Tax Planning for SMEs in Uncertain Times – recorded online lunchtime conference

Hear from the experts at this online lunchtime conference. You can watch it on your computer or on your portable electronic device from anywhere.

The conference will be based on our highly successful video webinar technology: there'll be a chairperson and presentations.

One registration can be shared by colleagues within the same firm utilising the same login.

THE PROGRAM

Session 1: The Division 7A Time Bomb – UPEs, SubTrusts and Loans

The Government has still not released any draft legislation on the proposed changes to Division 7A. Notwithstanding the inactivity of the Government, you still have to advise your clients with the spectre of the proposed changes looming. Among those changes, pre December 1998 loans, subs trusts and unitisation arrangements: :

• UPES and sub-trusts – prudent management or a ticking time bomb
• Managing “quarantined” loan accounts and UPEs
  • Pre-December 1997 loan accounts, pre-December 2009 UPEs and existing 25 year loan arrangements
  • Can you write off pre-1998 loans without tax consequences
  • Statute barred loans
• UPE unitisation arrangements
  • ATO concerns with these arrangements
  • Possible application of Division 7A, section 100A or Part IVA of the ITAA1936
• Review of the latest cases and rulings
  • What is an “honest mistake or inadvertent omission”? (section 109RB of the ITAA 1936) – Howard v FCT [2019] AATA 1910
  • Section 109T, interposed entities and ordinary commercial transactions – TD 2018/13

Session 2: Small Business CGT Concessions: Can Your Clients Still Qualify?

The small business CGT concessions continue to be an area where practitioners experience difficulty in correctly applying the rules. The amendments introduced in Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2018 and the recent Federal Court decision in FCT v Eichmann [2019] FCA 2155 have only added to the confusion and frustration experienced by advisers. This session examines those areas likely to trip you up and prevent your clients qualifying for the concessions:

• Overview of the integrity measures and their impact on sales of shares or units
• What is an active asset?
  • Practically applying the ‘’new” active asset test to sales of shares or units
• Structuring tips to preserve access to the concessions
• Case studies examining the application of the small business CGT concessions where trusts and company structures are involved
• Revisiting the $6m net asset value test and the concept of “market value” following the recent AAT decision in Miley and FCT
• Examining the advantages and disadvantages of the small business CGT rollover and the small business restructure rollover

Session 3: The Reign of Confusion: Base Rate Entity Tax Issues

The legislation dealing with a company’s eligibility for the reduced company tax rate has been in place for quite some time. Unfortunately, practitioners and their clients are still having difficulty determining when they should pay tax and frank dividends at 27.5%. With the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continuing, it has never been more important for companies to be across their eligibility for the reduced rate. This session examines the following areas:

• What is a Base Rate Entity (BRE)?
• Practically applying the BRE Passive Income and Turnover tests:
  • Examining BRE Passive Income following the release of LCR 2019/5
  • Calculating turnover and grouping rules (i.e. connected entities and affiliates)
• Case studies on structuring to avoid tips and traps (e.g. trading companies wholly-owned by discretionary trusts)
• Calculating a company’s Corporate Tax Rate for Imputation purposes
  • The way imputation works when entities pay the higher rate (i.e. paying tax at 30% does not necessarily guarantee you get to frank at 30%)