“With the Budget proposals already shifting, do any of the latest changes affect my investments, trust, or SMSF plans?”

If the May Budget felt like a lot to absorb, the July update is a reminder that the story is still moving.

Since Budget night, the Government has already adjusted some of the more talked-about proposals. That matters because a lot of people are still working off the original headlines, when the detail has already shifted in some pretty important ways.

One of the biggest updates is around capital gains tax. While the Government is still pushing ahead with its plan to replace the current 50% CGT discount with indexation plus a 30% minimum tax from 1 July 2027, it has now flagged a new Innovative Business CGT Concession. That concession is aimed at early-stage investors, founders, and employee share scheme participants in innovative start-up businesses, and would preserve a 50% CGT discount in that space.

There is also a significant proposed change to the small business CGT concessions. The Government wants to lift the annual turnover threshold for the existing 50% active asset reduction from $2 million to $10 million from 1 July 2027. That would make the concession available to a much broader group of business owners, although the existing $2 million turnover threshold would still remain in place for the other three small business CGT concessions.

The proposed 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts has also shifted slightly. One of the louder concerns after Budget night was how the new rules might affect testamentary trusts. The Government has now indicated that all testamentary trusts will be excluded from the proposed minimum tax rules, as long as they are established for genuine testamentary purposes. That is a meaningful softening from the earlier position, although the boundaries will still matter.

For SMSFs, there is another notable development. As part of broader Budget negotiations, the Government has agreed to remove the ability for SMSFs to borrow to purchase residential property, with existing arrangements expected to be grandfathered. If that becomes law, it would be a major structural change for SMSFs that might otherwise have used limited recourse borrowing arrangements in the future.

The practical lesson here is simple: the Budget proposals are still evolving. If you are making decisions around trusts, CGT, SMSFs, or a future restructure, it is worth checking the latest position rather than relying on the first round of headlines.

Final thought

This is one of those moments where “wait and see” is fine, but “assume nothing has changed” is not. If your planning relies on any of these measures, now is a good time for a fresh review.