Marriage can be a beautiful bond between two people. A promise between the two to join their lives. Their souls….

…and all of their tax debts!

On 6 February 2019, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) withdrew Interpretative Decision 2003/589 (decision) which provided that a company can forgive a debt owed by a natural person for reasons of “natural love and affection” without consequence.

A previous legislative technical defect in the operation of reversionary transition to retirement income streams (TRIS) has been resolved by the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 4) Bill 2018.

The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) recently considered whether a duty concession was applicable to the transfer of property related to a person changing superannuation fund – including self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) in Nifuno Pty Ltd atf Stephen Forbes Pension Fund v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2019] NSWCATOD 3 (Forbes).

The closing date of the Australian Government’s consultation process regarding the making of an initial coin offering (ICO) provides us with an opportunity to take a breath and review the current regulatory state of the crypto world, in preparation for the regulations that may be on the horizon.

It is a longstanding general principle that where a trustee discloses reasons for the exercise of a discretion, the validity of the trustee’s reasons will be examined and reviewed.

Following the passing of Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 4) Bill 2018, the ATO now has the below increased powers to enforce the super guarantee laws.