Who is in the best position to advise on the most appropriate structure and to ultimately set up the structure for a business? Should I leave it in the hands of a solicitor, accountant, combination of both or a specialist who can provide both legal and tax advice?
You probably need both. There are a lot of legal ramifications – corporations law with various offences for companies, trust law – fiduciary obligations of trustees etc. You would also need tax advice too as different options will result in different tax paid. And everyone's situation is different so you would need individual advice. But it would cost you a fortune to use both. You need an tax advisor who is switched on with the legal side or a lawyer who knows tax.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
I found that my solicitors and accountant's opinions on this matter varied. Which was a bit of a pain. In the end, I listened to my accountant's opinions on tax matters and the solicitors on legal risk, and went with the solicitors advise because legal risk was of more concern to me (and that was really his area of expertise), and his recommendation cost considerably less to implement and maintain. Then I formed the company myself, rather than paying a ridiculous amount of money for an off the shelf company. I found it quite straightforward, really ( it was only a pty ltd company), with my background and training. This was for business, rather than investment purposes.
If it is just business structuring, a tax savvy accountant would do. If there are specific legal issues that will need to be dealt with, the accountant will refer you to a lawyer anyway.
However, if there are contracts involved, eg, shareholders agreement, contract with third parties, it is best to get a lawyer to review these documents in any event.
Eddie
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