Birchstone Legal Group

06/02/2026

A big thank you to everyone who joined Birchstone Legal Group for an unforgettable evening at Matilda Bay Restaurant. The warm summer vibes made it the perfect backdrop for great chats, new connections, and to kick off 2026.

We are grateful for your support — here’s to more good company, good energy, and good moments together throughout the year.

Cheers to an incredible 2026!

08/08/2025

Assessable? Absolutely.
The Birchstone Legal team took part in a paint and sip workshop — swapping CGT events for creative events. Same perfume bottle brief, but the interpretations were as varied as tax file numbers.

Which one would pass the active asset test for your wall?

06/08/2025

Behind the brushes and balance sheets — just a group of significant individuals satisfying the active asset test and the dominant purpose of fun 🍷📸

31/07/2025

Canvases, colours, clinking glasses… and just a touch of Division 152 energy. The team got artsy last Saturday 🍷🎨

21/07/2025

Happy new financial year! What’s new in the from last month? 🤓

The High Court has granted the Commissioner special leave to appeal the Full Federal Court case of Bendel.

The ATO has released a tax determination on the application of Part IVA to certain early stage innovation company investment arrangements. It has also updated its PCG on the CM&C test of company residency.

The Federal Court has held that FBT applies to non-cash benefits provided to directors of a family trust. In relation to state taxes, the NSW Tribunal has found that foreign surcharge land tax applied in respect of a trust, notwithstanding that foreign persons were prevented from being beneficiaries of the trust, on the basis that the ‘no amendment’ requirement was not satisfied.

See this week’s Birchstone Brief for these and other recent developments.

📎 https://go.birchstone.com.au/month-end-27-June-2025

30/05/2025

What’s new in the tax world? 🤓

The proposed Parlimentary sittings for 2025 have been released.

In Charles Apartments Pty Ltd v FCT, the Federal Court held that a payment made pursuant to an intragroup loan was not deductible as interest and was instead properly characterised as a payment under a guarantee.

See this week’s Birchstone Brief for these and other recent developments.

🔗

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has released the Proposed Parliamentary sitting dates for 2025. Both Houses are due to next sit from 22 July to 24 July 2025.

05/05/2025

What’s new in the tax world? 🤓

The ATO has published an article on its website where Deputy Commissioner Louise Clarke discusses the recent Full Federal Court Bendel decision and the ATO’s approach.
The majority of the Full Federal Court has upheld the Federal Court’s decision in Merchant, finding that Part IVA did apply.
The ATO has also updated PCG 2023/1 to set a new rate of 70 cents per hour (up from 67 cents per hour) for calculating work from home expenses using the fixed rate method.
See this week’s Birchstone Brief for these and other recent developments.

Link:

Curated for the needs of SME tax professionals. The Birchstone Brief is delivered to your inbox every week. It contains all the tax developments you need to know from the previous week, with insights from the team at Birchstone Legal Group.

09/04/2025

🚨 We’ve Moved! 🚨

We’re excited to share that Birchstone Legal Group has relocated to a brand new space in Perth’s CBD!

📍 Unit 2, Level 19, 1 Spring Street, Perth WA 6000
📞 Phone: +61 8 6491 0010
📠 Fax: +61 8 6118 2623

Same great service, new city location. If you’re nearby, we’d love for you to stop by and say hello!

20/03/2025

Herdy's Ultra? Dan said 'team bonding,' I said 'bet.' These bibs are sending mixed signals though. 🥴

14/03/2025

📸 Advisers’ Day 2025 – What a Day! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Fraser’s Kings Park & online for a day of insightful discussions, expert-led sessions, and practical strategies on succession planning for advisers. From tax and trust law to estate planning and superannuation, our speakers delivered valuable takeaways to help advisers navigate complex business structures with confidence.

The day wrapped up with an engaging interactive workshop, ensuring attendees left with actionable knowledge to implement in their practice. Plus, plenty of great conversations and connections along the way!

Tag yourself and your colleagues! 👇 We’d love to hear your key takeaways from the day.

14/03/2025

What’s new in the tax world in February 2025? 🤓

The Full Federal Court has handed down its decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15 holding that UPEs are not loans for Division 7A.

Other interesting cases include:
DJG Consulting Pty Ltd as Trustee for the David Gerrans Family Trust and FCT [2025] ARTA 84 - where the Tribunal refused to remit reckless penalties in relation to PAYG withholding obligations, despite another entity in the taxpayer's group complying with those obligations; and
New Country Developments Pty Ltd and Senior Revenue Consultant as Delegate of the Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] WASAT 9 - where the Tribunal found that nominal WA duty did not apply under s.118 (relating to bare trustees) and s.116 (relating to transfers to a beneficiary).
The ATO has also released new guidance on the application of Part IVA to early stage innovation company arrangements and an extension of time to apply for a director identification number.

Finally, the date for the 2025-26 Federal Budget has been released.

See this week’s Birchstone Brief for these and other recent developments.

🔗 https://go.birchstone.com.au/bb-february