An equity bond issued under a discretionary trust that confers priority rights to income and capital distributions creates proprietary rights and constitutes a 'conveyance' for stamp duty purposes under s 60 of the Stamp Duties Act 1923 (SA). However, where the bond holder's rights are subject to defined upper limits, the interest conveyed is less than the entire beneficial interest in the trust assets, and the stamp duty valuation must reflect those limitations rather than the full market value of the underlying property. A taxpayer who fails to disclose the content of legal advice obtained cannot rely on the mere fact of having obtained advice to establish reasonable care for penalty tax purposes.
The full text is available to signed-in members.