On 9 May 2017, the Australian Government announced that it would amend the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions to ensure that they can only be accessed in relation to assets used in a small business or ownership interests in a small business.
The concessions assist owners of small businesses by providing relief from CGT on assets related to their business, as well as contribute to their retirement savings through the sale of the business. However, some taxpayers are able to access these concessions for assets which are unrelated to their small business, for instance through arranging their affairs so that their ownership interests in larger businesses do not count towards the tests for determining eligibility for the concessions.
The small business CGT concessions will continue to be available to small business taxpayers with aggregated turnover of less than $2 million or business assets less than $6 million. The measure will apply from 1 July 2017.
