Taxmam Advisory can provide tailored tax advice and other technical or practical assistance in most areas of tax relevant to taxpayers in the small business market, but we have designed our three primary services around providing the following types of tax advice which in our experience are the matters which tax professionals servicing the small business market most often seek external assistance with.

• Tailored written tax advice addressing eligibility for and the application of the Small Business CGT Concessions in the specific circumstances, which we provide through our SBCGT Advice service.

• Technical assistance with the preparation of responses to ATO positions on any tax topic for the purpose of responding to audit position papers or lodging objections to amended assessments resulting from ATO compliance activity, which we provide through our ATO Compliance Assist service.

• Assistance preparing technical questions and / or positions on any tax topic for the purpose of submitting ATO private binding ruling requests, which we provide through our ATO Rulings Assist service.

Because we know that our customers value being able to obtain reliable tax advice at a price that is certain and consistent in addition to being competitive, advice within the scope of any of these primary services is provided under our fixed fee pricing models which means that the same fee is always charged for the standard deliverable under each of those services, rather than our advice being billed on an hourly rate or some other variable basis.

We refer to tax advice or practical assistance outside of these three primary services as our General Advice service.

SBCGT Advice service

The Small Business CGT Concessions are an area of tax law which often attract widespread criticism from tax professionals due to the inherent level of complexity involved in applying the rules in practice and the significant costs that can come with obtaining specialist tax advice on the eligibility for and application of the concessions in a client’s specific circumstances.

Given this it is perhaps unsurprising that the ATO continues to highlight the incorrect application by tax professionals of several elements of the Small Business CGT Concessions still attracting their attention over twenty years after the concessions were introduced in their original form.

Because the Small Business CGT Concessions can often result in considerable tax savings on the disposal of their businesses or business assets, despite their inherent complexity, the concessions are an area of tax which taxpayers in the small business market are more likely to be aware exists and for which they may also be more motivated to pay for tailored tax advice to confirm whether and how they apply to them.

Taxmam Advisory’s SBCGT Advice service provides other tax professionals with the ability to offer their small business clients tailored and comprehensive tax advice on the eligibility for and effect of applying the Small Business CGT Concessions in their circumstances without having to personally work through the technical complexities of the concessions themselves.

The SBCGT Advice service provides tailored comprehensive tax advice addressing all aspects of eligibility to and application of the concessions relevant to the circumstances including:

• Comprehensively addressing whether the CGT small business entity test, maximum net asset value test and/or the alternative tests which apply for passively held assets are satisfied.

• Determining based on the information provided which entities turnover or assets need to be included in the relevant calculations.

• Considering and providing a view on whether the active asset is satisfied.

• Where applicable considering the additional basic conditions which apply for CGT events involving shares and units.

• A full consideration of any additional eligibility criteria which apply for each of the four specific concessions relevant to the circumstances, and any consequences or required actions as a result of applying each of them.

• Anything else specific to the type of CGT asset or CGT event being considered.

• Details of any aspect of the application of the concessions in the circumstances which is with respect to a contentious or unsettled area of law and any steps which can be taken to reduce any associated risk if applicable.

• The net outcome of applying the concessions in the circumstances including our view on the preferred application of the concessions if more than one option applies.

There are three tiers within our SBCGT Advice service: SBCGT Advice Lite; SBCGT Advice Regular; and SBCGT Advice Plus. The standard deliverable for each of these tiers has a single set price under our fixed pricing fee model.

The SBCGT Advice Regular tier is the most common tier and will cover the majority of this type of advice we provide. The SBCGT Advice Lite and SBCGT Advice Plus tiers cover particularly straight forward or more complex cases respectively.

Standard deliverable: The standard deliverable for the SBCGT Advice service is a formal fully referenced letter of advice comprehensively addressing eligibility for and application of the Small Business CGT Concessions in the specific circumstances.

ATO Compliance Assist service

Responding to ATO correspondence setting out the preliminary or final position reached with respect to tax issues addressed during an ATO audit or other compliance activity is another area where tax professionals in smaller firms in particular often seek external advice. This can be for a range of reasons including where:

• There are aspects of the ATO position, as outlined in the ATO audit position paper or reasons for decision document, which are unclear to the tax professional or beyond the scope of their specific expertise or practical experience.

• The ATO position does not take into account all relevant facts or circumstances, or it appears to reach the wrong decision or outcome based on the facts and circumstances, and the tax professional needs assistance effectively communicating this.

• The tax professional does not have the time or other resources to efficiently and / or effectively respond to the ATO position on behalf of their client.

When these reasons prevent a tax professional from being able to provide a response to an ATO position on behalf of their client in a timely manner, sourcing specialist advice or an alternative solution may be inadvertently put off until it becomes very clear the issue is not going to resolve itself.  

Generally, the earlier any relevant facts and circumstances not yet taken into account by the ATO are identified and explained, and any specific points of difference between the ATO position on the relevant tax issues and that of the tax professional / their client are recognised and addressed, the less complex and costly the matter is likely to become.

Taxmam Advisory’s ATO Compliance Assist service provides fellow tax professionals with a complete and practical solution for providing responses to ATO positions during ongoing ATO audits (or other compliance activities) or for the purpose of objecting to assessments (or other decisions) resulting from finalised ATO compliance activities. This service can be provided with respect to ATO positions addressing issues in any area of tax relevant to the small business market and includes:

• A detailed review of the ATO position outlined in the audit position paper or reasons for decision document and any existing final or draft responses to it, and an analysis of the relevant facts and circumstances and any other necessary information, to provide a preliminary opinion on the respective positions of the ATO and the tax professional / their client.

• A tailored and fully referenced letter of tax advice written in a format suitable to be provided to the ATO by the tax professional on behalf of the client as (or in support of) a response to the ATO position paper or an objection to the ATO assessment / decision.

There are three tiers within our ATO Compliance Assist service: ATO Compliance Assist Lite; ATO Compliance Assist Regular; and ATO Compliance Assist Plus. The standard deliverable for each of these tiers has a single set price under our fixed fee pricing model.

Whilst there is a standard deliverable for the ATO Compliance Assist service, our pricing model includes a lower ATO Compliance Preliminary Review fixed fee for each tier which applies if the tax professional decides not to proceed with the fully referenced letter of tax advice after receiving our preliminary opinion.

The ATO Compliance Assist Regular tier is the most common tier and will cover the majority of this type of advice we provide.  The ATO Compliance Assist Lite and ATO Compliance Assist Plus tiers cover particularly straight forward or more complex advice respectively.

Standard deliverable: The standard deliverable for the ATO Compliance Assist service is a fully referenced letter of tax advice comprehensively responding to the relevant ATO position in a format suitable to be provided to the ATO.

ATO Rulings Assist service

Taxmam Advisory’s ATO Rulings Assist service is similar to our ATO Compliance Assist service but provides tax professionals with assistance communicating with the ATO for the purpose of applying for private rulings rather than with respect to ATO compliance activities.

Where a tax professional wants to seek some assurance on behalf of their client on how a specific aspect of any area of tax relevant to the small business market applies in their circumstances, our ATO Rulings Assist service ensures a complete and fit for purpose outcome by:

• Assisting to identify the specific issue or issues that need to be addressed.

• Formulating private ruling questions designed to ensure the ATO response provides a comprehensive and actionable outcome.

• Ensuring all relevant facts and circumstances are identified and detailed in the private ruling application.

• Outlining in detail the basis of any existing view of the tax professional / their client that the private ruling is being obtained to confirm.

There are three tiers within our ATO Rulings Assist service: ATO Rulings Assist Lite; ATO Rulings Assist Regular; and ATO Rulings Assist Plus. The standard deliverable for each of these tiers has a single set price under our fixed fee pricing model.

The ATO Rulings Assist Regular tier is the most common tier and will cover the majority of this type of advice we provide.  The ATO Rulings Assist Lite and ATO Rulings Assist Plus tiers cover particularly straight forward or more complex advice respectively.

Standard deliverable: The standard deliverable for the ATO Rulings Assist service is a fully referenced letter of tax advice comprehensively addressing all elements of the relevant private ruling request in a format suitable to be provided to the ATO.

What other areas we provide advice on

We provide fully referenced letters of advice, or any other technical or practical assistance required, addressing tax issues or technical questions in most areas of tax relevant to the small business market.

Other areas of tax where we have particularly well-developed technical expertise and practical experience include Capital Gains Tax (CGT) more broadly (including other rollovers and the main residence exemption), Goods and Services Tax (GST), Division 7A, Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), and administrative (shortfall) penalties.

Similar to our primary services, there are three tiers within our General Advice service: General Advice Lite; General Advice Regular; and General Advice Plus.

Taxmam Advisory’s General Advice service is outside the scope of our fixed fee pricing models. However, our fees for this service (which are quoted on a price on application basis) will generally fall within a set fee range for the relevant tier, with the tier which applies determined by the number and / or complexity of issues to be addressed.

Standard deliverable: The standard deliverable for the General Advice service is a formal fully referenced letter of advice comprehensively addressing the relevant tax issues or technical questions (or the specific assistance or deliverable otherwise requested and agreed on).

Areas we do not advise on

We do not provide written advice or other services with respect to state taxes (i.e. land tax, payroll tax, and duties) or with respect to the more complex aspects of cross border taxation (such as thin capitalisation, transfer pricing, and foreign exchange gains / losses).

We are not registered legal practitioners and are not covered by an Australian Financial Services Licence, so cannot provide legal services or financial advice with respect to tax issues beyond advice and services which registered tax agents are lawfully permitted to provide*.

* In particular this means that: we do not provide assistance with giving effect to actions or transactions which are the subject of our advice; the advice and services we can provide with respect to SMSFs are limited; and we are unable to create, amend, or provide formal interpretations of legal documents such as contracts of sale and trust deeds.