one of bendigo's threats gone

My letters from Bendigo Bank always contain a threat that I could lose my tax deduction. Thsi looks promising.....


For your information - from the SMH today

Government moves to protect MIS investors
October 21, 2009 - 11:15AM
The Federal Government is taking steps to protect investors who might be unfairly affected by the collapse of forestry managed investment schemes.

Presently, an investor has to invest in such a scheme for four years to retain their full entitlement for taxation relief.

The collapse of the Timbercorp and Great Southern schemes was expected to lead to a number of other schemes being wound-up or restructured, Assistant Treasurer Nick Sherry said.

As a result, investors might fall shot of the four-year requirement for an up-front tax deduction.

"The Government doesn't consider that to be a desirable outcome," Senator Sherry said, adding it unduly penalised investors for events outside their control.

The four-year holding rule was introduced in 2007 as part of a package to regulate secondary trading of forestry interests.

Senator Sherry said many of the investments in question were made before the holding requirement was put in place.

"At the time they decided to invest, these investors had no way of knowing that their deductions were at risk," he said.

An amended tax law will allow an investor's deduction to stand where the four-year holding rule failed due to events beyond the control of the investor.

Those events will include insolvency of the scheme's manager, the death of an investor or where a scheme's interest is cancelled, such as trees being destroyed by fire, flood or drought.

The Government will release draft legislation for public comment.