Distributing money and assets out of a company by way of voluntary liquidation can often be a highly tax-effective method for returning value to shareholders provided care is taken to comply with the various statutory and judicial requirements. This presentation covers:
- the reasons for liquidating and how it compares with other capital management approaches such as share buy-backs and capital reduction/share cancellation
- the basic framework and the operation of section 47;
- the ‘Archer Brothers principle' and the required accounting records;
- specific issues associated with distribution of assets in specie;
- the interaction with the franking rules, and managing the challenges associated with the benchmark franking rule and the timing of when franking credits arise;
- specific issues for pre and post CGT shareholders including the impact of CGT event K6;
- the interaction with the CGT discount and the small business CGT concessions;
- specific issues arising for consolidated groups; and
- stamp duty and GST issues.