The Australian tax system is one of the most complex in the world. Generally, you only get one chance to get it right.

Typically, our clients (or other accounting firms on behalf of their clients) seek our advice where they are contemplating a major transaction, looking to structure their business to maximise their tax position, operating across borders, unsure of the right tax treatment on a transaction, in the middle of a taxation dispute or needing advice to avoid a dispute, or selling or successioning a business.

Capital Gains Tax, GST, Fringe Benefits Tax, Superannuation, the small business entity taxation, Trans-Tasman and International taxation – there are thousands of pages of legislation and a myriad of traps that you can get caught in if you don’t get it right the first time.

You may be looking for some specific advice or simply want to talk to someone about your tax planning options. Our tax advisers are trained not only to know what the legislation says but are able to explain what it means to your business and find the best solution from not only a taxation perspective, but a commercial one too.

Structuring & restructuring

A commercial decision or pathway you take today, can have a myriad of tax consequences in the future.

The difficulty is knowing how to align the commercial needs of you business with its tax requirements in a way that produces the best possible result. Working with you, we can help you identify potential problems before they occur and give you a secure way of ‘test checking’ your thinking. Independent and commercially astute advice.
Whether you are:

• Establishing a new structure;
• Have outgrown your current structure and need to know how to deliver the best outcome;
• Restructuring; or
• Unwinding an existing structure and don’t want to trigger any unintended tax consequences

we can help you find the right solution not just for tax purposes but for the future of your business.

And if you need it, we can also help get you resolve existing tax problems.

Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax is one of those taxes that people often don’t realise they’re liable for until it’s too late.

The events that trigger CGT are not necessarily obvious. For example:

• Issuing shares in a company at less than their value;
• Reorganising or restructuring a business;
• Death, divorce or dispute; or
• Sale of business or succession;

can all trigger capital gains tax.

If you make a gain you expect to pay tax on it but the amount of that tax liability can vary significantly. Planning, before acting, or even simply asking one of our tax specialists to talk you through your options and things to consider, can make all the difference.

Business sale and succession are specialisations within the Hayes Knight group. We have helped many businesses and individuals manage their capital gains tax positions and avoid unexpected tax bills.

Hayes Knight are the authors of CGT in Practice published by Australia’s largest accounting body, CPA Australia, and regularly deliver lectures on the CGT small business concessions.

International Tax

Managing or developing a business across borders is always complex. Working across multiple tax jurisdictions adds to the complexity.

Experience and knowledge are essential in international tax as often there are very few warning signs that you have a problem.

If you are:

• A foreign business establishing in Australia;
• Looking to expand offshore;
• Managing projects and teams across borders;
• Managing investments across borders; or
• Assessing the viability of an international business proposal.

then we can help.

Australian tax rules are particularly complex in their treatment of business and investors likely to move money across borders. We work with you to align your commercial needs with the regulatory requirements here and overseas. A few of the more common problem areas include:

Transfer pricing – The transfer pricing rules require that commercial dealings between entities in different countries are at arm’s length. This is more than getting it right; you need to have the documentation to prove it.

Thin capitalisation – The thin capitalisation rules look at how debt is managed between onshore and offshore entities. The rules are designed to ensure that entities in Australia do not claim interest deductions on debt borrowed in Australia that is then lent to offshore entities.

Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) – The CFC rules look at which jurisdiction is entitled to the tax on income earnt.

While these rules seek to address very specific issues, they can often have consequences for the normal commercial operation of a business working across borders. You need to be across the rules and know how to avoid paying more tax than you need to. Equally, you need to ensure that you are not exposed to unnecessary risk.

Because we know that strong local knowledge is important and can overcome many potential problems before they arise, we are part of Morison International. Morison International is an association of independent accounting and business advisory firms in 56 countries around the world. It is likely that we know the people to talk to in other countries where you want to do business.

Hayes Knight also works closely with Austrade and is an accredited Austrade adviser.

Tax planning

Tax is like any other cost in your business. It should be managed effectively so you don’t pay any more than you need to.

This is the way we approach tax planning at Hayes Knight. We look at your business, the way it operates, the current position of your business and its likely future needs, and how to get the most effective tax outcome.

The late Australian media magnate Kerry Packer was a shrewd and formidable businessman. He once told a Senate enquiry, “Of course I am minimising my tax. And if anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax, they want their heads read, because as a government, I can tell you you’re not spending it that well that we should be donating extra!”