Improperly Drafted Exclusionary Clause Triggers Foreign Land Tax Surcharge For Discretionary Trust

This ruling from the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) serves as an important reminder for ensuring that discretionary trust deeds are appropriately amended to prevent the activation of "foreign" land transfer (stamp) duty and land tax surcharges

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Stamp Duty Out, Commercial and Industrial Property Tax In Starting 1 July 2024

From 1 July 2024, a new state taxes regime commences for certain commercial and industrial properties. Upfront land transfer (stamp) duty will be phased out in lieu of a new annualised Commercial and Industrial Property Tax (New Tax).

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Baullo v Commissioner of State Revenue [2023] VCAT 1164: Beneficiary Loans, Land Transfer Duty, and Discretionary Trusts

The VCAT ruling of Baullo v Commissioner of State Revenue [2023] VCAT 1164 (Baullo), has reaffirmed the position of the State Revenue Office (SRO) that forgiving beneficiary loans in relation to a distribution of property from a discretionary trust to a beneficiary will prohibit utilisation of the exemption to land transfer (stamp) duty afforded by section 36A of the Duties Act 2000 (Act).

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Family Farm Transfer Exemption – Transferring the Family Farm to related Parties

Farmland is often the single most valuable asset for a farming family. The farm provides a base from which to operate the farming business and the capital value of the farmland typically increases in value over the long term.

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Victorian Farmers, will changes to retail leasing apply to you?

In some circumstances farm leases will be outside the scope of The Retail Leases Act (Act) following a determination by the Minister for Small Business, exempting farm leases from the Act, effective from 29 October 2019.

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Whose equipment and expenses?

When considering whether an allied health worker is an employee or a contractor, one factor to consider is in respect of the provision of tools, equipment and other assets required to undertake the work.

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Controlling the contractor

The measure of control exercised by one party over the other is an important factor in determining the nature of the relationship between a purported contractor and principal, or employee and employer.

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Medical and allied health practices – are you covered for Workers Compensation?

Workers in the allied health industry, such as nurses, doctors and other professionals may find themselves exposed to many different risks and hazards on a day-to-day basis, including lifting and moving patients and equipment; work-related stress; slips, trips and falls; exposure to infectious diseases and occupational violence.

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Medical and allied health practices – your tax obligations

The tax obligations on a practice in relation to an employment relationship are often perceived as being significantly more costly (and restrictive) compared to simply engaging a practitioner as an independent contractor. However tread carefully when making this decision, as getting your characterisation of a worker wrong can be even more costly and you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

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Ownership of medical records – yours, mine or ours?

Upon the termination of a relationship between the practice and practitioner, who will retain the patient records? Where will they be stored? Is the practitioner permitted to access the records, or make a copy?

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Goodwill hunting – contractor entitlement to goodwill

Goodwill is the essence of any business, and can often be a business’ most valuable (albeit intangible) asset. The value of goodwill lies in brand identity or recognition, customer networks, positive customer and employee relations, and broadly speaking, reputation.

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Superannuation for contractors – come one, come all

Determining whether an individual is an employee or contractor can leave you scratching your head. There is unfortunately little clarification in the context of superannuation entitlements and determining whether payments to a contractor are covered by the superannuation guarantee (SGC) regime further blurs the line between contractor and employee.

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Contractor vs Employee – Shifting Sands for Medical and Allied Health Practices

Medical, dental and allied health professional structures have and continue to be designed to engage professional staff that are labelled and treated as independent business operators known as “independent contractors”.

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