On 1 July 2018, phoenixing reforms came into play. At Brown Wright Stein Lawyers, we are examining the impact these reforms will have on property developers, vendors and purchasers and the commercial implications in terms of tracking and regulating illegal activities for businesses.
Read MorePhoenixing involves stripping and transferring the assets out of a company, leaving it to perish in a blaze to avoid paying its liabilities. A new company is then reborn from the ashes of the old company, starting anew and liability free, however usually with the same assets and business as the old company.
Read MoreThe Commonwealth Government has announced a 12-month amnesty for employers to self-report underpaid superannuation amounts, during which period the usual penalties for underpayment (non-deductible payments and administrative penalties) will not apply. The amnesty period ends on 24 May 2019.
Read MoreWhat is a sale on a 'retention of title' basis?
It is a conditional sale. The supplier remains the owner of the goods being sold until the goods are paid for in full by the purchaser. This transaction is now deemed to be a secured transaction.
Read MoreThe Australian Treasury recently reviewed the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and is seeking feedback from businesses and consumers to have their say on proposed reforms to clarify, simplify and modernise the consumer guarantee framework in the ACL.
Read MoreThe Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) has been in effect for over 6 years, yet many businesses are still unaware of the existence and the wide-reaching impact of the PPSA.
Read MoreYou will need to take extra care to safeguard the unauthorised access, loss or disclosure of personal information.
On 22 February 2018, the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 (Cth) will take effect to introduce a new notifiable data breach scheme (NDB Scheme).
Read MoreYou now need to take extra care to safeguard the unauthorised disclosure of a client's tax file number (TFN).
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It would be prudent to recommend to your clients that their "fixed" trusts and unit trusts be reviewed having regard to recent developments.
On 13 September 2017, the ATO issued a finalised Guideline (PCG 2016/16) which sets out the circumstances when the Commissioner will exercise his discretion to treat a trust as a fixed trust.
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