5th Annual Small Business Tax Essentials
The vast majority of businesses in Australia are small businesses, so you better be prepared to provide up to date and expert advice when a small business client comes to you for help. That means being across the game changing developments stemming from the budget and the election. Twelve experts working at the coalface of tax and small business advisory will give you the latest updates and cutting edge strategies on all of the key issues your small business clients will expect you to know.
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units
LATEST TAX UPDATES
Chair: Sally Newman, Principal, Sally Newman Consulting
9.00am to 10.00am: OPENING ADDRESS: Phoenix Business Activities: What Attracts the Commissioner’s Attention?
With the ATO’s recent concentration on the cash economy, fraud, and phoenix companies, it’s critical that tax professionals get up to date on what the government is focusing on, its intentions, and how this will impact your clients and their interactions with the ATO. Presented by Julie Eldridge, Director, Integrated Compliance. ATO and David W Marks QC, Inns of Court |
10.00am to 10.50am: Dealing with Historical Loans and Unpaid Present Entitlements in the Changing Division 7A Landscape
The long-awaited amendments to Division 7A are proposed to start on 1 July 2019. These represent a significant change to how taxpayers will need to manage their Division 7A loans and unpaid trust present entitlements (UPEs), and in particular quarantined loans and pre-2009 UPEs. This session will assist practitioners understand the impact of these changes and use practical case studies to illustrate potential strategies going forward.
Presented by Deborah Gentry-Rose, Senior Tax Manager and Thomas Brennan, Manager, Private Client Services, EY
10.50am to 11.05am: Morning Tea
11.05am to 12.00pm: Small Business Restructuring: Practical Guidelines
As a business grows, owners find themselves restrained by structures that are no longer appropriate or meet their needs. Focus on ways to restructure your client’s business and ensure they are best placed to maximise growth opportunities, including:
- The availability of rollover relief to facilitate a move to a more appropriate business structure, whilst managing tax and duty consequences
- Tips and traps which often arise when restructuring
- Special considerations in an agribusiness context
Presented by Melinda Peters, Partner, McCullough Robertson
12.00pm to 12.55pm: Year End Strategies with a Trusts Focus: Don’t Leave it Until the End
- Getting trust distributions right
- Issues with companies and partnerships
- What can be done if we get it wrong?
- What does the trust deed require?
- Satisfying ATO standards
- Beneficiaries and ‘subsidiary’ trusts
- Bamford, streaming and specific entitlement
- Is there anything that needs to be done?
Presented by Clifford Hughes, Principal, Clifford Hughes & Associates; Accredited Specialist in Tax Law and Business Law
12.55pm to 1.40pm: Networking Lunch
PRACTICAL TAX SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
Chair: Russell Postle, Partner, Business Services, BDO
1.40pm to 2.30pm: Tax Tips and Traps on Profit Allocation for Professional Firms
The ATO has suspended its ‘Assessing the Risk: Allocation of profits within professional firms’ guidelines. In this session you will explore:
- The reasons the Guidelines were suspended
- What happens to arrangements for the 2018, 2019 and subsequent income years
- Whether the safe harbours in the Guidelines are still useful even in there suspended state
- The cases that help determine appropriate allocations of profit
Presented by Fletch Heinemann, Partner, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers
2.30pm to 3.20pm: Tax Effective Structuring Strategies for Asset Protection: Managing Business Owner Risks
Asset protection continues to be a critical issue and a legacy business operating structure may no longer be appropriate due to changes in circumstances and the legal/commercial environment.
- Why restructure? Identifying the actual risks and how they arise
- What are the best practice approaches/structures? Achieving genuine outcomes
- Using a trust or a company
- Queensland duty issues
- Using CGT rollovers, tax concessions and other tax effective approaches including tax consolidations
- Quarantining operational risk from valuable assets
- Identifying managing other risks such as being a company director, family breakdown
Presented by David Marschke, Principal, dbm horizons
3.20pm to 3.35pm: Afternoon Tea
3.35pm to 4.25pm: Dealing with ATO Enquiries and Managing Tax Disputes
Acting for clients who are targeted by the ATO or state revenue offices can be high stress and high risk, particularly if there is a lot at stake. Look at practical issues that commonly arise for taxpayers and advisers, including:
- Understanding what the ATO is looking for
- Scoping enquiries and issues in dispute
- How to prepare an objection or pursue an appeal
- Balancing dispute costs against prospects of success
- The onus of proof
- Exploring settlement opportunities
Presented by Damian O’Connor, Managing Principal, Tax + Law; CTA
4.25pm to 5.15pm: INSIGHTS FOR ACCOUNTANTS FROM A FAMILY LAW EXPERT: What Accountants Need to Know about Small Business Owners and Family Law
Presented by Alison Ross, Partner, HopgoodGanim Lawyers |
5.15pm: Closing Comments by the Chair
Venue
Mercure Brisbane
Level 2, 85-87 North Quay
Brisbane 4000
QLD
Australia
Presenters
Chair: Sally Newman
Sally Newman has over 17 years experience, both in-house (including at the ATO) and at a leading international law firm where she worked for 12 years. Sally advises government and GOCs, SMEs, large corporates (particularly in property development, leasing and energy and resources) and not for profits. She has been listed in Doyles Guide as a Recommended Lawyer for Tax (2015, 2016) and in Best Lawyers for her trusts and estates work (2016, 2017), and was one of the Property Council of Australia's 100 Women in Property in 2017. Sally sits on several professional and industry committees including the Queensland Law Society Revenue Law Committee and regularly prepares submissions to government entities on tax and duty matters.
Julie Eldridge
Julie Eldridgeis a Director in the Phoenix Taskforce at the Australian Taxation Office. The Taskforce comprises more than 30 Federal, State and Territory government agencies. It provides a whole-of-government approach and draws on the capabilities of the various members to effectively deliver Taskforce priorities and treat illegal phoenix behaviour. Julie works closely with Taskforce member agencies, as well business and industry bodies. She also leads teams that undertake compliance activities to tackle illegal phoenix behaviour. Julie has been with the ATO since 2011 and in a prior ATO role, led teams engaging with high wealth individuals and their privately owned groups. She is a CPA with over 20 years’ experience in compliance and governance in both the public and private sector including seven years as a senior forensic accountant and investigator at ASIC.
David W Marks QC
David W Marks QC is a commercial Silk practising principally in Tax. He has a broader practice in commercial litigation, trusts and estates, and administrative law. He contributes to the life of the profession through his committee work for the Law Council, Bar Association and Taxation Institute.
Deborah Gentry-Rose
Deborah Gentry-Rose CA is a Senior Manager in EY’s Private Client Services practice with more than 14 years experience in providing family businesses and private groups with tax and accounting advice. Deborah enjoys working with all types family businesses, with a focus on developing practical solutions to complex tax issues. Deborah also has expertise across a number of technical subjects matters, including asset structuring, family succession planning, Division 7A, and trusts.
Thomas Brennan
Thomas Brennan CA is a Manager within EY's Private Client Services practice and has been with the firm since 2013. He has assisted with providing tax advice and compliance services to family businesses, private equity and asset management stakeholders as well as high net wealth individuals. Thomas is particularly interested in cross-border tax issues, business restructures and Division 7A.
Melinda Peters
A specialist tax and duty lawyer, Melinda provides advice on transaction structuring and re-structuring with a view to helping clients achieve tax effective outcomes. Additionally she assists clients with inbound and outbound investment structures, mergers and acquisitions and works actively with clients to prepare for and manage a broad range of tax controversy matters – from audit stage through to legal proceedings.
Melinda currently acts for a range of clients across a number of industries. Her clients currently include multinational corporations with Australian resource interests, a number of ASX-listed companies and widely held investment funds. She also acts for a number of growing Australian businesses.
Clifford Hughes
Clifford Hughes consults to legal, accounting and planning practices in respect of taxation, business structuring and succession issues for their clients. He is an Accredited Specialist in Taxation Law, an Accredited Specialist in Business Law and a Chartered Tax Adviser.
Chair: Russell Postle
Fletch Heinemann
As a partner in the commercial team, Fletch Heinemann is responsible for managing a significant volume of tax and customs disputes, as well as providing tax advice across a range of commercial issues. Fletch's technical specialisations include income tax (including international tax and residency issues), GST, payroll tax, land tax, stamp duty and customs duties. His experience includes drafting notices of objection, private ruling applications, AAT appeals and litigation in the Federal Court. In recent years, Fletch successfully acted for the taxpayers in Dempsey v Commissioner of Taxation [2014] AATA 335 (a residency case) and Dominic B Fishing Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2014] AATA 205 (an employee/contractor case), and has settled numerous disputes before the matter proceeded to hearing. Fletch has also presented sessions for Television Education Network, CPA Australia, the ATO and the Tax Institute. Before joining Cooper Grace Ward, Fletch was a tax lawyer in Baker & McKenzie's Sydney office. Prior to that, Fletch worked for a Big 4 accounting firm in the UK and then China. Fletch has been consecutively listed in Best Lawyers Australia for customs and excise law since 2014. Fletch was one of four finalists in Australia in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year 2016 awards in the taxation category.
David Marschke
David is a specialist tax and legal adviser who acts for listed and private corporate groups, and their owners, in all areas of tax and related law including GST and state taxes. David’s tax expertise spans a wide range of industries and sectors including property development, investment funds, professional services, technology and intellectual property.
David has been involved in a wide range of M&A transactions acting for listed and unlisted groups as well as private equity transactions. He is a specialist adviser on trust law and taxation of trusts including MITs.
In addition, David has significant experience assisting taxpayers and their advisers in dispute matters including tax reviews, audits and complex tax negotiations, and settlements with the ATO and the State revenue offices.
David recently founded dbm horizons as a boutique legal, tax and consulting firm. Prior to founding dbm horizons David was a tax partner at national law firm.
David is a Legal Practitioner, Registered Tax Agent, Chartered Tax Adviser and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Damian O’Connor
Damian O'Connor is the Managing Principal of specialist taxation law firm, Tax + Law. He has more than 40 years experience in tax and commercial and family legal issues in Melbourne and Brisbane. His experience includes 23 years with the Australian Taxation Office, and as a tax partner with national law firms. He has been involved with almost every aspect of the world of tax during that time. Damian provides practical technical advice on complex tax issues, commercial and family wealth structuring advice and documentation. He has decades of experience in managing high risk, high stress interactions with revenue authorities. He is a regular presenter for the Tax Institute, professional development providers, professional associations and universities.
Alison Ross
Alison Ross specialises in complex property matters and other financial matters arising from relationship breakdowns. She has worked exclusively in family law since 1996 and has extensive experience in both matrimonial and de facto relationship law. Alison's expertise includes advising on
international family law matters, both financial matters and those relating to children, including relocation and child abduction. An Accredited Family Law Specialist, Alison is the immediate past Chair of the Queensland Law Society's Family Law Committee. She is a member of the Queensland Law Society Continuing Professional Development Committee. She is also a member of the Family Law Practitioners' Association, the Law Council of Australia's Family Law Section, the Child Protection Practitioners' Association of Queensland and Queensland Collaborative Law. Alison has been ranked a leading lawyer in Doyles Guide to Leading Family and Divorce Lawyers - Brisbane since 2012.