This is a simple thing, but worth pointing out. The Capital Gains legislation is the same Act of parliament that is the Income Tax Act (ITAA 1936 and 1997). So it's simply an extension of it, rather than a separate piece of legislation. You ultimately pay capital gains at your marginal tax rate; what makes it different from regular income, is in the actual calculation of the capital gain. So with that in mind, yes that is correct - an Aussie is taxable even if they are located offshore. If you are a resident of Australia for tax purposes (different from being a citizen), you are assessable on all your sources of income. However a non-resident of Australia is still taxed on Australian source income. The issues surrounding your "residency" and "source" get complicated so won't bother explaining more - but will flag that double tax agreements do vary but don't do much sometimes because even if you pay (lower) tax in an overseas country, you still might have to pay the "residual" tax in Australia assuming you were fully taxed here.
When talking about companies, it's slightly different. Under the definition in s. 6(1) ITAA 1936, a company is resident in Australia if it is:1. incorporated in Australia or 2. not incorporated in Australia but carries on business in Australia and > central management and control is based in Australia *or* > its voting power is controlled by Australian residents As for the comment about CGT event being triggered - section 104-5 has a comprehensive list of what triggers CGT. For example, changing your residency from Australian or non-Australian would be an event; disposing of an asset is an an event; creating a contractual right is also an event. The way the legislation works is that it has these broad catch-all principles, but in the case where there are two or more events, you need to go with the one that is most specific. Determining what event matters, because it ultimately affects your CGT calculation. On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 1:20 PM, Jason Langenauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > > I would have thought that as an Australian citizen, you'd be liable > for CGT on the increase in value of foreign assets anyway - unless, > that was covered by a double-taxation agreement. Income made from > foreign sources income is certainly taxable, unless you're a non- > resident for tax purposes, or there's a double-taxation agreement in > place between Australia and the relevant country. But I'm not a tax > lawyer, so seek professional advice :-) > > There is also http://www.incorporator.com.au/ for registering a > company, though I've not used them myself. Perhaps others have had > experience with them. > > Cheers > > Jason > > On Dec 9, 5:05 pm, Geoff McQueen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > I've had tips that Vanuatu isn't such a good place if you want to keep > your information secret for long... word is the country isn't going so well > and Australian Aid money could convince them to make themselves more open to > ATO investigators. I've heard BVI or the Channel Islands are much better > bets. Having said that, I've never actually done it, and honest advise about > dishonest practices would be pretty hard to find. > > > > In terms of why you'd go Delaware to incorporate, in my limited research, > I'd say there are two reasons: > > 1. CGT is a lot less. If you're building a company of value and you're a > major stockholder, that could be a big deal. > > 2. If you want to go to the Valley or other US based investment sources, > a C-Corp in Delaware is a familiar structure, provides director anonymity > (imagine to an extent only, don't know details), and its taxes are a lot > less than California. > > > > You could always incorporate in Au, then have your company 'acquired' by > a C-Corp you register in Delaware down the track, but my basic understanding > is that this would create a taxable event in the eyes of capital gains tax, > so again, look out. > > > > If your idea is solid and likely to get funded, a number of Valley based > lawyers will act for you on a credit routine and get you all set up, and you > pay them back for your time when you get funded. A $50K line of credit isn't > uncommon, and they'll cover the securities documentation for your Series A > too. They'll also want to reserve the right to buy in a very small > percentage at the Series A price and terms in case you turn into the next > Google or Facebook. Whether the drying up of capital makes this less likely, > or whether the faster drying up of their M&A work makes is more likely is > something I don't know. > > > > In summary, I don't know much. Just know why you're doing things before > you do them. Also, engaging with any advisor as a well researched client > never hurts - it makes things go quicker, saves you money, and means the > quality of the advice you get for the $/hour they charge you is much more > valuable since you didn't already know it. > > > > Good luck, > > > > Geoff > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com [mailto: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Elias Bizannes > > Sent: Tuesday, 9 December 2008 5:55 PM > > To: silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com > > Subject: [SiliconBeach] Re: Start-ups accountant and lawyer > > > > Hi guys > > > > I'm a chartered accountant, and my old man is a lawyer of the supreme > > court, so between us we could field most questions. What you described > > shoan has been proposed to me before, so open to discussions offline :) > > > > With regards to Delaware: I think it costs $80 to file there whereas > > in Australia a registration with ASIC costs $400 (excluding > > professional fees which push it up to a grand. As for why you would > > want to incorporate in Delaware, i'm not sure if the tax benenfits are > > that much greater and if that's what's motivating you, you are better > > off incorporating in Vanuatu so you don't pay any taxes. > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On 09/12/2008, at 5:08 PM, Shaon Diwakar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > I second that Hendro, we're basically in the same position. > > > > > Tech stuff is not a problem, businessy stuff: me = FAIL. > > > > > There could even be a start-up idea here, where a group of > > > accountants/ > > > keen accounting students get together to form a company that acts as > > > accountants for multiple clients. Maybe working on a per hour/per day > > > basis for a flat rate? Sort of like hire an accountant on a consulting > > > basis? > > > > > Would love to hear about it if such a company already exists! > > > > > Cheers, > > > Shaon > > > > > On 09/12/2008, at 4:34 PM, Hendro Wijaya wrote: > > > > >> Hi All, > > > > >> Anyone knows a really good startups accountant and lawyer in Sydney > > >> that do not cost a fortune? > > >> I know some people back in Sydney OpenCoffee talks about incorporate > > >> in Delaware instead of Australia through [A-DATA?]. > > >> So, it would be even better if the accountants and lawyer have > > >> understanding about international law in this case. > > > > >> Basically, I just start out and would love to get some opinions on > > >> these accounts and legal matters from expert. > > >> I'm completely clueless. > > > > >> Thanks all! > > > > >> Cheers, > > >> Hendro- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > -- Elias Bizannes http://liako.biz --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Silicon Beach Australia" group. 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