Latest News [index] Gift duty bill passed
Late last night parliament passed the bill abolishing gift duty. This legislation, which will take effect once it receives Royal Assent, will abolish gift duty from 1 October 2011.
Until then it is business as usual regarding gifting. This means that gifts in excess of the $27,000 threshold will still be liable for gift duty up until 1 October 2011 and the obligations to file gift statements also apply up until that date.
Although this is an exciting development for those with gifting programs in place care is still required before making large gifts to ensure that this is the correct course of action having regard to any solvency issues that might arise, future entitlement to a rest home subsidy and the ability to effectively preserve rights in respect of assets sold to trusts.
Please contact a member of the Ayres Legal team if you have any questions about gifting.