The 2022 FBT year ends on 31 March 2022. (Really?) Yes, that date is not an error as the Fringe benefits tax (FBT) year runs from April to March (unlike the Australian tax year which runs from July to June). It can be confusing at times.
FBT is the short for Fringe Benefits Tax. It is a tax imposed on employers who provide certain fringe benefits they provide to their employees, including their employees’ family and associates.
If you have bought or are planning to buy residential property via a discretionary trust, you could be liable to pay more duty. It all depends on what is in the trust deed.
Changes came into place on 1 March 2020 for trust structures acquiring residential property in Victoria or New South Wales. These trusts will need to check the existing trust deeds which may need amending to exclude any potential foreign beneficiaries.
The changes occurred as the Victorian and New South Wales Offices of State Revenue (SRO and OSR) announced it was changing its stance on the application of duty surcharge to property owned or acquired by family trusts. This could result in paying more tax.
So what does all that mean?
Well most family or discretionary trusts do not specifically exclude potential foreign beneficiaries. This can mean your trust will be a foreign trust for duty purposes resulting in an additional duty of 7% being applied to a property purchase. This can mean extra tax of tens of thousands.
What to do?
Call us before purchasing property in Victoria or New South Wales if you are thinking about purchasing the property in your trust structure. We can work with you to ensure your trust structure is the most appropriate structure to use and whether your deed should be amended.
This morning, the Australian Government has announced their second round of policies to further support Australian businesses and individuals as it is expected the Coronavirus will be impacting the economy in the next few months.
This is what we know so far:
The Prime Minister has just announced a $17.6 billion economic plan today, to assist small businesses and households through the uncertain times ahead due to the Coronavirus.
How will the stimulus package help you?
In the recent months the phase “wage theft” is popular term, as it was used in news articles about some national companies admitted to underpaying their staff. While news reporters are only reporting those “big” and well-known companies, any employer can potentially be committing some degree of wage theft. It is important that employers run their checks periodically to ensure they are doing the right thing.
Wage theft is a term
