On a daily basis, business owners and managers make important business, financial and personal decisions that can affect their tax liabilities. At Enslin and Associates we aim to ensure that you are aware of the tax implications of your decisions and the options for reducing your tax burden.

Contact us for advice on:

Corporate Acquisitions and Disposals

Tax Effective Business Structuring

Tax Planning for Business Decisions

Tax considerations are present in virtually every business decision you make. We regard tax planning as a proactive process which should be commenced when a transaction is contemplated. Tax should not be the driving factor in a business transaction – we always strive to reach a practical commercial solution with a tax focus.

Tax planning after the event is a misnomer – at this stage it becomes tax management and can be more complicated after the fact. The benefits and advantages of advance planning should be weighed up against the consequences of dealing with tax issues once they have crystallized. However, this does not mean that clients should not seek advice after the fact – very often there are many factors which have been overlooked but when taken into account can reduce or diminish what seems to be a significant liability.

Contact us if you are considering:

• Acquiring or selling a business;
• Restructuring an existing business;
• Succession planning;
• Financing – debt or equity funding;
• Preserving tax losses;
• Accessing capital gains tax concessions;
• Employees – fringe benefits, superannuation, incentive schemes
• Importing or exporting goods;
• Distribution or agency arrangements;
• Expanding offshore.

The principals of Enslin and Associates have spent the last 20 years addressing day-to-day tax and commercial issues for clients, large and small, corporate and individual, local and foreign. We not only assist with planning for and implementing transactions but also draft related commercial agreements, or assist in reviewing transactional documents prepared by clients or other advisors from a tax point of view.

Our Services

Whether your tax questions are simple or complex, Enslin and Associates can assist you to find a solution:

• Daily tax planning and business decisions
• Extraordinary business transactions, such as the sale, purchase, establishment or dissolution of a business
• Business structure choices
• Novel transactions that might affect your tax burden

Advice on Corporate Acquisitions, restructuring and disposals

The structure you adopt for a corporate acquisition or the manner of the disposal of your interests can have a material impact on your tax costs. You may have to consider the income tax, capital gains tax, goods and services tax, stamp duty and withholding tax implications of an acquisition or disposal. Cross border issues may add a further layer of complexity and you may have to consider a range of taxes in one or more other jurisdictions as well.

Enslin and Associates can help you wade through the multiple tax laws which may apply to your transaction to reach a flexible innovative solution tailored for your specific needs. Our partners have many years of experience working on complex corporate transactions for large and small businesses in a cross-section of industries.

In addition to helping you plan and implement tax-efficient corporate transactions we can assist you in drafting the commercial documents necessary to implement the transaction or review those prepared by your accountants or lawyers.

We also assist clients to formulate the grounds for, apply for and obtain, private binding rulings from the Australian Tax Office, on the capital gains, income tax and indirect tax consequences of transactions.

As an alternative to a private ruling you may prefer to rely on a reasonably arguable position (RAP) paper to support your position. We provide opinion or RAP letters on complex corporate transactions in lieu of, or as a supplement to, private binding rulings. We apply the highest standard of care to the preparation of our opinion or RAP letters and often are called upon to give a "second" opinion on a transaction involving complex or novel legal issues.

Our Services

• Planning corporate acquisitions and disposals.
• Analyzing complex corporate tax issues and finding innovative solutions.
• Working with the taxpayer’s advisors as a team to achieve the best outcome.
• Obtaining private binding rulings from the Australian Taxation Office.
• Providing reasonably arguable position papers, opinion letters and second opinions on corporate transactions.

Structuring Your Business for Tax Effectiveness

The structures you choose for conducting your business and financing your operations can dramatically affect your tax obligations. In addition you may be contemplating business succession planning and need to secure a tax effective and smooth transition.

If you have overseas operations you may have to consider a range of transaction in one or more overseas jurisdictions, as well as your Australian liabilities. Fortunately, recent international tax reform initiatives have made Australian ownership of overseas entities attractive as far as future capital gains are concerned but should be approached with caution if the business is likely to make losses.

Enslin and Associates lawyers have expertise as well as significant practical experience in utilizing the business entity and financing provisions of the tax laws to devise tax efficient strategies. Whether our client is a domestic or multinational corporation, large or small business, partnership, trust or individual we help plan new business structures, execute structural changes, and design tax efficient transactions.

Our Services

Consult us for assistance with:

• Evaluation of existing structures and forward planning
• Restructuring of businesses and groups of entities
• Partnership agreements, trust deeds 
• Purchase and sale transactions
• Debt or equity financing issues  
• Remuneration planning
• Tax analyses
• Requests for formal tax rulings, opinions or reasonably arguable position papers

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