Minter Ellison's popular report on the fundamentals of doing business in Australia.
Minter Ellison advises on stamp duty related matters Australia-wide. We act for large public and private companies and banks and specialise in stamp duty effective structuring, acquisitions, compliance and implementation. We also advise on land tax, including compliance, objections and appeals. Our highly experienced team acts in a wide range of commercial transactions including property and construction deals (including dealing with trust structures), land rich/landholder issues and valuation issues, mergers and acquisitions, privatisations, capital raisings, group reorganisations, reorganisations in preparation of listing, settlement structures for public offerings, fund restructuring and fund transactions, leasing arrangements, financing arrangements, acquisition and disposal of retirement and aged care facilities and insurance. We also negotiate with revenue offices on behalf of clients, represent clients in revenue investigations and objections, and in appeals to assessments and determinations.
The State Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2012, introduced into the New South Wales Parliament on 28 March 2012, makes significant changes to the corporate reconstruction exemption (CRE) from stamp duty in New South Wales with effect from 1 July 2012. In general, the CRE exempts transfers of property between entities of a corporate group from stamp duty, provided certain requirements are met.The new provisions (now incorporated into the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) remove some existing requirements, potentially expanding the application of the CRE. However, they also impose additional requirements relating to the avoidance of duty and other taxes.
The Victorian Parliament has introduced a significant change to the timing of stamp duty payments which may have cash-flow consequences for purchasers and developers of land in Victoria, and for acquirers of interests in Victorian landholding entities and the landholding entities themselves.
As part of the 2011-2012 State Budget, the Victorian Treasurer announced that Victoria will adopt a 'landholder' duty model to replace the 'land rich' duty model from 1 July 2012. Overall, the proposed landholder duty model represents a broadening of the duty base that currently exists under the incumbent model. A landholder duty model is currently employed in all Australian jurisdictions except Victoria and Tasmania.