The AAT has disallowed a taxpayer’s appeal against GST and s 167 default income tax assessments, although it set aside an administrative penalty for one of the years in question. In 2008, the ATO audited the tax affairs of the taxpayer’s family and the companies they controlled. The Tribunal said the family business in question was…
The AAT has concluded that a lump sum payment received by an individual taxpayer was an employment termination payment (ETP) under s 82-130(1) of the ITAA 1997 and was not a genuine redundancy payment under s 83-175 of the ITAA 1997. As a result, the AAT affirmed the taxpayer was liable to income tax on the full…
The AAT has confirmed that Pt IVA applied to a scheme carried out by taxpayers in order to enable them to qualify for the CGT small business concessions via the maximum net asset value (MANV) test. Interestingly, the taxpayers argued before the AAT (contrary to their original position in their lodged tax returns) that various…
In a [decision related to the (No. 3) case above], the Federal Court granted the [same] taxpayers’ application for “confidential[ity] orders” in relation to the identity of the parties, the contents of any documents filed or tendered in the proceedings and the non-disclosure of the transcript of any hearing in the proceedings to anyone other…
The Federal Court has dismissed a taxpayer’s application to prevent ATO officers who were to conduct an interview of him under s 264 of the ITAA 1936 from using evidence he had previously given in an examination by the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) in relation to a Project Wickenby investigation. The taxpayer, a director of an…
In a test case decision handed down [on Thursday 19.2.2015], the Federal Court has dismissed a taxpayer’s appeal concerning its entitlement to input tax credits (ITCs) for certain acquisitions relating to mining accommodation in WA. The taxpayer, Rio Tinto Services Ltd, is the representative member for the Rio Tinto Ltd GST group, which includes Hamersley…
The Federal Court has held that for the purposes of determining the “allocable cost amount” (or cost base) of an asset that came to be owned by a consolidated group on consolidation – in circumstances where the asset was originally a pre-CGT asset that had been subject to a roll-over that preserved its pre-CGT status…
The Federal Court has found that a taxpayer had impliedly waived his right to legal professional privilege in relation to legal advice he had obtained, which he partially disclosed in sworn affidavits to support his appeal against assessments raised by the Commissioner. The assessments related to offshore transactions involving tax havens and the creation of…
The Federal Court has found that a promoter of a scheme, involving the purchase and donation [of] pharmaceuticals to charities with foreign operations, engaged in conduct that resulted in himself, and 2 other entities being a promoter of a tax exploitation scheme. As a result, civil penalties totalling id=”mce_marker”.5m were imposed. The Court said the…
The ATO advises that the High Court will hear the appeal by AusNet Transmission Group Pty Ltd (formerly SPI Powernet Pty Ltd) on 9 April 2015. The appeal concerns the deductibility under 8-1 of the Tax Act of a payment under the Electricity Industry Act 1993 by AusNet as holder of a licence to transmit…