Duty/ Foreign Investment
Australia’s constantly changing foreign investment regulations and laws can make investment challenging and costly. Our team helps your business navigate through those complexities.
We also help clients consider the stamp duty implications on a broad range of transactions such as the acquisition of an asset and whether any exemptions may be available.
We assist individuals and businesses to navigate the complexities of stamp duty laws across the various states and territories. This includes assisting clients to respond to investigations by the State Revenue Authorities, attend to matters in dispute and defend historical positions taken.
Our Foreign Investment services include:
- advice on relevant regulatory requirements, including the need for approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB);
- preparing and submitting applications for FIRB approval where necessary;
- preparing voluntary disclosures where compliance breaches have been identified, so as to obtain remission of penalties in part (or in full where relevant);
- annual vacancy fee returns for residential property;
Our Stamp Duty services include:
- Advising clients on their eligibility for concessions or exemptions, including deceased estates, family farm exemptions, in specie distributions to beneficiaries of trusts, SMSF exemptions, corporate reconstruction exemptions and charities
- Assisting clients with transfer duty & landholder duty investigations
- Advising clients on the stamp duty implications of transfers between related & unrelated parties
- Advising clients on foreign purchaser duty surcharges and reviewing structures
- Assisting clients with tax planning for the acquisition of assets;
- Modelling stamp duty costs and attending to lodgements
- Undertaking historical reviews and due diligence
- Drafting private rulings on complex duty issues seeking the Commissioner’s opinion
- Drafting objections to stamp duty assessments
- Assisting clients with valuations and valuation disputes, including briefing expert valuers
- Obtaining second opinions from Senior Counsel on complex stamp duty issues
- Managing disputes with the Commissioner
