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Fiduciary Duty & Superannuation Death Benefits

When a person passes away, their beneficiaries may inherit a death benefit through a superannuation fund. Often, and as is the case with the majority of super funds, this death benefit is paid to the member’s legal personal representative (LPR), whom, if the person...

Estimates and DPNs for GST to combat phoenixing activity

The recent Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2019 (the Bill), is set to come into effect from 1 October 2019, is a part of the Government’s suite of tough new tax integrity measures targeting illegal phoenixing activity. While the Bill...

Taxi Travel Expenses: FBT exemption

Taxis are Exempt under FBT but Uber / Ola are not!! Any benefit arising from taxi travel by an employee is exempt from fringe benefits tax (FBT) if the travel is a single trip beginning or ending at the employee’s place of work. Any benefit arising from taxi...

Who and what is a company public officer?

A public officer is a company’s representative to the ATO and is responsible for the company’s obligations under Section 252 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.  The public officer is responsible for the company complying with the act and is also liable for the...

What happens to Superannuation in bankruptcy

If someone is in financial strife, one option is to declare bankruptcy.  But what happens to their superannuation (super)? The Bankruptcy Act 1966 defines super as a ‘on-divisible asset’ – in other words, it’s protected from creditors.  Therefore, once someone has...

Landmark Decision Puts Employees First in Insolvency

A recent High Court judgement has helped resolve uncertainty around the treatment of employees in the insolvency and winding up of trading trusts. In June this year, the High Court of Australia dismissed an appeal in Carter Holt Woodproducts Australia Pty Ltd v The...