Death and Taxes Ahead in SA

Australia is the only western democracy in the world not to have some form of death duty. The USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand all have inheritance taxes.

Until the 1970’s each state and territory in Australia had some form of death duty or inheritance tax. But then Joh Bjelke Peterson as premier of Queensland abolished them in that state, and every other state government soon followed suit to remain competitive.

All State and Federal Governments are desperately looking to raise revenue in these difficult economic times, and every recent review of our tax system suggests that some form of inheritance tax will be back on the table.

As from 1^st January 2016, probate fees in South Australia are based on the value of the deceased estate, and it could be said that this is a form of Death Duty. The fee charged by the Court is set by the State Government, and the income generated goes into the Government general revenue – it is not retained by the Court.

Careful estate planning is now more crucial than ever, so that your estate is structured in a way to lawfully minimise the tax payable by your loved ones after your death, to achieve the best legitimate outcome for your hard-earned estate.

The time to plan is now.

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