Legal Insights
Change To PPS Lease Definition May Save Time And Money For Small Businesses
On 19 May 2017, legislation amending the meaning of PPS Lease under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Act) received royal assent and is now law. The new law, means that indefinite leases and leases of less than two years, are no longer required to be registered on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).
The PPSR
Harwood Andrews wins State/Regional Law Firm of the Year at the 2017 Australasian Law Awards
The 2017 Australasian Law Awards were held in Sydney last night and the winners have been announced with Harwood Andrews taking out the award for State/Regional Law Firm of the Year for 2017.
Property - Further Changes To Stamp Duty
The Victorian Government has announced further changes to stamp duty in Victoria under the 2017-2018 State Budget.
Landmark decision on Accountant’s accessorial liability for client’s breach of workplace laws
The Federal Circuit Court has handed down an important decision, highlighting risks to accountants and other businesses that provide employment advice, payroll or bookkeeping services to employer clients.
Legislation passed to cut corporate tax rate and increase turnover threshold for small business entities
As previously reported here, the Government introduced a Bill into Parliament to increase the aggregated turnover threshold for small business entities seeking to access small business tax concessions to less than $10 million and to reduce the corporate tax rate for small business entities to 27.5% from the 2016/17 income years.
The 2016 Building Code: new date for enterprise agreement compliance
Employers in the building and construction industry will be well aware of the Code for the Tendering and Performance of Building Work 2016 (the 2016 Building Code) which commenced on 2 December 2016.
Partner is denied access to partnership’s carried forward tax losses
In RGGW and Commissioner of Taxation [2017] AATA 238, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) held that tax losses were not available to a corporate partner in a property development partnership due to poor evidence to support its claim for losses.
Commissioner is under no duty to issue amended land tax assessments
The High Court of Australia has recently allowed an appeal against a decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal and found that the Commissioner of State Revenue (Commissioner) was not under a duty to issue amended assessments and refund an excess amount of land tax that was erroneously been paid by a taxpayer.
Property - changes to stamp duty and land tax
Subject to the passing of enabling legislation the Victorian Government has announced the following changes to stamp duty and land tax:
Harwood Andrews Announces Management Succession
Harwood Andrews has announced changes to the operations and management of the organisation. Driven by the desire of the Principals to increase their active engagement in the direction of the firm, the new structure will comprise of a Chief Executive Officer, a Board consisting of all shareholders, an Executive Chair of the Board, and shareholders with key responsibilities for firm functions.
Change to enterprise bargaining procedure
We have previously reminded employers that when negotiating an enterprise bargaining agreement the correct procedure must be followed or the Fair Work Commission (FWC) will reject the proposed agreement (see previous article here). If rejected, the bargaining process must begin again, wasting employers valuable time and resources.
Club commotion – disciplining a member
Any sports club, large or small, faces the prospect of a troublesome member, or members, threatening the reputation and standing of the club in the community, or interfering with other members’ quite enjoyment.
Fair Work Commission hands down long-awaited decision on penalty rates
As indicated in our article yesterday, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has handed down its long-awaited decision on penalty rates applying on weekends, public holidays and late nights.
Fair Work Commission to hand down decision on penalty rates tomorrow
Retail and hospitality employers are awaiting the Fair Work Commission’s decision on penalty rates.
Should you update your super fund deed or pension document before 1 July 2017?
With the new super laws due to commence on 1 July 2017, now is the time to consider whether your SMSF trust deed or pension document needs to be updated.
The Super Bowl – a Super show
Monday afternoon’s (AEST) Super Bowl LI has already been described as the “greatest of all time” by many experts, with the New England Patriots pulling off an extraordinary come from behind performance to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28.
Cessation of statutory protections for migrated security interests on the PPSR
Under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act), securities and charges under other legislation and registers were migrated onto the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). Many migrated securities were not registered in accordance with the Act’s registration requirements.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) small business concessions barred - income from incidental activity of associated entity counted toward determining aggregated annual turnover
The Full Federal Court of Australia denied the application of the CGT small business 50% active asset reduction on the basis that an unusual activity carried on by an associated entity to the taxpayer contributed to the aggregated annual turnover of the taxpayer and associated entity to be more than $2,000,000.
Deadline looming for rectification of non-commercial LRBA loans - get in quick!
As set out in our previous article, the deadline for ensuring non-commercial related party limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) loans are rectified to reflect commercial terms is 31 January 2017. This date is fast approaching and SMSF trustees must take immediate action to ensure compliance with the ATO’s guidelines set out in PCG 2016/5.
A timely reminder when drafting contracts containing ‘automatic renewal terms’
As set out in our update “Small Business Offered Long Awaited Protection from Unfair Contract Terms”, unfair contract term provisions under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) have been extended to not only protect consumers from unfair terms, but also parties to a small business contract.