Napier & Blakeley were pleased to again support The Property Industry Foundation in the Sydney Charity Sailing Cup.  This is a unique opportunity for client entertainment, business networking and relationship building, whilst also making a difference to desperate kids who are doing it tough, by raising money to build a home for homeless young people.

The event was well supported with over 700 people and 40 yachts participating with approximately $250,000 raised for homeless young people.

We boarded Eve, a Swan 65 ketch, which won last years Regatta.at King Street Wharf.     Whilst we did practice drills before the race – all under the professional guidance of our skipper and crew, we enjoyed a luncheon with some drinks.

Racing commenced at 1:40pm for class 3.  Unfortunately, a slightly ambitious start saw Eve over the line early, necessitating a return around the end of the line and subsequently starting last on the water.  They do say that if you are not over early now and again you aren’t trying hard enough!  The course for class 3 was a start off Point Piper, up the harbour to Lady Bay, round Shark and Clark Islands, back to Nielsen Park then to the finish in Rushcutters Bay.  The reaching conditions favoured Eve’s long waterline length compared to the rest of her class so with much concentration on trimming and maintaining clear air we managed to work our way back up to second on the water by the finish, resulting in a fifth on handicap.

The after party at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is a great opportunity to connect with others in the race that include many of our clients both property and development, and to plan how to get over the line 1st next year !

Our thanks go to the crew of the Eve for an enjoyable, safe day on the harbour and we wish them well in their forthcoming circumnavigation and look forward to seeing Eve again in 2029 when they return.

The N&B crew comprised of:

• Peter Osborn, Michael Ross, Stephen Cooke, Jon Holdsworth & Nic Mules – NB
• Michael Este  – Fife Capital
• Joe Luca Donato – AXA Investment Managers
• Richard Dunham Stacey – AXA Investment Managers
• Lee Johnson – NorthWest Healthcare Properties

Or…   have you recently refurbished, altered or extended your investment property in the past financial year?

Or…   do you own an investment property but have never claimed depreciation in the past?

Or…   own any property including commercial, retail, industrial, residential, pubs, clubs, sporting – we are experts in them all.

If your answer is yes to any of these questions then you may very well be paying too much tax on your income if you don’t claim your depreciation deductions.

Property tax allowances (commonly known as depreciation) provide an opportunity for owners of income producing property to reduce their taxable income, thus reducing the tax payable.

Napier & Blakeley was the first Australian company to provide specialist property depreciation services with dedicated in-house specialists to identify all available deductions throughout the life cycle of your asset.

Don’t waste any more of your money, request a quote today or contact us to get advice on how a depreciation schedule can strengthen the return on your investment putting more money in your pocket.

We at N&B are here to help.  Please do not hesitate to contact one of our trusted advisors for further assistance.

	MELBOURNE John Mathew Director  m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com		MELBOURNE Coco Williams Senior Consultant m. 0408 933 660  e.  cowilliams@napierblakeley.com
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	BRISBANE KY Pih Associate  m. 0408 933 660  e.  kpih@napierblakeley.com		SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director m.  0457 001 545   e.   posborn@napierblakeley.com

MELBOURNE
Rob Howells, Managing Director |  0437 649 082  |  rhowells@napierblakeley.com
Peter Frith, Director  |  0437 649 082  |  pfrith@napierblakeley.com
Craig Smith, Director |  0407 371 664  |  csmith@napierblakeley.com
Ian Gardner, Associate Director  |  0488 225 569  |  igardner@napierblakeley.com

SYDNEY
Alastair Walker, Director  |  0419 503 289  |  awalker@napierblakeley.com
Peter Hammond, Director  |  0419 980 901  |  phammond@napierblakeley.com
Stephen Cooke, Associate Director  |  0409 228 552  |  scooke@napierblakeley.com

BRISBANE
Adam Greene, Associate Director  |  0409 724 395  |  agreene@napierblakeley.com
Paul Cosker, Associate Director  |  0434 400 107  |  pcosker@napierblakeley.com
Gavin Peach, Associate Director  |  0412 225 781  |  gpeach@napierblakeley.com

PERTH
Graham Rigby, Associate Director  |  0419 847 998  |  grigby@napierblakeley.com 
Jorden Morris, Quantity Surveyor  |  0457 001 545  |  jmorris@napierblakeley.com

The rise of e-commerce has driven major brands to expand their footprint and therefore leasing activity.  Vacancy rates are at all-time lows and major development work is underway to meet demand.  Several AREITS are continuing their growth in this asset class and Transaction volumes were up to $3.5 billion in 2020, from $2.3 billion in 2019 – as recently reported.

So, what makes the sector tick?  Here are some attributes and advantages of the sector from our perspective.

Construction and development advantages

• Over time construction costs in the sector have been less susceptible to escalation than other asset types.  This stability provides greater confidence to Developers when planning their next project.
• The speed of construction enables Developers to receive a return on their investment earlier than most other forms of development.
• Tried and tested construction techniques in the sector generally lead to less variations than other forms of construction.
• There are also tax depreciation benefits available to developers / investors upon project completion.

Investment advantages

• Typically, industrial & logistics properties are leased to a single tenant who has responsibility for repairs, maintenance and lease expiry make good obligations.
• Relatively low levels of capital expenditure are required during the lease term.
• There are good opportunities for environmental and social governance (ESG) initiatives.  Both new developments and building improvement projects are taking up energy efficient strategies such as photovoltaic solar systems, rainwater harvesting, zero ozone depleting refrigerant choices, high efficiency air conditioning, time and presence controls and metering.

The following projects represent some of our recent capabilities and expertise within the sector, where we have managed Cost, Risk & Return.

	Target Distribution Centre, Foundation Road Truganina VIC Independent Certifier, Development Monitoring & Quantity Surveying – 62,000m2 Client: ESR/CIP & Charter Hall		Toll Mars Distribution Centre, Midwest Logistics Hub, Truganina VIC Independent Certifier, Development Monitoring, Quantity Surveying & Tax Depreciation Assessment – 45,000m2 Client: Charter Hall
	Uniqlo Distribution Warehouse, Midwest Logistics Hub Truganina VIC Independent Certifier, Development Monitoring, Quantity Surveying & Tax Depreciation Assessment – 35,000m2 Client: Charter Hall		Mainfreight Epping, 107 Gateway Boulevard, Epping VIC Quantity Surveying – 45,000m2 Client: Mainfreight
	Drystone Industrial, Estate Truganina VIC Technical Due Diligence – 44,000m2 Client: GPT		Telstra Data Centre, Clayton VIC Acquisition/Divestment Technical Due Diligence - 3.2 hectare site Client: Telstra / Centuria
	Aldi Distribution Centre Portfolio Acquisition/Divestment Technical Due Diligence – 370,000m2 Client: Aldi / Charter Hall Allianz		99 Sandstone Place, Parkinson QLD Technical Due Diligence – 54,000m2 Client: DWS Group GmbH & Co
	338 Bradman Street, Acacia Ridge QLD Technical Due Diligence – 55,000m2 Client: Mapletree		Lot 30, 247-263 Greens Rd Dandenong South VIC Quantity Surveying & Tax Depreciation Assessment – 16,000m2 Client: Logis Property Investments
	Ceva Logistics, Truganina VIC Independent Certifier, Development Monitoring, Quantity Surveying – 36,000m2 Client: Frasers Property		Salta Properties Portfolio, Dandenong South VIC Quantity Surveying & Tax Depreciation Assessments – 4 industrial warehouses 25,000m2 Client: Salta Properties
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	7 Dursley Road, Yenora NSW Development Monitoring, Quantity Surveying and Tax Depreciation Assessments - 65,000m2 Client: Fife Capital		9-13 Cool Street, Forestville NSW Development Monitoring and Quantity Surveying - 9,000m2 Client: Trumen Corp Pty Ltd
	8 Narabang Way, Belrose NSW Development Monitoring and Quantity Surveying - 4,000m2 Client: Life Property Group		50 Elwell Close, Beresfield NSW Development Monitoring, Quantity Surveying and Tax Depreciation Assessments - 8,000m2 Client: Hobson Holdings Pty Ltd

Please do not hesitate to call any of the people below to discuss your requirements: 

MELBOURNE
Rob Howells, Managing Director |  0437 649 082  |  rhowells@napierblakeley.com
Craig Smith, Director |  0407 371 664  |  csmith@napierblakeley.com
John Mathew, Director  |  0414 559 326  |  jmathew@napierblakeley.com 
Ian Gardner, Associate Director  |  0488 225 569  |  igardner@napierblakeley.com

SYDNEY
Alastair Walker, Director  |  0419 503 289  |  awalker@napierblakeley.com
Peter Hammond, Director  |  0419 980 901  |  phammond@napierblakeley.com
Peter Osborn, Director  |  0439 765 571  |  posborn@napierblakeley.com
Stephen Cooke, Associate Director  |  0409 228 552  |  scooke@napierblakeley.com

BRISBANE
Adam Greene, Associate Director  |  0409 724 395  |  agreene@napierblakeley.com
Paul Cosker, Associate Director  |  0434 400 107  |  pcosker@napierblakeley.com
Gavin Peach, Associate Director  |  0412 225 781  |  gpeach@napierblakeley.com
KY Pih, Associate  |  0408 933 660  |  kpih@napierblakeley.com

PERTH
Graham Rigby, Associate Director  |  0419 847 998  |  grigby@napierblakeley.com 
Jorden Morris, Quantity Surveyor  |  0457 001 545  |  jmorris@napierblakeley.com

This is a unique opportunity for client entertainment, business networking and relationship building, whilst also making a difference to desperate kids who are doing it tough, by raising money to build a home for homeless young people.

The event was well supported with over 400 people and 30 yachts participating with over $130,000 raised for homeless young people.

We raced on the Margaret Rintoul V, a 61 foot luxury Maxi Sailing Yacht.

We boarded at King Street Wharf and cruised over to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) at Rushcutters Bay to enjoy lunch and welcome by Malcolm Tyson (CEO of Colliers) and Kate Mills (CEO of Property Industry Foundation).

Team NB left the dock at the CYCA at 2pm and sailed out on to Port Jackson to undertake some light crew training and tacking practice.  Racing started at 3pm from a start line off Point Piper followed by two laps of the eastern harbour via Lady Bay, Shark and Clarke Islands, Obelisk Bay and finishing back off Point Piper.  Margaret Rintoul V sailed extremely well belying her 20 year old design; however the performance handicap system did not favour us, with a rating reflecting her past racing successes.

Winner of the day goes to Matt McQueen for successfully tacking multiple times with a full glass of wine and never spilling a drop, and the luckiest man of the day to Peter Osborn for apparently losing his phone overboard during one tack, only to discover it still on the deck on the next tack.

Our thanks go to the crew of Margaret Rintoul V for an enjoyable, safe day on the harbour and reinforcing the message that even a bad day on the water (it wasn’t) is better than a good day in the office.

The N&B crew comprised of:

• Peter Osborn, Katrina Richardson, Stephen Cooke & Jon Holdsworth – NB
• Tony Massaro – PWC
• Matthew McQueen – Centuria Capital Limited
• Stephen Day – Arrow Capital Partners
• Nicholas Van Beek – Ernst & Young

The ATO has released Tax Ruling 2020/3 that took effect on the 1st July 2020.

New categories of assets have been included:

• Supermarket and grocery stores;
• Aircraft manufacturing and repair services;
• General practice medical services;
• Child care services; and
• Funeral, crematorium and cemetery services.

Kind of interesting but surely coincidental that the categories included are in areas that are surely high in the list of places of business that is at the forefront of our thoughts right at this moment.

The Commissioner has determined the effective lives for depreciating assets utilized in these industries.

Division 40 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 allows the owner of depreciating assets to self-assess the effective lives. To do so, would require serious consideration on possible consequences. That is another conversation for another day.

Let us assist you in ensuring that your depreciation schedules are accurate and reflects current legislation and ATO guidelines.

We have been assisting valuable clients since 1985.

Please do not hesitate to contact one of our registered tax practitioners for assistance:

	MELBOURNE John Mathew Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com		NATIONAL Paul Mazoletti National Director o.  07 3221 8255 m. 0408 749 202 e.  pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com
	SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0439 765 571 e.  posborn@napierblakeley.com		BRISBANE Kath Hemphill BDM – Tax QLD o.  1300 730 382 m. 0409 722 709 e.  khemphill@napierblakeley.com

Looks like it’s official.  The ATO has issued an update on the instant write-off eligibility.

Changes made:

• Instant asset write off eligibility extended to 31 December 2020;
• New and second-hand assets;
• Assets purchased after 7.30 pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019 but not first used or installed for use until 12 March 2020 to 31 December 2020;
• Instant asset write off eligibility will revert to businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million and the instant write-off threshold will be $1,000 from 1 January 2021.

What stays the same ?

• Instant asset write-off threshold is still $150,000 (up from $30,000);
• Multiple assets as long as the cost of individual assets is less than the threshold;
• Eligible business threshold increases from $50 million to $500 million;
• Excluded assets including leased for more than 50% of the time on a depreciating asset lease, assets allocated to low value pool, horticultural plants, software allocated to a software development pool and capital works deductions;
• Eligibility test.

Well, if all things are equal, then a purchase of a property (contract exchanged after 2^nd of April 2019 and settled between 12^th of March and 31 December 2020) by an eligible business, would see the new owner of the asset be able to claim an immediate deduction for all depreciating assets within the property that is less than $150,000.

The purchase consideration paid for the property will include land, building, depreciating assets and probably non qualifying assets. This is where we are able to assist in establishing the opening value of depreciating assets (on an individual asset basis) and determine if individual assets may qualify for the instant asset write off.

Here is an opportunity to realise some cashflow value for potential new acquisitions.

Please contact one of our registered tax practitioners for any assistance:

	MELBOURNE John Mathew Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com		NATIONAL Paul Mazoletti National Director o.  07 3221 8255 m. 0408 749 202 e.  pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com
	SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0439 765 571 e.  posborn@napierblakeley.com		BRISBANE Kath Hemphill BDM – Tax QLD o.  1300 730 382 m. 0409 722 709 e.  khemphill@napierblakeley.com

On the 9^th of June 2020, the government announced that it will extend the $150,000 instant asset write off until 31 December 2020.  This proposed change is not law yet as of today 16^th of June 2020.

At the time of writing this, it is still unclear what the intent of the changes will mean for property owners and acquired depreciating assets as part of a property transaction.  The ATO suggests that eligible businesses will be able to use the instant asset write-off provisions for the business portion of the cost of an assets in the year the asset is first used, or installed ready for use.

What does first use mean? 

Date of original commissioned plant?

Does this mean that a “second-hand asset” that is currently in place and has been previously been “put in use” at the time of purchase by an eligible entity will not qualify?

Or is it a question of first use by the acquirer of the asset?

Example:

Joe Blogs Pty Ltd acquires an office building for investment (capital growth and income) The entity is deemed to be carrying on a business in accordance with TR2019/1 (another conversation for another day) and is eligible to claim the instant write off.

• The office building is 5 years old.
• Settlement occurs on the 20^th of July 2020.

Is the 20^th of July the first use date by Joe Blogs Pty Ltd and therefore the depreciating assets would qualify for the instant write off provisions?

It would make sense that it would, as if Joe Blogs Construction Pty Ltd (JBC) purchased a $130,000, 5 year old backhoe for their construction business and the first use date was the 20^th of July 2020, then the second-hand asset would qualify as being put to use on that date.

If this is the intent of the government, it is indeed good news for the economy.

We at N&B are here to help.  Please do not hesitate to contact one of our trusted advisors for further assistance:

	MELBOURNE John Mathew Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com		NATIONAL Paul Mazoletti National Director o.  07 3221 8255 m. 0408 749 202 e.  pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com
	SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0439 765 571 e.  posborn@napierblakeley.com		BRISBANE Kath Hemphill BDM – Tax QLD o.  1300 730 382 m. 0409 722 709 e.  khemphill@napierblakeley.com

Following the Federal Government’s announcement of a raft of stimulus initiatives, N&B Director John Mathew has summarised how businesses can benefit from an immediate write off of their depreciating assets.

The ruling applies to assets costing $150,000 or less for eligible business, these being a business with an aggregated turnover of less than $500 million effective from 12 March 2020. The interesting part is that the date range for when assets are first used or installed ready for use is 12 March through to 30 June 2020.

Over a career preparing depreciation schedules, John commonly sees tax registers typically capitalising on all work carried out for a year, and then depreciation is calculated from the following year. 

The other extreme is that monthly progress payments for multiple separate projects are capitalised and depreciated on a monthly basis although tax law requires a “project to be completed” (ready for use) before a depreciation charge can be taken.

As the eligibility of the $150k claim is based on the first use or ready for use date, it is going to be critical that every “capital project” to refurbish, alter and enhance is properly recorded to ensure documentation is available to substantiate claims.

The Federal Government’s announcement provides an incentive to businesses for the 2019–20 and 2020–21 income years to deduct the cost of depreciating assets at an accelerated rate.

For each new asset, the accelerated depreciation deduction applies in the income year that the asset is first used or installed ready for use for a taxable purpose.

To be eligible to apply the accelerated rate of deduction, the depreciating asset must:

• Be new and not “second hand”;
• Be first held on or after 12 March 2020;
• First used or first installed ready for use for a taxable purpose on or after 12 March 2020 until 30 June 2021.

If you are a small business with an aggregated turnover of less than $10 million, and you use the simplified depreciation rules, those assets over the instant asset threshold which are eligible for the accelerated depreciation are added to the general small business pool.

You can deduct an amount equal to 57.5% (rather than 15%) of the business portion of a new depreciating asset in the year it is added. In later years, the asset will be depreciated under the general small business pool rules.

If you are an entity with aggregated turnover less than $500 million in the income year and do not use the simplified depreciation rules, you may be eligible to deduct an amount if the asset is a qualifying asset.

The amount your entity can deduct in the income year the asset is first used or installed ready for use is:

• 50% of the cost (or adjustable value where applicable) of the depreciating asset;
• Plus the amount of the usual depreciation deduction that would otherwise apply but calculated as if the cost or adjustable value of the asset were reduced by 50%.

Effectively, together with the instant asset write-off rules, the accelerated depreciation deduction applies to assets with a cost (or adjustable value if applicable) of:

• $150,000 or more in the 2019–20 income year;
• $1,000 or more in the 2020–21 income year.                                                                

An example:

N&B Investments Pty Ltd had $1,000,000 work done to their assets and the work included the following:

• New chiller No 1. $250k spend, completed and put in use 10^th March 2020;
• New chiller No 2. $250k spend, completed and put in use 20^th April 2020;
• New BMS system $140k spend, completed and put in use 1^st April 2020;
• New lift $360k completed and put in use 1^st April 2020.

Assuming that each lot of work above were individual projects and not part of a larger contract / instruction we have calculated that the claims available for the first part year ending 30 June would be as follows:  

• Pre stimulus by non-eligible business -  $36,843;
• By eligible business tax payer post stimulus using simplified rules -  $528,250;
• By eligible business not using simplified rules -  $512,651.
  

The taxflow/cashflow benefit is significantly enhanced, and it will be important for business owners to consider accelerating the capital renewal program.

Now is the time, to review depreciating assets nearing the end of their effective lives. In this environment of low interest rates there may be an opportunity to enhance your assets to meet challenges in the current market, bearing other factors in mind.

Our N&B teams of Tax Surveyors, Quantity Surveyors, Building Surveyors, Engineers and Sustainability consultants can assist you with planning, forecasting and implementing a complete solution for your property assets.

We’re here to ensure you gain the maximum benefits eligible through the immediate depreciation ruling and ongoing capital allowances for your commercial assets.

To learn more please contact our team:

	MELBOURNE John Mathew Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com		NATIONAL Paul Mazoletti National Director o.  07 3221 8255 m. 0408 749 202 e.  pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com
	SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0439 765 571 e.  posborn@napierblakeley.com		BRISBANE Kath Hemphill BDM – Tax QLD o.  1300 730 382 m. 0409 722 709 e.  khemphill@napierblakeley.com

There have been so many emails about the world’s current situation and so we’re not going to tell you anything that y

Napier & Blakeley are working remotely in the new usual and a lot of our people have been doing this for a long time because of the nature of our work.

We have known and worked with a lot of you for a long time and we understand that, at the moment, not everyone is able to work, or do deals or just do things normally for a variety of reasons, including running your businesses here from outside Australia. 

We continue to operate and have our full national contingent of people ready to assist you with things that you may still require to be done, inspections, audits, transaction services, construction and development issues, insurance costs and depreciation advice and schedules.

Our industry is one where great people abound, and our people, our clients and our many friends in the property and development industries are all important to us and we will strive to look after and help everyone as best we can.

There has always been fantastic camaraderie amongst us all and we all want that to continue in the future, but we know that circumstances at the moment are creating incredible anxiety across the whole country with our staff, our clients and our friends in the marketplace, and not just them personally, but for their families and friends as well.

There is nothing we can say to change that other than that we have a collective role to get this right again, and to get back to where we can meet again, interact again and share a drink again, and we really look forward to that.

So we are here to help and you can contact anyone at Napier & Blakeley directly as usual, or at info@napierblakeley.com

Kind regards

Alastair Walker
Managing Director
Napier & Blakeley

SYDNEY Alastair Walker Managing Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0419 503 289 e. awalker@napierblakeley.com	MELBOURNE Craig Smith Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0407 371 664 e.  csmith@napierblakeley.com
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SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0439 765 571 e. posborn@napierblakeley.com	MELBOURNE John Mathew Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com
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SYDNEY Peter Hammond Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0419 980 901 e.  phammond@napierblakeley.com	MELBOURNE Rob Howells National Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0437 649 082 e.  rhowells@napierblakeley.com
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BRISBANE Paul Mazoletti National Director o.  07 3221 8255 m. 0408 749 202 e.  pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com	PERTH Graham Rigby Associate Director o.  08 6244 1877 m. 04419 847 998 e.  grigby@napierblakeley.com

Not only can we assist you, we guarantee that you get maximum deductions and also be fully compliant with the A.T.O. as we are Registered Tax Practitioners.

Napier & Blakeley, the first Property Depreciation Company and still the best – just ask your Accountant.

Call Napier & Blakeley today for assistance with your Tax Depreciation Schedule or any other Napier & Blakeley services at any of our offices below:

	BRISBANE Paul Mazoletti National Director o.  07 3221 8255 m. 0408 749 202 e.  pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com		SYDNEY Peter Osborn Director o.  02 9299 1899 m. 0439 765 571 e.  posborn@napierblakeley.com
	BRISBANE Kath Hemphill Business Development Manager o.  1300 730 382 m. 0409 722 709 e.  khemphill@napierblakeley.com		MELBOURNE John Mathew Director o.  03 9915 6300 m. 0414 559 326 e.  jmathew@napierblakeley.com

For 34 years Napier & Blakeley have been providing the following services to the property industry:

• Property Acquisition & Disposal Technical Due Diligence
• Property Development Due Diligence
• Quantity Surveying
• Capital Expenditure Forecasting
• Make Good Reporting
• Energy Management
• Development Monitoring
• Property Tax Depreciation