August 2022 Newsletter

Please click on the following link to view this month's newsletter for August 2022. We would like to highlight the following articles:-

Is this the end for stamp duty in New South Wales?

In the NSW Budget handed down on 21 June 2022, the State Government announced plans to make some transfer duty optional from January 2023.

The key features announced are as follows.

First home buyers purchasing properties for up to $1.5 million on or after 16 January 2023 will be able to choose to pay an annual property tax instead of stamp duty.
There will be a higher rate of annual property tax for investors than for owner occupiers, with rates indexed annually to wage growth.
The tax will be based on a financial year, unlike land tax, which is based on a calendar year.
The existing First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme duty concessions for properties valued up to $800,000 will remain.
The property tax will only be payable by first home buyers who choose it, and will not apply to subsequent purchasers of a property.

Of course, legislation must first be enacted and the details remain to be seen, including the transitional provisions that will apply.

ATO warns against asset wash sales

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning taxpayers to not engage in ‘asset wash sales’ to artificially increase their losses and reduce gains or expected gains.

The ATO considers asset wash sales to be transactions which involve a person or business disposing of assets just before the end of the financial year. After a short period of time, they then reacquire the same or substantially similar assets. These transactions are often used to create a loss to offset a gain that would be taxable, and the ATO views them as a form of tax avoidance.

Although there may be legitimate reasons for taxpayers to be selling and then reacquiring the same or substantially similar assets, the ATO notes that a wash sale is different from normal buying and selling as it is usually undertaken for the artificial purpose of generating a tax benefit.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries in relation to your tax and accounting matters.