The Proposed Changes to the Australian Tax Residency Rules and How This Affects You

The Proposed Changes to the Australian Tax Residency Rules and How This Affects You

Following on from AustCham Hong Kong’s statement to members (31 May, 2021) in relation to the Australian Governments proposed changes to the Tax Residency Rules, we are bringing together an influential group of Australian business people to discuss the wide ranging potential impacts and to outline what this may mean for Australian expats abroad and their businesses.

 

Given the extent to which Australians living in Hong Kong, and indeed Asia, travel to Australia for business and leisure, the concern is that many people could exceed 45 days in Australia in a given year, which could then result in their being considered tax residents of Australia.  The result of which is causing great concern within the Australian expat community.

For many Australians that spend more than 45 days in Australia in a year, they could easily satisfy the conditions of the ’45-day test’.  For example, simply being an Australian citizen and having a property in Australia and or a spouse or children living permanently in Australia would appear to satisfy the conditions and result in that person being tax resident.

It will be in the interests of the Australian expat community in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia to raise awareness of the impact of the legislative proposals and where possible, to make appropriate submissions to the Australian government suggesting reasonable changes.

 

Please note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by the speaker(s) belong solely to the speaker, and are not representative of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Date:

Tue, June 29, 2021


Time:

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM

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Location:

Zoom webinar - link will be sent to guests one hour ahead of the event



Fees:

Member: $0.00

Non-Member: $100.00


SPEAKER(S)

Sue Kench
Global Chief Executive | King & Wood Mallesons

Sue Kench is the Global Chief Executive and Co-Chairman China of King & Wood Mallesons, Asia’s leading international law firm.


Sue took on the Global Chief Executive role in 2017 after leading the firm in Australia for four years as Chief Executive Partner, Australia. Sue was the first Australian woman to lead an international top tier law firm.


Sue works closely with the Global Chairman and the firm’s International Management Committee to lead the firm’s international growth strategy. Sue is based in Hong Kong and spends significant time in China and Australia.


She became a Partner of legacy Mallesons Stephen Jaques in 1996 and has held a number of Board, management and leadership positions in the firm over the past two decades.


Sue is on the Board of Directors of AUSTCHAM Beijing and is a member of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council, Chief Executive Women and the Business Council of Australia.


Sue is married with three children.


Paul Hart
Managing Director, Commercial Markets | Frank Knight Greater China

Paul is a Chartered Surveyor with a broad base of valuation, consultancy and agency experience. Paul is a member of Knight Frank’s Greater China Board. As Head of Commercial, he is responsible for Knight Frank’s commercial agency operations in Hong Kong overseeing the provision of leasing services within the office, retail, and industrial sectors as well as Capital Markets. Paul is also responsible for Knight Frank’s Greater China outbound Capital Markets service delivery. He is also an advisor to HSBC and Hang Seng Bank on the management and disposal of their distressed assets.

 

Paul has been based in Hong Kong for 30 years, and has extensive property experience in Greater China. Paul was appointed an Executive Director in 2004. Prior to joining Knight Frank in 1997, Paul worked for the Airport Authority Hong Kong. Before this, Paul was a Valuation Surveyor at the government’s Rating and Valuation Department. He was responsible for rating, stamp and estate duty valuations on behalf of the Hong Kong Government. Paul began his career in Australia in 1981 as a valuer.

 


Justin Cherrington
Global Practice Coordinator, Tax | King & Wood Mallesons

Justin Cherrington is Partner (Australia) and Global Practice Coordinator for Taxation across the King & Wood Mallesons network.

Based in Hong Kong for 10 years, Justin specialises in income tax issues. He has been closely involved in all manner of tax work including corporate restructures, major acquisitions and international tax issues.

 His work specifically includes all aspects of corporate taxation, including the tax consolidation regime, dividend imputation, capital gains tax and capital distributions.


Darren Bowdern
Partner, Tax, Hong Kong Head of Alternative Investments | KPMG China

Darren is a partner in KPMG’s Hong Kong tax practice. He has more than 25 years experience of serving institutions in a wide range of industries in Hong Kong and Asia Pacific.


Darren heads up the Alternative Investments and M&A Tax practice in Hong Kong. He has been advising on transactions in Asia Pacific with respect to tax matters, including due diligence reviews, investment holding structures and advising on cross border transactions. Many of these projects comprise of tax effective regional planning including consideration of direct and indirect taxes, capital and stamp duties, withholding taxes and the effective use of double taxation agreements.


Darren also advises on establishing direct investment, private equity and other investment funds in Hong Kong and advises clients in a wide range of industries. 


Darren specializes in cross-border buy-and sell-side M&A tax services (e.g. Tax Due Diligence, Tax Vendor Due Diligence), tax structuring, tax planning and optimization and international corporate tax issues, restructuring and optimization. Darren has extensive experience in working with the mainland Chinese market, including structuring acquisitions of investments in China.


Darren is a Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and Macau (AustCham) and the Vice-Chair of the Finance, Legal and Tax Committee of The AustCham. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Technical Committee of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA) and the Tax Committee Member of the Alternative Investment Management Association Limited (AIMA). He is a committee member in the Tax and Financial Services Working Group under the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) of the HKSAR.


Darren graduated from the University of Melbourne and is a fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.


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