Our Areas of Expertise
Our Areas of Expertise
Related Case Study
Taxes services - Significant reassessment by ATO
Two individual clients of Bryant & Bryant were served with Reassessments by the Australian Taxation Office bringing to account Capital Gains Tax assessments in respect of the sale of business previously overseen by the Bryant & Bryant many years earlier.
Tax Restructures
As a business professional, you’re already aware that the Australian system is a highly complex one. In order to minimise your tax liabilities, it’s absolutely imperative that your company’s tax structures be as strong and as sound as possible. Consequently, your organization should take advantage of expert accounting skills and consult current trends in the best business and industry practices before making decisions surrounding your taxes.
At Bryant & Bryant, our specialist team of tax agents can provide you with the most detailed and up-to-date advice on tax management and statutory requirement compliance.
Our agents are always on hand to recommend the best course of action regarding:
- Superannuation and SIS regulations
- Establishing new tax structures
- Avoiding tax disputes
- Income and payroll tax
- Land tax
- Capital gains tax
- GST and FBT
Bryant & Bryant can also ensure you receive maximum rebates and incentives according to your entitlements as a small or corporate business owner.
Looking for further information? These frequently asked questions (and answers!) may be able to help.
WHAT ARE THE BEST BUSINESS STRUCTURES FOR MINIMISING TAX LIABILITIES?
The most common structure is a company’s discretionary trust. A discretionary trust provides you with the ability to distribute your profit to your beneficiaries in order to achieve the lowest average tax rate among said beneficiaries. Note that, if you are a small business, adapting a company structure will yield a lower tax rate of 28.5% instead of the usual 30%.
IS ESTABLISHING A TRUST AN EFFECTIVE METHOD OF MINIMISING OVERALL TAX?
A trust-particularly discretionary trust-allows the trustee to distribute the profit to their beneficiaries at the company’s discretion. This creates an opportunity for your organization to utilise all eligible beneficiaries’ tax positions, which could potentially lower the overall average tax rate for the group.
A trust also generally triggers access to the 50% CGT discount for gains made on the disposal of capital assets if the capital assets were held by the trust for over 12 months. By comparison, a company without a trust in place will not be eligible for such a discount, regardless of how long the company held the assets in question.
WHAT ARE THE BEST MINIMISATION STRATEGIES FOR LEGAL TAXATION?
Sadly, there are no one-size-fits-all legal tax strategies. As a business professional, you should always understand the inherent advantages and disadvantages of the type of tax structure you’ve chosen. You should also make it a priority to understand the tax concessions that may be available to your organization.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TAX MINIMISATION AND TAX AVOIDANCE?
Tax minimisation or tax planning is usually defined as the organization of one’s financial affairs in such a way that they are tax efficient as possible. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is a deliberate exploitation of the tax system.
Tax minimisation refers to the act of trying to reduce your company’s tax payable amount via allowable deductions, tax concessions, and acceptable accounting or the tax treatment of various transactions. The end goal is to achieve a minimum tax for the taxpayer.
Tax avoidance involves engaging in actions or schemes that create financial and tax benefits not intended by law.
HOW CAN I MINIMISE MY EXPOSURE TO TAX LIABILITIES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY MY COMPANY (PARTICULARLY AS THEY PERTAIN TO TAX DEBT)?
First: do not ignore the debt. Instead, consult with a professional immediately to assess your financial situation. In addition, be sure to thoroughly review your accounting and taxation recordkeeping processes as well as your cash flow position. Next, start preparing a repayment plan to propose to the ATO.
Bear in mind, communication with the ATO is vital. Keep communication channels open and update the ATO on your progress as regularly as possible. In the ATO’s eyes, efforts to address the debt will be far more beneficial to your business in the long run.
AM I ELIGIBLE FOR TAX DEBT RELIEF?
Most often, you are only eligible if you can demonstrate serious hardship. This means that you would have to prove that payment of your debt would leave you unable to provide food, accommodation, clothing, medical treatment, education, or other necessities for yourself, your family, or for other dependents. If this is the case for you and your business, you will need to apply to the ATO for relief. Such relief is granted on a case-by-case basis.
WHAT ATO PAYMENT PLANS ARE AVAILABLE TO ME?
The ATO will accept weekly, fortnightly and monthly repayments (in addition to a 20-30% upfront lump sum). Such plans are usually required to be paid off within 12 months of the arrangement.
DO INTEREST RATES APPLY TO TAX DEBTS?
Yes. Rates are currently at 8.76% per year.
Tax Restructures
As a business professional, you’re already aware that the Australian system is a highly complex one. In order to minimise your tax liabilities, it’s absolutely imperative that your company’s tax structures be as strong and as sound as possible. Consequently, your organization should take advantage of expert accounting skills and consult current trends in the best business and industry practices before making decisions surrounding your taxes.
At Bryant & Bryant, our specialist team of tax agents can provide you with the most detailed and up-to-date advice on tax management and statutory requirement compliance.
Our agents are always on hand to recommend the best course of action regarding:
- Superannuation and SIS regulations
- Establishing new tax structures
- Avoiding tax disputes
- Income and payroll tax
- Land tax
- Capital gains tax
- GST and FBT
Bryant & Bryant can also ensure you receive maximum rebates and incentives according to your entitlements as a small or corporate business owner.
Looking for further information? These frequently asked questions (and answers!) may be able to help.
WHAT ARE THE BEST BUSINESS STRUCTURES FOR MINIMISING TAX LIABILITIES?
The most common structure is a company’s discretionary trust. A discretionary trust provides you with the ability to distribute your profit to your beneficiaries in order to achieve the lowest average tax rate among said beneficiaries. Note that, if you are a small business, adapting a company structure will yield a lower tax rate of 28.5% instead of the usual 30%.
IS ESTABLISHING A TRUST AN EFFECTIVE METHOD OF MINIMISING OVERALL TAX?
A trust-particularly discretionary trust-allows the trustee to distribute the profit to their beneficiaries at the company’s discretion. This creates an opportunity for your organization to utilise all eligible beneficiaries’ tax positions, which could potentially lower the overall average tax rate for the group.
A trust also generally triggers access to the 50% CGT discount for gains made on the disposal of capital assets if the capital assets were held by the trust for over 12 months. By comparison, a company without a trust in place will not be eligible for such a discount, regardless of how long the company held the assets in question.
WHAT ARE THE BEST MINIMISATION STRATEGIES FOR LEGAL TAXATION?
Sadly, there are no one-size-fits-all legal tax strategies. As a business professional, you should always understand the inherent advantages and disadvantages of the type of tax structure you’ve chosen. You should also make it a priority to understand the tax concessions that may be available to your organization.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TAX MINIMISATION AND TAX AVOIDANCE?
Tax minimisation or tax planning is usually defined as the organization of one’s financial affairs in such a way that they are tax efficient as possible. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is a deliberate exploitation of the tax system.
Tax minimisation refers to the act of trying to reduce your company’s tax payable amount via allowable deductions, tax concessions, and acceptable accounting or the tax treatment of various transactions. The end goal is to achieve a minimum tax for the taxpayer.
Tax avoidance involves engaging in actions or schemes that create financial and tax benefits not intended by law.
HOW CAN I MINIMISE MY EXPOSURE TO TAX LIABILITIES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY MY COMPANY (PARTICULARLY AS THEY PERTAIN TO TAX DEBT)?
First: do not ignore the debt. Instead, consult with a professional immediately to assess your financial situation. In addition, be sure to thoroughly review your accounting and taxation recordkeeping processes as well as your cash flow position. Next, start preparing a repayment plan to propose to the ATO.
Bear in mind, communication with the ATO is vital. Keep communication channels open and update the ATO on your progress as regularly as possible. In the ATO’s eyes, efforts to address the debt will be far more beneficial to your business in the long run.
AM I ELIGIBLE FOR TAX DEBT RELIEF?
Most often, you are only eligible if you can demonstrate serious hardship. This means that you would have to prove that payment of your debt would leave you unable to provide food, accommodation, clothing, medical treatment, education, or other necessities for yourself, your family, or for other dependents. If this is the case for you and your business, you will need to apply to the ATO for relief. Such relief is granted on a case-by-case basis.
WHAT ATO PAYMENT PLANS ARE AVAILABLE TO ME?
The ATO will accept weekly, fortnightly and monthly repayments (in addition to a 20-30% upfront lump sum). Such plans are usually required to be paid off within 12 months of the arrangement.
DO INTEREST RATES APPLY TO TAX DEBTS?
Yes. Rates are currently at 8.76% per year.
Related Case Study