Closing a company in Australia is a decision that requires thorough planning and strict compliance with legal requirements. Whether driven by part of a succession of the family business, financial difficulties, taxation, strategic realignments, or other factors, understanding the available options that a Perth business accountant can employ will make a more streamlined process for family business owners. This article will examine six company closing methods in Australia, including voluntary administration, liquidation and deregistration, and consider key business and tax considerations associated with each stage. Each method differs slightly and may be more suitable depending on the needs of the family in business and the company.

A common misconception is that Australia has no inheritance tax. While that is technically true, it is not the case in practice. The death of a loved one almost always raises a raft of tax issues and triggers events that have a tax implication or trigger a tax event. As Perth tax accountants, tax planning and structuring for a person’s estate plan is a key tax service for families in business. The tax implications for estate planning and inheritance tax can be significant.

Tax law structuring options for employee share schemes are generally not attractive to medium-sized businesses and their accounting advisers in Perth. The ATO-endorsed employee share scheme incentives are good on scale, but the tax-free discount of $30k ($1,000 for others) for start-ups is ordinarily too small compared to the accounting advice and valuations needed for an effective employee share scheme.  This is where employee-funded share loans can help. This blog will discuss the tax benefits of loan-funded share plans (LFSP) as an alternative to employee share acquisition schemes.

When it comes to capital gains tax, the 50% CGT tax discount is a powerful tool. The knowledge that you can potentially enjoy half of your profits tax-free is common among Perth tax accountants and business families, but it’s also a key advantage that can significantly impact your financial decisions and how you go about tax structuring. In this blog, we will discuss how to structure your affairs to enjoy the 50% CGT discount and what actions will prevent you from enjoying access to the capital gains tax discount – whether you are in Perth, Western Australia or Australia.