This is all about getting your business and investment assets into a structure that is best suited to your commercial objectives while ensuring it is tax-efficient.

We can provide you with advice on:

• setting up an appropriate structure to commence or acquire a business or investment asset
• the efficacy of your structure in view of your commercial objectives (e.g. growth, the ability to introduce new investors with ease, positioning for a potential future exit and asset protection) and your after-tax position
• restructuring your business or investment structure in view of your objectives while minimising tax leakages in getting you there.
  
  

We can also prepare the legal documentation to implement our advice and work with your accountants to tidy up any historical tax exposures as part of any restructure.

Are you about to buy or sell out of a business or investment or enter into some other form of commercial transaction? Have you considered what the tax consequences of the transaction will be and whether there is a better way to go about things?

We can:

• advise you of your options for effecting the transaction in the most tax-effective way, for example, by selling shares rather than business assets (or vice versa)
• advise you on whether a pre-transaction restructure is desirable and appropriate
• review and input into transaction documentation with a view to securing the best after-tax outcome for you while making sure you avoid any trip ups.

Are you moving overseas or returning/moving to Australia? Are you a foreign resident investing in Australia or an Australian resident investing overseas? Do you have a business/corporate structure or investment portfolio that is spread across multiple countries?

International tax is a minefield. The questions above touch upon some aspects of this complex area.

Navigating this space can be tricky, as it requires an understanding of Australian law, how this interacts with any tax treaties and the ability to work with foreign tax advisors.

Luckily, international tax is our jam.

We have experience advising on the income tax, CGT, GST, stamp duty and land tax aspects of matters with an international dimension, including:

• tax residency rules
• source rules
• controlled foreign company and controlled foreign trust rules
• dividend, interest and royalty withholding tax
• GST on cross border transactions
• foreign purchaser additional duty
• absentee owner surcharge.
  
  

Our niche expertise in this complex field means that we can take care of the legals while you focus on what really matters to you: getting from where you are to wherever you want to go in the world.

It goes without saying that tax law is complicated.

Many areas are grey (or ‘controversial’). This can present opportunities for tax planning as well as risks from an audit perspective.

It is important to be vigilant when managing your tax affairs, particularly where the area of law is grey or where there is a big-ticket item that will be going into your tax return. Audits are an unfortunate reality, so it is good to be prepared ahead of time and to proactively manage the process if you are selected for an audit. If a mistake has been made, a voluntary disclosure of the mistake should be considered to reduce exposure to penalties.

Sometimes, disputes that emerge at the audit stage will need to be escalated to the objection stage and potentially further by way of appeal to the Tribunals  or the Courts.

We provide comprehensive tax controversy/dispute resolution services, including:

• preparing reasonably arguable position papers and private ruling applications on controversial areas in anticipation of a potential future dispute
• audit assistance, including in relation to the exercise of the Commissioner’s formal information gathering powers during the audit process
• identifying mistakes and preparing voluntary disclosures to minimise exposure to penalties
• managing objections and appeals to the Tribunals and Courts
• engaging in alternative dispute resolution processes with the revenue authorities.

Employers unfortunately need to deal with a lot of red tape when it comes to engaging workers. This includes negotiating a host of employment taxes as well as the superannuation guarantee regime.

Getting things wrong can be costly in view of information sharing arrangements between the State/Territory revenue authorities, the ATO and WorkCover (with an audit by one authority likely to trigger audits by the others) as well as, in the case of corporate employers, the director penalty regime.

We have experience in helping employers manage their superannuation guarantee, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, pay-as-you-go withholding and income tax obligations, including in relation to:

• the superannuation guarantee treatment of workers who are engaged as contractors, including managing disputes and applying for private rulings
• the payroll tax treatment of payments made to workers who are engaged as contractors or via employment agency arrangements
• the structuring of contractual arrangements with workers from a tax and superannuation perspective
• the payroll tax grouping provisions, including applying for the exercise of the Commissioner’s discretion to exclude a member from a group
• the income tax treatment of termination/separation made to employees.
  
  

We can work with your employment lawyers and other advisors to take care of the red tape, freeing you up to do what you do best: run your business.