by Ken Sorrenson | Sep 28, 2013 | Wills & Estates
Grandparents are often very generous in their support of their grandchildren. Sometimes that is a matter of choice. Sometimes, a matter of necessity. The issue of whether a grandchild is financially dependent upon a grandparent can be relevant in many areas of the law.
It is quite common theses days for grandparents to wish to pass their death benefit superannuation entitlements to their grandchildren . The ability to demonstrate the financial dependency of the grandchild is very relevant in this context.
In order to pay a superannuation death benefit to a grandchild, and for the grandchild to receive it tax-free, the grandchild needs to establish financial dependency upon the grandparent.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | May 4, 2013 | Business
When GST was introduced in 2000, part of the then agreement between the Commonwealth and the States for the sharing of GST revenues proposed the abolition of various state taxes relevant to business.
As might have been anticipated, most State Governments including NSW have not been particularly prompt in doing that. Finally, there is good news the business on this front.
Effective 1 July 2013 NSW stamp duty on –
- Purchase of shares in private companies;
- Mortgages; and
- Purchase of business assets other than land,
is to be abolished.
The abolition of these duties was originally proposed to take effect from 1 July last year however that was deferred in the 2012 State Budget to this year.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | Apr 13, 2013 | Business
Good faith clauses are finding their way into more and more commercial contracts. Traditionalists amongst lawyers will tell you that they are meaningless and that the only provisions which belong in a contract are precise statements of what each party must do, at what price, when and what happens if they don’t do what they are supposed to. Warm and fuzzy motherhood statements, they say, do not belong in contract documents, which should be bullet proof.
But good faith clauses are fighting back. Late in 2010, the New South Wales Court of Appeal decided a case involving a heads of agreement between Macquarie International Health Clinic Pty Limited and Sydney South West Area Health Service, relating to the development by Macquarie of a private hospital and a car park on Royal Prince Alfred Hospital land, which required the parties to act with the utmost good faith to one another.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | Oct 6, 2012 | Business, Superannuation
Borrowing by Self Managed Superannuation Funds (“SMSFs”) has been allowed under strictly controlled circumstances for over five years. Over that time the “grey areas” have gradually become a little clearer both through legislative change and the issue of very detailed rulings by the ATO.
In May this year the ATO issued a new major ruling. It is a very useful document and contains many examples of what the ATO considers can and can’t be done. Some of those examples are particularly relevant to farming properties.
One of the key concepts of the legislation is the concept of borrowing to acquire a “single acquirable asset”.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | May 5, 2012 | Business, Superannuation
Many business owners involve their self managed superannuation funds (“SMSF”) in their business as owner of or part owner of their business premises.
There can be benefits in doing this but there are also costs associated particularly with –
- transferring the asset into the SMSF; and
- the complex ongoing compliance regime for SMSFs
In the past month I have come across good examples of both points.
A client had heard of the benefits of transferring his business premises into his SMSF and better still, that it could be done for only $50 stamp duty. As usual, the devil is in the detail.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | Nov 12, 2011 | Family
The Law Society of New South Wales operates the Specialist Accreditation Scheme to help the general public find Solicitors who have proven expertise in particular areas of the law.
Before gaining accreditation a Solicitor seeking Specialist Accreditation must pass rigorous assessments in communication, problem solving, client relations and the law in the relevant area.
A successful applicant for Specialist Accreditation is also required to commit to ongoing mandatory continuing legal education in the specialty area which means that the Specialist must undertake twice the mandatory continuing legal education of a non-accredited Solicitor.
In the end result, people dealing with Accredited Specialists can be confident that they are dealing with a person of proven expertise in the particular field who is also required to continually update and maintain their skills.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | Nov 5, 2011 | Business
Modern attitudes to corporate responsibility have greatly increased the scope for directors to be personally liable for what would otherwise be corporate responsibilities.
We already have significant director liability provisions in Corporations, Occupational Health and Safety and Taxation legislation.
In October the Federal Government introduced legislation which will significantly extend the scope for liability of directors and their associates in the taxation and superannuation areas.
In releasing the legislation, the Government stressed the need to –
- crack down on companies which ignore their tax and superannuation responsibilities to obtain a competitive advantage over other businesses and
- protect workers entitlements
by “ensuring every Australian business plays by the rules”.… Read More
by Ken Sorrenson | Apr 4, 2011 | Business
In previous articles we looked at Business Name and Trade Mark registration.
With online business becoming more important everyday, more and more businesses are looking to also register domain names that are capable of being easily identified with their business.
A domain name is simply a textual address for a location on the internet. An internet address with “.au” at the end, indicates that it is registered in Australia and part of the .au domain space regulated by the Australian Domain Name Administrator (commonly referred to as the “auDA”).
Once you’ve chosen the domain name you want to use, registration is through one of the organisations accredited by auDA for that purpose.… Read More
