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.
March 2021
- Dutch navigators referred to Australia as “New Holland” when first landing there. It was subsequently named “Australia” in 1803 by English explorer Matthew Flinders.
- The names of the direct shareholders of Australian companies are available for the world to see on the ASIC website, however the use of nominee shareholders is common practice.
- Australia has six states, being New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia. It also has two territories, The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
- During the initial years of the colonisation of Australia, rum was used as an official currency, as there were no coins.
- Australia levies withholding tax on some dividends (30%) as well as on interest (10%) and royalties (30%), sometimes reduced under tax treaties.
- A share transfer in an Australian private company can be done in one hour. (Compared to most European civil law jurisdictions – where a notary must be involved).
- Australia owns most of Antarctica, holding a 42% share in the continent, the rest of which is shared amongst other nations.
- Small Australian companies do not need to publish their annual financial statements with ASIC (they are thus not available to the public).
- For tax years starting on or after 01 July 2021 companies with an aggregated turnover of less than AUD 50m per annum will pay tax of 25% (otherwise 30%).
- As at 30 June 2020, there were 2,422,404 actively trading businesses in the Australian economy.
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.