Agribusiness guide update covers latest tax, legal issues
Law firm Cowell Clarke has revised its popular handbook for regional advisers.
Law firm Cowell Clarke has published a fresh edition of its guide for agribusiness advisers that takes in all the latest developments in tax and compliance.
The second Australian Agribusiness Advisers’ Guide covers complex challenges as diverse as tax-effective succession planning, carbon farming and energy company negotiations.
Cowell Clarke director and head of the firm’s agribusiness legal practice, Peter Slegers, said since the guide was first launched last year it had become essential reading for professional advisers.
“The guide offers solutions and guidance to accountants, agribusiness consultants, chief financial officers and other advisers in the sector,” Mr Slegers said.
“It focuses on the tax, structuring, transactional and succession planning needs of primary producers and other related businesses.
“Following the positive feedback we’ve received since we launched the guide last year, we are now releasing an updated version to capture additional issues facing advisers and their clients.”
He said second edition revisions included commentary on:
- Section 100A trust strategies for minimising exposure in private agribusiness groups.
- Carbon farming and tax relief for primary producers.
- NSW duty exemption for land transfers to trusts.
- Energy company liaison and negotiation.
- Proposed superannuation earnings tax on primary production land holdings.
It also provided additional strategies for managing transactions, restructuring and succession planning.
It included guidance on the recent AAT Bendel decision, which overturned years of ATO thinking about the tax treatment of trust unpaid present entitlements and Division 7A loans
The guide was written by Peter Slegers and senior associates Joshua Pascale and Daniel Marateo, who are members of Cowell Clarke’s leading agribusiness practice group.
The original earned widespread praise from advisers across Australia.
Smith Shearer director Gavin Smith of Esperance, Western Australia, said: “In over 25 years of practice, I am yet to see a publication that remotely matches the Cowell Clarke guide for its quality, depth and breadth of information.”
Brisbane-based Moore Australia Rebecca Jeffriess said it was an “absolute lifesaver – I keep a copy of this guide on my desk handy at all times” while
Forsyths principal Joanne Kelly of Gunnedah, NSW, described it as a “one stop shop” reference for agribusiness issues, set out in clear language, with practical tips and examples.
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