Our latest insights

On 30 October 2025, the Federal Court (Hespe J) handed down its decision in YTL Power Investments Limited v Commissioner of Taxation, finding for the Applicant and providing important guidance on the interpretation of ‘taxable Australian real property’ under Division 855 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (ITAA 1997).

Treasury is taking steps to ensure fairer tax treatment for foreign resident investors by tightening Australia's foreign resident Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regime. Proposed changes aim to broaden the CGT base and enhance integrity, impacting infrastructure, energy, agriculture, and more.

For renewable energy companies, understanding the implications of the new thin capitalisation rules is crucial. These rules will apply for income years starting on or after July 1, 2023.

The long-anticipated tax legislation impacting off-market share buy-backs and selective share reductions passed the Senate on 16 November 2023 and is awaiting Royal Assent.

After a long period of consultation, the Federal Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No.1) Bill 2023 into parliament on Thursday 16 February 2023.

While Australia has shown strong acquirer appetite and businesses from all industries are finding great success and outstanding returns with their acquisition and divestment strategies, M&A activity now faces an uncertain future.

When it comes to M&A transactions, businesses can often be eligible for GST refunds – but how do you determine if this is the case, and how much is recoverable? In our latest Tax in M&A series, we look at a threshold test that can be applied to transactions whereby businesses only make limited financial supplies. But there is a limit to how much GST can be claimed back when the Financial Acquisitions Threshold (‘FAT’) has been exceeded.

There have been pressure systems gathering momentum along two fronts. Whilst they have largely gone unnoticed by many in the industry, collisions between the two have occurred and left some casualties in the M&A space. Previously, it was regarded by many deal-makers that employer obligations were quite low in risk. However, multiple enforcement agencies are focusing on unpaid employee entitlements and contract hire labour. The uptick in compliance activity has coincided with growth in the M&A space, leading many to believe there are huge levels of unquantified risk in the market – often not covered by warranty and indemnity insurance.

The choice between a share sale and an asset sale involves many different considerations – including commercial, legal and tax. It is important to remember that stamp duty obligations can also be quite different depending on what type of transaction is chosen. Here we explore some of the instances when stamp duty can impact tax obligations and add to the cost of M&A significantly.

M&A activity has had a significant uptick during the pandemic, with cashed-up buyers capitalising on opportunities for strategic investments. With any investment, it is important to properly assess the level of tax risk that a target investment entity presents.

When it comes to M&A transactions, obtaining a truly clear exit is often a lot harder than it seems.

When COVID-19 hit Australian shores, and businesses across all industries started to feel its impact, state and federal governments began to release a wide range policy updates and initiatives.