Want to minimise tax when selling your business?

Are you a business owner who is considering selling your business, but is unsure what the tax implications are?

When it comes to selling your business, there are many decisions to make, and sometimes these decisions may impact your tax liabilities on sale. It is therefore wise to speak to an expert about the road ahead before starting the journey of selling.

If a business is sold without having extensive analysis of its tax implications, you may end up having to pay up to 47% tax on the profit. However with proper consultation well before the sale, you may be able to reduce the income tax liability down (sometimes to nil!). The difference can be enormous when the profit is huge.

For example: a business sale with profit of $3m, with 47% tax, your share to keep is $1.59m, however with a 0% tax, you get to keep $3m. That’s a difference of $1.41m!

Below are some concessions you may be able to use to minimise your tax.

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Shared economy – things you need to know

If you have a spare room, or some spare time, your friends may have suggested you to grab some cash by hosting your room on Airbnb or becoming an Uber driver.

You thought the idea of being able to generate extra cash without being tied up in an office 9-5, or having some flexibility on deciding when to work sounds cool, and (after a few drinks) your friends suggested that you do not need to report that as income, for whatever reasons.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, it sure is.

The ATO are focusing their attention on the “sharing economy” – the popular ones are Airbnb, Stayz, Uber and Taxify. Below are a few things to consider before starting your shared economy business.

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ATO’s views on Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies

In recent months Bitcoins and various other cryptocurrencies have attracted a lot of attention after having a roller-coaster ride in its prices over the past few months, and with more and more cryptocurrency trading platforms becoming available in Australia, it has become easier for Australians to dip into the crypto world. As cryptocurrencies are a new concept, what are the views of the ATO in relation to this new type of virtual currency?

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Foreign Investment Property Owners – Beware of the new tax!

The Bill has passed and received Royal Assent on 30 November 2017 for the Commissioner of Taxation to charge a vacancy fee to foreign residents owning an investment property in Australia that is not occupied.   This has been popularly called a “ghost tax”.

The fee only applies to non-Australian tax residents who own a residential property that was “vacant” for more than 183 days in a financial year.

A residential property is “occupied” (ie not “vacant”) when:

(a)  the owner or his/her relatives genuinely lives in the property,

(b)  the property is under a lease or licence for a minimum of 30 days, or

(c)  the property is genuinely available for lease or licence for a minimum of 30 days.

If the property is classed as “vacant” (ie not “occupied”), then the owner of the property will need to file a “Vacancy fee return” to the Commissioner of Taxation and pay the vacancy tax.

Investment Property Owners – Updates you need to know!

While other political issues were holding centre stage in late November 2017, the Parliament very quietly passed a Bill to limit plant and equipment depreciation deductions for rental property owners and deny travel deductions on rental properties. It has received the Royal Assent on 30 November 2017. As detailed in the May 2017 Budget, these changes apply from 1 July 2017 onwards.

What it means to you:

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