News & Tax Insights

A self-managed super fund may lose all of a loan it made to a Perth based public company that became insolvent six months later, after a Court ordered that it did not “perfect” its security over the loan funds by registering the loan on the Personal Property Securities Register within the 20 days required and in a period six months prior to the appointment of a voluntary administrator. The Pozzebon Family Superannuation Fund lent $250,000 to Australian Gaming Entertainment Limited in December 2013.  Six months later, when the trustees became concerned about the company’s financials, they registered their security interest.…

The Government will change withholding tax legislation so that a purchaser must withhold 10% of the sale price of real estate, including on residential properties valued at $2.5 million or more and other assets associated with a place of business in Australia, when they are purchased from a non-resident. This initiative was initially announced by the former Labor Government but in November 2013, the Liberal National Coalition said it would continue with the change. It is to take effect from July 2016. In October this year, the Government released a Discussion Paper giving more details of the change. The withholding…

A member of a commercial, industry or self-managed super fund can apply to the Government for early release of funds on compassionate grounds to pay for medical treatment where they can’t afford to pay for it themselves and two doctors certify that the treatment: Is not available in the public health system; and is necessary To treat a life threatening illness or injury; or Alleviate acute or chronic pain; or Alleviate an acute or chronic mental disturbance.   The early release of super for medical treatment can include transport directly associated with that medical treatment.   An application can also…

The NSW Court of Appeal has refused a claim for the primary production land tax exemption made by a couple for their property that was used for thoroughbred horse breeding.   The couple claimed that only 5% of the land was used to rent out a residence on the property and accordingly, the overwhelming majority percentage of the land was used for primary production.   However, in an earlier decision, the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal decided that only a small number of horses were ever present on the land and that primary production activity was minimal and accordingly, the residential…

More than half of the financial institutions surveyed by Thomson Reuters will exceed their budgets for complying with new reporting requirements on US individuals and entities.  Banks must report details to the Tax Office and it will then on-send that information to the US Internal Revenue Service.  More than a quarter of those financial institutions expect to spend between USD 100,000 and USD 1 million to comply with the new rules. The United States legislature passed new legislation in 2010 called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).  The intention is to use the dominant strength of the US banking…