Having trained and qualified in London, Kamal has gained significant exposure to servicing a broad range of clients and industries in different jurisdictions.

Kamal is a Registered Company Auditor and is experienced in providing audit and assurance services to publicly listed entities, international groups and not-for profits in a variety of industries. With a diverse portfolio of clients, Kamal is passionate about providing audit, assurance and advisory solutions that deliver forward thinking commercial, innovative and value add outcomes to help his clients unlock their potential and achieve their ambitions. Kamal advocates the use of smart technologies in the assurance service delivery so as to achieve a higher quality of output and allowing the team to focus on the objectives of an engagement.

His clients are from a diverse cross-section of industries and therefore his significant industry experience includes mining, technology, financial services, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and entertainment & media sectors.

Kamal’s experience includes:

• External audit and assurance services
• International Accounting Standards, Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rules interpretation and advice
• Accounting for complex transactions
• Financial reporting and financial statement preparation
• Corporate governance
• Risk advisory, systems and technical reviews
• Real estate & solicitor’s trust audits
• Internal audit & SOX
• CFO and outsourcing solutions

Kamal is a Partner of SW Audit and a Director of SW Accountants & Advisors Pty Ltd.

The post Kamal Thakkar, Partner appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Updated Landholder duty ‘associate transaction’ ruling 

Newly updated Revenue Ruling DA-057v2 replaces the former DA-057 which provided taxpayers with the Commissioner’s view on the meaning of ‘associated transaction’ in the Victorian landholder duty provisions. The updated ruling reflects the Court of Appeal’s decision in Oliver Hume and has other minor amendments. 

To recap, the Victorian Court of Appeal in Oliver Hume upheld the VCAT decision which found that the share acquisitions by 18 independent investors under a widely distributed Information Memorandum (IM) were subject to landholder duty as an associated transaction. For further details on the case, please refer to our previous alerts here. 

The updated ruling stated that when considering whether an ‘associated transaction’ was made, the focus is on the relationship between the acquisitions and not the parties involved in the acquisitions. Thus, the relationship of the people in a share or unit issue should not be the deciding factor when assessing the existence of an associated transaction. Instead, the focus should be on the circumstances surrounding the share or unit acquisition and whether the relevant agreements and the parties’ conducts infer a unity or oneness between the acquisitions. The Commissioner makes it clear that interests acquired by independent members of the public under a genuine public offer may constitute an associated transaction.  

The updated ruling also qualified the Commissioner’s previous statements that he would not impose the associated transaction provisions in circumstances concerning genuine public offers made under a product disclosure statement or prospectus lodged with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This is now limited to circumstances where the public offer results in a conversion to a public unit trust or listed company and the transaction is subject to duty under sections 89B or 89C. 

Voluntary Disclosure Regime (‘VD’) 

Emboldened by the Court of Appeal decision, the Commissioner has set up a VD regime to encourage taxpayers to self-report the potential landholder duty liability that they might have taken an alternative position on prior to Oliver Hume.  

The VD amnesty program will run until 31 March 2025, with compliance activities commencing after this date. For VDs made before 31 March 2025: 

• all penalty tax will be remitted and  

• interest will only be imposed at the market and reduced 3% premium rates  

After this period, the Commissioner will commence a compliance program on capital raisings in landholders and impose penalties and interest on any landholder duty assessments identified.  

How SW can help 

The Victorian landholder duty landscape has changed significantly following Oliver Hume.  The Commissioner’s updated ruling further tightens the scope for arguments against the imposition of landholder duty.  Property funds and landholding entities looking to raise capital through a public raising process should pay close attention to the potential duty implications. Receiving the appropriate landholder duty advice before such transactions (before entering the contract to purchase the property) is critical to ensure that double duty does not arise.  

Property trusts that have had past capital raises should also review the transactions with their duty advisors to assess whether a voluntary disclosure should be made to take advantage of the amnesty program before the commencement of any SRO investigations.  

At SW, our stamp duty experts can assist you in assessing any past transactions and advise you on future transactions to achieve the most effective duty outcome.   

Please contact our state taxes team if you would like to discuss possible duty liabilities arising from capital raising participation. 

Contributors

William Zhang

Blake Trad 

Robert Parker

The post Oliver Hume Case update | State Revenue Office emboldened to review past capital raises for property trusts under an IM  appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Prior to joining SW, Bessie was appointed the Chief Financial Officer for an ASX listed mining company which equipped her with extensive corporate governance and risk management experience.

Bessie has a wealth of professional experience and an extensive background in accounting, audit and management.

Bessie’s experience includes:

• Understanding both Australian accounting standards (AIFRs) and PRC GAAPs. Bessie has been qualified for Australia and China’s CPA for more than 10 years and 16 years respectively. She is familiar with PRC GAAPs and international financial reporting standards (IFRS)
• Knowledge in managing international companies. Bessie has led auditing and advisory engagements involving national and international companies.
• Understanding the financial impact and risk management perspectives of sales and purchase agreements
• Liaising with ASIC and responding to ASIC’s financial reporting surveillance inspection requirements

Bessie is a Partner of SW Audit and a Director of SW Accountants & Advisors Pty Ltd.

The post Bessie Zhang, Partner appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.