Indirect tax issues for inbound investors

All prospective and existing inbound investors should have indirect tax front of mind.

These taxes present a range of traps for inbound investors across Australia.

At the Queensland Tax Forum in May 2019, Melanie Shaw and Katrina Parkyn, ATI, presented the session 'Indirect tax issues for inbound investors'.

Covering the key differences between duty on direct and indirect acquisitions, foreign purchaser surcharge duty and land tax, their session also looked at some stamp duty traps on common commercial transactions, and provided some lessons from the frontline, including the latest trends in dealing with revenue offices.

The paper they presented addressed the key differences affecting inbound investors between duty on direct acquisitions, and duty on indirect acquisitions, including foreign purchaser surcharge duty and land tax.

Professional Development: International Tax Series - Join us for a look at this increasingly important for advisers. 2 August - 4 September 2019 in a location near you. Find out more.

It is intended to highlight some of the more common duty and land tax issues that can arise for inbound investors, rather than provide a detailed analysis of the rules in each State and Territory.

Focused on the indirect tax traps for inbound investors across Australia, the paper looks at:

Stamp duty traps on common commercial transactions
Upstream restructuring (reconstructions outside of Australia)
Share/unit buybacks without stamp duty relief
Accepting foreign investors into public trusts.

The paper is available to access here.

Melanie is a Senior Associate in the Tax group of King & Wood Mallesons.

Based in Brisbane, she advises on a wide range of income tax and indirect tax matters for Australian and international clients. Melanie also has six years experience as a tax adviser in the UK for a US law firm. She is a member of The Tax Institute’s Queensland Professional Development Committee.

Katrina is a Partner in the Tax group at King & Wood Mallesons.

Also Brisbane-based, she routinely advises on transactions Australia-wide across a broad spectrum of income tax, stamp duty and GST issues. Her experience includes advising on major infrastructure, resources and funds management.