Hi. I realized the other day that some of our clients don't understand if they're entitled to an exemption for stamp duty when they buy a property. This came about because we had a husband and wife purchase a property, and naturally they wanted it in both of their names, that's the normal thing. And we inquired and we found out that the wife had never owned a property before, she was a first home buyer. And so we pointed out that if they bought it together they wouldn't qualify for the first home buyer's exemption or concession, whereas if they just bought it in the wife's name, then they would get that, and then later on a husband, or in this case the wife, can transfer the property free of duty to the husband and wife jointly without any further stamp duty. So we were able to save our clients quite a lot of money and they didn't have to pay the duty.

So there are lots of exemptions and concessions you can apply for. Pensioners can get an exemption. Also, if you're transferring a property out of a trust over to beneficiary of the trust, provided you tick all the boxes, you can get that stamp duty exempt. We've also done farm transfers where a property is coming out of a partnership or a trust, or some other structure like that, out to the actual farmer, and in that case there are also exemptions. So don't pay too much duty. If you're in doubt, give us all the details, we can analyze the situation for you, and we can let you know whether you're entitled to stamp duty exemptions when you purchase properties.

So I'm Ross Millen from Millens, and if you've got any questions about buying property or stamp duty concessions or exemptions, don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you.

Recently I had a client call after the tax office kept chasing her up for the tax return for a trust. She said she didn’t understand why they were chasing her because the trustee had been deregistered last year.   I told her that the trustee and the trust were two separate things. It reminded me that there is sometimes confusion out there around trusts and trustees.

In this short video, I give you a simple understanding of the role of trust and trustee and the two types of trusts.  Also I discuss the role of the important person the “appointor “ and what happens if this person dies. This video will help you understand if a trust is the right way to structure your business and boost asset protection.

I don’t know if it's a sign of changed economic times, but we are seeing an increase in tenants not paying their rent. In this video, I give some practical tips to deal with tenants who aren’t paying. If you are a tenant, I have some advice to help you negotiate with your landlord.

Are you paying more land tax than you should?

There is a tax that is becoming a real burden on people -  it's land tax.

We recently had a  client who was paying $25K then $40K now it has been reviewed to $80K a year.

Here are some strategies that people don’t realize can legitimately minimize your land tax.  Watch the video below to find out more. 

Feel like you could be paying too much land tax? Send us your recent land tax assessment so we can give you a quick opinion.

Today I have my trusty feather duster to outline what needs cleaning this Spring in your business. I talk about DIN dates, your ASIC registered office, workers' compensation and payroll tax.  Are they up to date?

Imagine lending your child money to buy a house and then their marriage ends in divorce! Or your child becomes bankrupt? Some well-meaning parents have been left without enough money for their own retirement. In this short and sharp video, Ross talks about how to avoid the pitfalls when lending money to your children.