Switzerland was the first ‘true’ tax haven and became a tax haven immediately following World War I. As Switzerland remained neutral during the Great War they could maintain a low level of taxes as they didn’t have the high infrastructure costs other countries had. In contrast, many European governments raised taxes sharply to help pay…
A self-managed super fund (SMSF) is an Australian trust structure that is used by members to personally manage their retirement savings. SMSFs are established for the sole purpose of providing financial benefits to its beneficiaries in retirement, with the benefits passing to the deceased’s beneficiaries on death. The first SMSFs were established in 1915 to…
The General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code) is the statute governing corporate law in the U.S. state of Delaware. It has been the most important jurisdiction in United States corporate law since 10th March 1899 when it enacted corporate-friendly laws to attract businesses from…
Trust cloning involves setting up a trust (the ‘cloned trust’) with the same terms and beneficiaries of another trust (the ‘original trust’). Assets may then be transferred from the original trust to the cloned trust. The advantages of trust cloning are: Asset protection – allows a trust carrying on a business to separate the business…
In 1797 Great Britain introduced a farm horse tax on horses and mules that were used in husbandry or trade. The tax was levied at the rate of 2s per horse or mule. The tax collectors visited the farms to audit the farmers and ensure they were paying the…
The Duties on Clocks and Watches Act 1797 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain instituting a tax on clocks and watches. The tax was introduced by the Prime Minister William Pitt and was assessed at the annual rate of two shillings and sixpence for a basic watch, five shillings for a…
During the 17th and 18th centuries the wearing of wigs by men was very fashionable. Women didn’t wear wigs but instead added hair extensions to their natural hair. Whilst women mainly powdered their hair grey or blueish grey, men went for the bright white look. The wig powder was made from finely ground starch…
As Britain’s 1784 tax on hats was such a lucrative revenue raiser for the government, they decided to complement it with a glove tax. The 1785 glove tax was levied at the rate of one penny on gloves to the value of ten pence, two pence to gloves costing between ten pence and fifteen pence,…
The benefits of using a private company to accumulate investments include: Company tax rate of 27.5% (which will eventually reduce to 25% by 2025). Ability to retain profits after tax (important in the lead-up to retirement when individual taxable incomes can be high). Fully franked dividends can be accumulated tax free due to the dividend…
The brick tax was a tax on bricks and tiles introduced in Great Britain during King George III’s reign to help pay for the wars in the American Colonies. The tax was originally levied at the rate of 2s. 6d. per 1000 bricks, 3s per 1000 plain tiles, and 8s per 1000…
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"You’d be stupid not to try to cut your tax bill and those that don’t are stupid in business"
- Bono: U2