan will be unique. That’s why our refreshed information provides guidance for all private groups. A key aspect is making sure you have sound tax governance.

As Louise emphasises: ‘Having a sound tax governance framework in place will make it easier for you to manage tax issues associated with succession planning and reduce unintended tax consequences. You should also consider the wider tax implications for the next generation.’ 

Our information lists key things you should do as part of succession planning, including:

• put a succession plan in place
• check it regularly, particularly when circumstances change – you may need to factor in changes to family relationships, unexpected illness or other alterations to business structure or operations 
• consider the tax consequences – you’ll also need to retain documentation to support transactions with a tax effect and obtain a valuation, where required
• seek advice, from us or your tax adviser, as required.

Private groups should also be aware that while we’re here to provide helpful information, we’re looking out for deliberate tax avoidance. Our information also details succession planning tax risks and what attracts our attention.

We’ll continue to provide information on succession planning and the associated tax risks to help you with the tax management side of your plan.

Stay up to date with succession planning and other tax and super topics

We have tailored communication channels for medium, large and multinational businesses, to keep you up to date with updates and changes you need to know.

Read more articles in our online Business bulletins newsroom.

Subscribe to our free:

• fortnightly Business bulletins email newsletterExternal Link
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Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

ATO focus for private wealth

Our key areas of focus are based on the risks and issues identified through our intelligence collection, risk detection and analysis and case work. While we are focused on improving tax performance across all tax and superannuation compliance obligations for the privately owned wealthy groups population, these are the foundational, emerging and evolving risks and targeted focus areas where we are investing more resources.

Foundational issues

Registration, lodgment and payment

Registration, lodgment and payment risks and issues include:

• not registering for obligations where required, or being registered under the incorrect basis (accounting basis or reporting cycle)
• failure to lodge tax returns, fringe benefits tax (FBT) returns or activity statements when required
• not paying tax debts on time and not engaging with us.

Incorrect reporting

Incorrect reporting risks and issues include:

• incomplete reporting of returns, activity statements and schedules (including information labels such as shareholder loans, assets and liabilities)
• omitted income and sales (income tax and GST)
• incorrectly claiming GST credits
• ineligible research and development (R&D) expenditure being claimed
• ineligible R&D activities being claimed
• incorrectly claiming base rate entity status.

Tax advisers and professional firms

Risks and issues with tax advisers and professional firms include:

• failure to lodge own tax returns or business activity statements (BAS)
• failure to lodge partnership returns or statements of distributions
• failure to pay own tax debts on time
• inappropriate allocation of professional firm profits (PCG 2021/4)
• intermediaries (including R&D consultants) encouraging aggressive tax arrangements or promoting tax avoidance or exploitation schemes.

Division 7A

Division 7A risks and issues include:

• unreported shareholder loans
• non-complying loan agreements
• failure to make minimum yearly repayments or not applying the correct benchmark interest rate
• inadequate record keeping
• section 109R loan repayment arrangements including loans repaid just before the private company’s lodgment day with the intent to reborrow similar or larger amounts from the same company
• requests for section 109RB discretions.

Capital gains tax (CGT)

CGT risks and issues include:

• eligibility criteria when claiming small business CGT concessions
• inappropriate calculations of the CGT discount
• using the small business restructure rollover (Subdivision 328-G) incorrectly, including for reasons other than a genuine restructure of an ongoing business
• capital losses from related party transactions (market value substitution rule)
• incorrect application of Division 855 (non-resident access to concessions).

Property and construction

Risks and issues related to property and construction include:

• capital versus revenue misclassification on disposal of real property
• omission of income on disposal of real property
• failure to lodge or report sales or GST on income tax returns or BAS as identified by the taxable payments reporting system
• misreporting or underreporting of GST for real property
• failure to meet GST reporting obligations for real property
• failure to meet GST registration obligations for real property.

International transactions

Risks and issues related to international transactions include:

• intangible migration arrangements
• mischaracterisation of service transactions which results in mispricing and creates risk from a corporate residency and controlled foreign companies’ perspective
• withholding tax compliance
• significant global entity compliance
• related-party financing (including concerns with the use of non-commercial terms to push up financing costs in the property and construction industry).

Other domestic transactions

Risks and issues related to other domestic transactions include

• non-arm’s length income in self-managed super funds
• misinterpretation or disregard for family trust elections
• residents not including distributions from foreign trusts (section 99B)
• franking account balance discrepancies
• 45 day holding rule (franking credit integrity rules).

Emerging or evolving risks and issues

Incorrect reporting

Emerging or evolving risks and issues with incorrect reporting include:

• trusts over-claiming deductions that inappropriately reduce trust net income
• increasing lodgments in industry sectors where R&D activities and expenditure may not be eligible
• incorrectly claiming GST credits on employee allowances
• incorrectly claiming GST refunds without sufficient evidence to substantiate claims.

CGT

Emerging or evolving risks and issues with CGT include:

• Division 149 (pre-CGT asset)
• reduction in capital gains and losses arising from CGT events in relation to certain voting interests in active foreign companies (Subdivision 768-G).

Other emerging areas

Other emerging or evolving risks and issues are:

• inappropriate use of income tax exempt vehicles, including ancillary funds, to access tax concessions and private benefits where there is no entitlement
• trust loss trafficking (inappropriate generation and use of losses)
• share buyback arrangements
• thin capitalisation rules
• cryptocurrency based business models
• $3 million cap on super.

Targeted focus areas

Succession planning

We continue our focus on risks that are arising in relation to the ageing demographic and succession planning.

We have seen an increase in succession planning activities as private groups restructure, dispose of assets or transfer wealth. This may be through mature family-controlled businesses being sold or passed onto the next generation, or the accumulated wealth from those businesses being transferred.

Transactions we commonly see that facilitate succession planning can include:

• assets being moved around the group
• family member interests being restructured
• concessions, exemptions and rollovers being accessed
• loans to shareholders or associates settled (Division 7A loans)
• trusts being used to transfer wealth.

For more information, see Succession planning tax risks.

Private equity

A targeted focus area is the risk across the life of the private equity investment, including all private equity participants (firms, funds, target entities and investors) at different stages of the private equity lifecycle (pre-acquisition, acquisition, holding, pre-exit and exit).

Retirement villages

Targeted focus areas for retirement villages include:

• reviewing the GST and income tax through the retirement village cycle
• incorrect application of GST-free provisions
• incorrect application of Division 135 (supplies of going concern)
• related-party transaction and incorrect valuations between related parties
• contentious land-lease structure.

GST focus areas

From a GST perspective, we’re focusing on our 2 largest industries, retail and construction.

Retail

Our retail focus includes:

• transactions between entities within the same private group
• errors arising from systems with poor controls
• omission of income from sales
• misclassification of vouchers sales and warranty payments
• claiming input tax credits for non-creditable acquisitions
• failure to meet GST reporting obligation
• failure to meet GST registration obligations.

Construction

Our construction focus includes:

• misclassification of commercial adjustments such as contract variations
• omission of income from sales
• transactions between entities within the same private group
• failure to lodge or report sales or GST on BAS as identified by the taxable payments reporting system
• misreporting or underreporting of GST for construction sales or payments to suppliers, employees or contractors
• failure to meet GST reporting obligation
• failure to meet GST registration obligations.

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet your obligations.

If you follow our information and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

Some of the information on this website applies to a specific financial year. This is clearly marked. Make sure you have the information for the right year before making decisions based on that information.

If you feel that our information does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, contact us or seek professional advice.

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You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute this material as you wish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth endorses you or any of your services or products).

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Transferring control of your business or wealth to family members may involve restructuring your business operations, such as:

• changes to share structure
• changes to the trustee and appointor of a trust or changes to beneficiaries
• changes to partnership structures, or
• transferring assets to family members via the creation of trusts or other new entities.

All these events have legal and tax implications that you need to carefully consider.

You should fully document any significant changes to your business structures or operations (including any asset disposals), along with their tax impact. Ensure you properly document information on your assets, such as acquisition date and cost base, improvements and any valuations. This will also ensure that any subsequent disposals of the assets can be treated correctly for tax purposes.

For example, when you dispose of or transfer your business assets there will likely be capital gains tax (CGT) consequences. The sale of a business can also trigger liabilities for GST.

Where a pre-CGT asset is involved, you should also understand and document whether the asset has retained its pre-CGT status. Issues for consideration include whether changes in beneficial interest impact the pre-CGT status of the assets or shares.

For more information, see Changing, selling or closing your business.