Land Tax Changes
After the High Court's decision in CPT Custodians, the Office of State Revenue in NSW began assessing unit trusts for land tax purposes as if they were non-fixed or special trusts - leading to a loss of the landtax free threshold and a higher land tax bill! While the NSW Treasurer announced changes to the land tax regime to provide certainty as to what is and what is not a fixed trust, those changes, found in the State Revenue Legislation Amendment (Tax Concessions) Act 2006 (NSW), only received assent on 2 November 2006. It is time for you to decide whether your trust is a fixed trust under the new rules and eligible for the land tax-free threshold, or whether some changes are needed to your trust deed. This seminar covered:
- when a trust will be considered a 'fixed trust' and therefore eligible for the land tax-free threshold
- what is meant by 'family unit trust' in the new rules as family unit trusts will also be eligible for the land tax-free threshold
- the amnesty period available for restructuring your trust.
Asset Protection
As well as being vehicles used to hold property, trusts are widely used as asset protection vehicles. Their use as asset protection vehicles has however led to widespread efforts by Government and creditors to make sure that assets placed in trusts to defeat creditors claims are available to creditors. If you provide advice on asset protection you need to understand the recent changes to the Bankruptcy Act that make it easier for creditors to access assets held in trusts. This session covered the changes to the bankruptcy rules, as well as the way in which the courts are treating trusts so you can ensure that the trust you establish has the best chance of working as an asset protection vehicle.