If this transfer takes place then Opes needed to inform clients of their tax liabilities and especially in regards to the CGT discount.
For instance I place $200k of stock that I have help for 11 months in Opes and sell it 2 months later for $250k thinking I can reduce my gain by 50%. According to this logic the shares are sold to Opes day 1 for nothing.
So I have a $200k loss...then a $250k gain and a cap gain iof $50k.
However, normally I would get a 50% discount on the gain for assets held longer than 12 months and therefore only pay tax on $25k.
If this is the case there needed to be a neon sign 20ft high warning clients of what the implications were.
So could the ATO come after Opes clients for previous CGT discounts they have claimed thinking they owned shares for more than 12 months?
