Business and Structures

If you’re running a business in Australia, have a decent income, or have saved up some cash or investments, a well-planned structure will help to protect your assets, make sure you don't pay any more tax than you have to and, also, help with funding your retirement and estate planning.

As a registered Tax Agent and ASIC Agent we can help with whatever you need as well as with  extensions to lodgement deadlines and liaising with the ATO on your behalf if necessary.

There are various vehicles available to you to utilise in managing your income and your wealth and these include:
 

• Private Companies
• Tax Consolidation
• Discretionary and Unit Trusts
• Self-Managed Superannuation Funds
• Salary Packaging and FBT

We have extensive experience with all of these and can help create and/or manage a  structure that will be beneficial to you, your business and your family.  We have the ability to prepare all your accounts and tax returns and provide advice on anything you need to manage your group.

With their legal status and flat tax rate potentially falling as low as 25%,  a private company can be an excellent vehicle for either running a business or to hold some investments, although, probably not both in the same company. There are some traps involved especially with Div7A loans, FBT etc. and the  government is, of course changing the rules all the time. 

This can allow you to have separate companies to hold assets or run different parts of your business treated as one company for tax purposes. The benefits are that, legally, each company is a separate entity so the risks associated with one should be separate from the others but, any tax losses may be available for use within the entire group. 

A long-time favourite for holding investments separate to your business due to their access to the capital gains concessions and the potential ability to stream the distributions. Recent changes to the laws relating  to unpaid distributions and the inability of minors to access the low  income rebate may affect the way these trusts are used moving forward.  While the trust was once the right vehicle for your situation it may not  be now. Especially if you are not an Australian resident.
 

SMSFs can be a great opportunity with their concessional tax treatments and  the ability to control your own investment portfolio but they are not  for everyone. The regulations and laws surrounding them are extremely complex and often unforgiving.
The laws around super are constantly changing and we understand it all and can advise you based on your individual circumstances.
 

Whether you’re an employer, employee or both (as is often the case with your own business) there are potential benefits to be had and pitfalls to be aware of in Australia’s complicated FBT world. It can affect things as varied as health insurance, gym memberships, laptops, printers, cars, houses, phones, lunches and dinners. An important thing to remember is that, even though the benefit goes to the employee, the liability for the FBT lands squarely on the employer.