These emails are designed for those investing into Australia and those who have plans to do so. We aim to keep the points short and sweet, and to merely list snippets of relevant but easy to read information.
April 2022
- On 29 March 2022, the Australian Government released the nation’s ‘Federal Budget’ for 2022, noting proposed cuts to fuel excise taxes and personal income taxes, amongst various other announcements.
- Australia is estimated to have the world’s largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes.
- The Family Trust, sometimes referred to as a discretionary trust, is a popular asset protection structure for families and businesses in Australia.
- In Australia, the ‘Administrative Appeals Tribunal’ (AAT) has jurisdiction to independently review decisions made by the Australian Taxation Office, and can be a less costly solution than courts for persons wishing to dispute certain tax decisions.
- Back in 2005, a government issued ban was imposed on saying the word ‘mate’ at Parliament House. The ban only lasted 24 hours, and was then overturned.
- Australian corporations law imposes various duties on company directors. For example, acting with reasonable care and diligence, and not improperly using information or their position.
- Loans, or debt forgiveness, provided by a private company to a shareholder (or their associate) can be deemed to be dividends for income tax purposes, subject to certain exclusions.
- The Australian Government has recently mandated a unique permanent identifier for directors of Australian companies, known as a ‘director identification number’ (DIN). Deadlines for applying for a DIN depend on the date of director appointment.
- The 8 states of Australia are namely: Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.
- Small businesses, being those businesses with an annual turnover of less than AUD 10 million, may qualify for a range of tax concessions in Australia (note the threshold may be lower based on the concession).
This message is not given in the form of an opinion, legal opinion or tax advice. If any of the information provided is of interest or relevance to you or your company we would strongly recommend you contact us or another qualified professional for specific advice.