Have you received a director penalty notice? This is a standard letter for the ATO but it carries some serious implications for you.  You need to act quickly. First, the context.  The ATO is pursuing you because a company that you are or were the director of owes some money.  The ATO probably issued the [...]

Did you get a terrible result from an audit? You know deep down if the auditor got it wrong.  If they did, you can still get it fixed.  You're the one who has to cop the tax debt - the auditor just moves on with their life - you're the one who will keep getting [...]

If you are in litigation with the ATO, expect them to use dirty tricks on you. Below is a list of the dirty tricks that I have personally seen used on my clients: Muddying the issue – when you appeal the ATO will sometimes “defend” a claim you did not make, thereby muddying the issue [...]

The Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda has brought about some of the most significant insolvency law reforms in 30 years. The objective of these reforms is to encourage innovation, even after business failure. There is a stigma engrained in the Australia around business failure. Business owners do not go into business to fail, or [...]

Too often are Creditors seeing distressed businesses go bust and ending up in liquidation with nothing going back to Creditors and everything going to the Liquidator. Under new insolvency laws, Creditors have been given more rights than ever before to influence the outcome of a Liquidation. Creditor now have the power to: 1.Request the Liquidator [...]

There is no doubt in my mind that the Trump tax plan, specifically the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, will new create jobs in the US. I know this because I already have clients and fellow tax lawyers in the US talking to me about making this happen. Let me [...]

What is it? It helps you pay for your marketing costs when selling your products overseas by reimbursing you (up to 50%) for amounts you spend on promoting your products and services for export (except to New Zealand and North Korea) Most products and services where the intended buyer is a foreigner will qualify, so [...]

In real property terms, buying off the plan mean signing a contract to purchase a property, whether it is an apartment, townhouse or a house and land before it is built.  Buyers would pay a 10% deposit upfront and can be left waiting for years for the project to be completed and settled.  On top [...]

The very words ‘tax audit’ strike fear into many people. But audits aren’t always a bad thing. In fact, sometimes they can work in your favour. To illustrate this, here’s some real life success stories: A client was audited for GST. After some back and forth with the tax office, it turned out they had [...]

In New South Wales the Conveyancing Act 1919 (“the Act”) is the legislation which expresses and regulates the essential law relating generally to land in NSW. Other legislation, such as The Real Property Act 1900 and the acts relating to Strata Titles and Crown Lands, cover specific kinds of title. This article will explain the [...]