Tax and Structuring

Whether you’re setting up a new business, buying one or selling out, it is important to consider how the business is structured to optimise asset protection and minimise tax. This can have an enormous impact on the business’s growth potential and profitability. Getting the business structure and tax strategy in place early sets you up for the future, protects the assets and goodwill of the business and minimises the potential for issues with the Australian Tax Office.

We want to help our clients grow. Our lawyers don’t just tell you about the law, they’re business advisors who work with you on what you need to make your business a success. Our experience with tax law and how to make it work ensures you can develop your business or get the most out of it when you want to sell.

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services

Business structure/restructuring
Business succession
Capital raising
Consolidated groups
Mergers and acquisition/demergers
Property distributions and vesting
Sale of business/equity

Business structure/restructuring
Business succession
Capital raising
Consolidated groups
Mergers and acquisition/demergers
Property distributions and vesting
Sale of business/equity
Tax disputes management and resolution
Tax risk management
Trust structures

recent experience

restructuring to grow

An IT company wanted to raise money from investors to help it grow. Their options were limited because the company was structured as a trust, to going to a bank and taking out a loan. The company didn’t want to take on debt and instead wanted to bring in new equity investors. We advised on how to restructure the company so they could raise capital from new investors by issuing equity in the company. The company successfully raised what it needed to expand its business and is realising its growth strategy.
streamlining company for sale

The way in which a pharmaceutical company was structured was not attractive to potential purchasers, meaning our client was not on a good footing to negotiate the best sale price. We advised the client on how to restructure its businesses and property holdings into a more streamlined structure to facilitate a ‘cleaner’ sale. In addition, we ensured the restructure took advantage of available CGT and stamp duty exemptions. The restructure resulted in no adverse tax and stamp duty consequences and when it came time to sell, the new, simpler legal structure resulted in a tangible increase in the purchase price offered by the purchaser.
getting established for global expansion

After a successful pharmaceutical consulting firm won a tender to provide services to a large Hong Kong company, the owners called on Macpherson Kelley to advise them on their international expansion. They wanted a new corporate structure to enable them to expand to Hong Kong and more countries in the future. The restructure also needed to be tax effective and flexible as they planned to sell down some of their shareholding to private equity investors and list on the share market in the future. We helped the owners navigate complex international tax issues, enabling them to expand to Hong Kong. We also connected them to our network of corporate advisors to help them sell down to private equity and plan their initial public offering.