The structure of your business(es)/investment holdings should be reviewed regularly as a matter of good business practice.
As businesses grow, the most appropriate structure to take your business(es) and/or investments forward can change dramatically.
Amongst other things, regularly reviewing your structure will allow you to:
- Optimise the tax effectiveness of your business/investment structures
- Minimise the asset protection risk of your structure.
What can you consider allowing you to grow and seek to protect your hard-earned assets to the greatest extent possible?
When one considers the appropriateness of their present structure, in addition to the tax effectiveness of a structure and the extent to which it insulates assets from risk, it is imperative that the structure is optimal with view to your wind-down/retirement plans and your intergenerational business/investment transfer intentions.
In the event that a structure does not optimally balance your interests, there are a number of common restructure options available (as well as a number of hybrid options available) which should be considered.
Examples of such restructure options are:
- Movement to a new business management structure;
- Separation of business risk entities from asset holding entities;
- Establishment of trust structures;
- Establishment of self-managed superannuation funds; and
- The establishment of holding companies.
These are just but a few examples of the options that would be available to you. As for the appropriateness of implementing any of these options, it is not one size fits all – such restructures need to be considered holistically with view to one's particular current and future circumstances, as well as their wind-down/retirement plans and your intergenerational business/investment transfer intentions. The failure to ensure you have the right structure in place could cost you significantly in the long run.
Alongside the above considerations, if there are any concerns about an entity's financial position, there are multi-faceted issues that should be taken into consideration.
Coleman Greig's Taxation Team is able to provide a multidisciplined approach to ensure your structure is appropriate in order to allow the business(es)/investment holdings to grow and seek to protect your hard-earned assets to the greatest extent possible.
With the end of the financial year approaching, now is the time to reach out to discuss how we can assist you to review your structure and ensure you are best placed to roll forward.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
