If you're planning to book a tidy profit on an asset sale courtesy of John Howard's supposedly generous capital gains tax (CGT) concessions for individuals and small business owners, then think again.
Because you're in for a rude shock. As a growing number of business people are finding, at a closer look the eligibility criteria isn't so easy to satisfy.
And many are finding out too late.
Hunt & Hunt's Greg Cahill tells the story of a client who assumed he was going to make a capital gain of around $540,000. Much to his surprise, it now looks like he can't satisfy one of the key criteria for accessing the 50% CGT concession for owners of businesses with less than $5 million in net assets.
"If they don't pass it – if they can't, because the event is in the past – they will pay roughly about $140,000 tax," he says.
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