Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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

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Read more articles in our online Business bulletins newsroom.

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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.

Copyright notice

© Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia

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.

Source: Australian National Party

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

NT Police Force is calling for information in relation to an aggravated robbery that occurred in Wadeye on Tuesday evening.

Around 5:30pm, police received reports that five employees from an animal management clinic were approached by a group of youths as they left the facility in their vehicle. The youths were allegedly armed with weapons, including wooden planks and machetes. One of the offenders opened the driver’s side door, threatened the driver with a machete, and demanded the vehicle keys. The victim complied and exited the vehicle.

Employees at a nearby construction site observed the incident taking place and came to the aid of the victims, causing the group of offenders to flee the scene.

Police conducted patrols of the area and spoke with community members leading to the stolen keys being handed in. The alleged offenders remain outstanding, and investigations are ongoing.

If you have any information about the incident, police urge you to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number NTP2500052080. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.

Source:

A group of local volunteer firefighters have been honoured with National Emergency Medals for their efforts at the Hamilton Airbase during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire crisis.

The National Emergency Medal is part of Australia’s Honours and Awards system and recognises meaningful service to others in a nationally significant Australian emergency.

At a presentation ceremony held at the Hamilton Institute of Rural Learning on Friday 16 May, 17 firefighters from the region became the latest of more than 5,500 CFA members to receive the honour for the 2019-2020 fires.

Water bombing aircraft operating out of Hamilton Airbase has long been a key component of CFA’s incident response, supporting firefighting efforts at ground level with direct suppression of fire activity via aerial attack.

Aircraft operating out of the base rely on a volunteer bomber loader crew support to help prepare and load water and retardant and enable repeated water bombing runs to be conducted on request.

CFA Deputy Chief Officer South West Adrian Gutsche presented the medals and said they were an important recognition of the valiant efforts of CFA members.

“It is a great honour to receive the National Emergency Medal, and I hope it goes a small way to thanking our members for their service,” Adrian said.

“The work that the bomber loader crews undertake is hot, strenuous and requires a high degree of care and precision so that ongoing aerial attack operations can be conducted successfully.”

The Hamilton Airbase was activated on a total of 26 days during the 2019-20 National Emergency declaration for Glenelg and Southern Grampians, including a period of 15 consecutive days from 20 December 2019 to 3 January 2020 when fire activity was at its highest.

“We are incredibly grateful for the important contributions bomber loader crews made during this period to protect the community,” Adrian said.

“These volunteers come from brigades in Hamilton and surrounding areas and are members who have already dedicated many years of service within CFA.”

Hamilton Airbase Manager and medal recipient, Ron Huf said it was an honour to be formally recognised.

“I’m proud to be able to provide support to the community, through what I do at the airbase. It was my first year in that role and I had just done my training, which was fairly intense, but great preparation for what was to come,” Ron said.

“I’ve been within CFA for 45 years, and spent years as a Captain and Strike Team Leader, and I got to the point where I wanted a change from being out on the fire trucks and command vehicles.

“I found having an interest in aircraft and aviation, that I was drawn to helping in the airbase setting, and having managed resources, staff and other complexities in my past leadership roles I thought it would be a good opportunity to contribute in a different way.   

Ron said the back-to-back days are long and hot, but the crew enjoy the camaraderie of the team environment.  

“It is hard to quantify the work our members do at the airbase, and we all do different things within the group, but those out there loading planes definitely deserve to be recognised,” Ron said.

“While working at the airbase in a voluntary capacity, CFA provided us with welfare support, whether that was meals, accommodation and everything in between, they really looked after us.”

Submitted by	CFA media

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

The share hire e-scooter trial in urban Bendigo will be extended for another 12 months, following a decision at Council last Monday night.

Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said the trial extension was approved after much deliberation.

“Council carefully considered all of the findings from the community survey, data, and feedback from an external stakeholder group – this includes Victoria Police and Bendigo Health, who have been involved since the trial began last year,” Cr Metcalf said.

“Much of community feedback centred on issues such as poorly parked e-scooters obstructing footpaths and buildings, and unsafe behaviour from some riders who are not complying with stricter Victorian road rules for e-scooters.

“The survey also highlighted that regular users, particularly people aged under 34, have benefited from the share hire service. For this group, the trial e-scooters are seen as a convenient and useful transport option, improving connectivity between precincts in urban Bendigo.

“There were also calls in the feedback to expand the operating area to include Golden Square, Long Gully and White Hills to align with the shared walking/cycling networks in place.

“The survey and stakeholder collaboration was intentionally designed to focus on areas where the City has the authority to act. While we understand there are broader concerns about e-scooters, the aim was to collect feedback that could directly inform potential improvements or policy decisions within our jurisdiction.

“Council has very much taken all of this on board which has resulted in the trial being extended for another 12 months. This next phase will incorporate key learnings from the initial trial and provide opportunities for further improvement based on a set of recommendations.

“New technology to curb illegal footpath riding has been proposed by the Victorian Government for share hire e-scooters, which is something we welcome, together with tougher e-scooter Victorian Road Rules and penalties that are enforced by Victoria Police.

“Improved parameters during the extended trial will allow for a more accurate assessment of whether or not share hire e-scooters can serve as a viable alternative transport option to meet the needs of community members and tourists.”

Beam Mobility (Beam), which has operated the trial for the past 12 months, will have its contract extended temporarily until the procurement process for a commercial operator is finalised.

The trial has been operating a small trial area in urban Bendigo to provide better links between precincts and encourage a shift away from cars for shorter trips.

The share hire e-scooters are only available for hire between 5am and 11pm, 7 days a week. The maximum speed limit is set at 20km/h, and 15km/h in some busy areas, and e-scooters are only allowed to ride on roads, bicycle lanes, and shared cycle paths in line with Victorian road rules. It is illegal to ride e-scooters on footpaths and significant penalties apply. The Victorian Police enforce fines.

To view more survey results, visit: