Yearly Archives: 2016

TA 2016/6 – Arrangement where individuals divert personal services income to an SMSF to access concessional tax rates – may offend PSI and NALI provisions

On 29.4.16, the Tax Office  issued Taxpayer Alert TA 2016/6 warning individuals about arrangements purporting to divert personal services income (PSI) to a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) to avoid paying tax at personal marginal rates. The ATO said it is reviewing arrangements whereby individuals perform services for a client but do not directly receive any (or adequate)…

Vic: State Taxation and Other Acts Amendment Bill – introduced into the Victorian Lower House

The State Taxation and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2016 (Vic) was introduced in the Victorian Legislative Assembly on Wed 27.4.2016 following the Victorian Budget. It proposes to amend the following Victorian Acts: the Payroll Tax Act 2007; the Duties Act 2000, the Land Tax Act 2005, the State Taxation Acts Further Amendment Act 2015, the Taxation Administration Act 1997, the Fire Services Property Levy…

Victorian Budget 2016-17: payroll tax cut; stamp duty increase on foreign property buyers; etc

The Victorian Budget 2016-17 was handed down on Wed 27.4.2016. Key proposed revenue measures are as follows: Payroll tax tax-free threshold will be increased over 4 years, commencing 1 July 2016. The increase will be phased in as follows: 2016-17 – increase to $575,000; 2017-18 – increase to $600,000; 2018-19 – increase to $625,000; and 2019-20 – increase to $650,000. Payroll…

Vic landholder duty: BPG Caulfield Village Pty Ltd v Comr of State Revenue – no “economic entitlement” acquired – developer only acquired an right to participate in the development of some of the Club’s land

A taxpayer has been successful before the Victorian Supreme Court in a matter concerning whether it had acquired an “economic entitlement”, such as to invoke the Victorian landholder duty provisions. In August 2012, the taxpayer entered into a Development Agreement (DA) with Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) in relation to the development and sale of certain land to…

FCT v Rawson Finances Pty Ltd (No 2) – claims that receipts and payments were loan advances and interest deduction claims – Court orders evidence be taken from foreign bank and documents be produced

The Federal Court had ordered that a letter of request be issued to the judicial authorities of Israel to take or cause to be taken the evidence of the Chairwoman of the Board of Mercantile Discount Bank (MDB), a third party bank located in Israel, and for the production of documents in aid of, or…

ABS releases tax figures for the 2014/5 year – taxes on income represented 50.5% of all taxes collected and taxes on provision of goods and services was 23.4%

On 26.4.16, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)  released taxation revenue figures for 2014-15. It says total taxation revenue collected in Australia increased by $10bn (2.3%) from $435.9bn in 2013-14 to $445.9bn in 2014-15. This was driven by a $10.1bn (4.1%) increase in taxes on income and a $4.3bn (10.5%) increase in taxes on property. Over…

SMSF’s may have their registrations cancelled – if they have not lodged their annual return and the ATO has no information as to whether they have assets (via a request for a ‘Return Not Necessary’)

On 26.4.16, the ATO gave notice that it is sending letters to the trustees of SMSF’s which had not lodged annual returns and where the ATO held on information about whether they held any assets. It goes on to say the following. If your clients receive a letter, advise them that we will cancel their…

TA 2016/1 – 4: Warnings about revaluing internally generated assets to pass ‘thin capitalisation’ tests; interim arrangements to avoid the MAAL; related party currency swap fees & havens in leases of movable assets

On 26.4.2016, the ATO issues 4 Taxpayer Alerts dealing with concerns it has about emerging profit-shifting arrangements that may lead to tax avoidance. Deputy Commissioner, Public Groups, Jeremy Hirschhorn said “Taxpayer alerts … are an effective tool to stop the marketing, sale and implementation of schemes, support voluntary disclosures from those who may be involved in these schemes,…

Multinational Tax Avoidance – Part 2 of the Senate Economics References Committee report: ‘Gaming the System’

On 22.4.16, the Senate Economics References Committee tabled Part 2 of it’s tax avoidance report – Part 2: Gaming the System. The following extracts give insight into the thrust of the report. [APH website] [LTN 76, 22/4/16] The first extract gives the background to Part 2 of its report. Chapter 1 – Background First report on…

Government plans – Public register of beneficial ownership of ‘shell’ (??) companies and other initiatives – Asst. Treasurer interviewed by the ‘Guardian’

The Assistant Treasurer, Kelly O’Dwyer, told The Guardian about various Government initiatives, including a proposal to create a ‘public register of the beneficial owners of shell companies”. [LTN 76, 22/4/16] Guardian report The Turnbull government will create a public register revealing the identities of the beneficial owners of shell companies in an effort to quell mounting public…