About Us
Meet the Team
Phone
0414 733 362
Kara Bentley
Senior Associate
A valued Senior Associate at Elda Legal, Kara has extensive experience advising clients and their advisers on transactional matters, structuring acquisitions and disposals. She also provides comprehensive support across tax, corporate and commercial law.
Kara is a skilled lawyer specialising in tax, corporate, commercial law and private advisory services. Kara is passionate about delivering practical, commercial solutions tailored to her clients’ taxation and business needs.
Kara has extensive experience advising on the tax and commercial implications of business sales and restructures, including navigating rollovers and duty exemptions. Kara has a particular passion for payroll tax, structuring and advisory work. She works closely with clients and their advisers to reach client goals and resolve legal matters effectively.
Kara is committed to helping her clients succeed in a complex legal and regulatory environment.
Kara is a Business Owner and Solicitor, and is currently completing her Chartered Tax Adviser course.
Favourite Client Outcome
“A client had received a grouping assessment for payroll tax consisting of over 150 entities and more than 12 separate businesses. I worked with them to obtain successful exclusion applications which effectively separated the businesses for payroll tax purposes.”
Specialisations
- Taxation and Revenue Law
- Restructures
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Structuring
- Trusts
- Business Succession
- Asset Protection
- Commercial Law
4 Years in Practice
Contact Kara
Case Study 1: Business Restructure: Managing Tax and Transfer Duty Implications
Circumstances / Situation
Our clients, in their late 60s, were operating a jewellery repair business as a partnership of individuals. To facilitate their succession plans, they needed to restructure the business to allow for the sale of interests in the business to key employees, with the remainder to be owned by their children (upon their death).
Solution
We effectively restructured and transitioned the business into a company owned by the clients without tax or transfer duty implications.
Outcome
The business was restructured into a corporate environment which would allow for the future sale or issue of shares to employees, with the remaining shares able to be transferred to their children in accordance with their wills.
Case Study 2: Fabrication Sale: Structuring Sale on Manageable & Fair Payment Terms
Circumstances / Situation
Our clients operated a steel fabrication business valued at $50 million. Both partners in the business were looking to retire and were looking to structure the sale of their interests to a key employee on manageable and fair payment terms.
Solution
We structured and documented a sale plan which facilitated the immediate exit of one partner for cash payable over 24 months, and a staged exit of the other partner with payments over a 5-year period. Both transactions were carried out in a tax-effective manner to ensure that proceeds are only taxable as they are received, and with no employee share scheme implications for the key employee.
Outcome
The clients were able to achieve their intended retirement and exit plans for valuable consideration and ensured the sale to the ‘right’ person. This all occurred while allowing an acceptable payment mechanism that took into account the funding limitations given the significant value of the business.
Case Study 3: Superannuation Restructure: Saving $300,000 in Stamp Duty
Circumstances / Situation
Our client owned their business premises through a unit trust owned by their superannuation fund. To remedy a superannuation breach, it became necessary to transfer the property out of the unit trust and superannuation fund.
Solution
The ownership of the property was restructured into a related discretionary trust, in a manner that didn’t give rise to any transfer duty liabilities.
Outcome
The ownership of the property was restructured into a related discretionary trust, in a manner that didn’t give rise to any transfer duty liabilities.