The AAT has affirmed the Commissioner’s decision to disallow tax withheld and various work-related expenses claimed by a taxpayer. It also affirmed the 25% shortfall penalty imposed by the Commissioner for failing to take reasonable care. The taxpayer was a computer programmer who was both an employee and a director of a company. For the…
The Federal Court has set aside the Commissioner’s decision on the basis on which copyright deductions could be claimed by the taxpayer and ordered that the matter be remitted to the Commissioner for re-determination in accordance with its own basis on which the deduction should be claimed. The deductions were claimed by the taxpayer under…
In a test case funded by the ATO, the Federal Court has set aside an AAT decision after finding that it “fell into error” in the way it applied the Commissioner’s discretion to disregard certain excess non-concessional superannuation contributions. In doing so, the Court provided some detailed guidance on the statutory construction and application of…
The Federal Court has largely upheld an AAT decision to disallow taxpayers’ claims for fuel tax credits. The taxpayers in partnership conducted a sawmilling business in northern NSW. One of the partners also conducted a separate sawmilling business and a farming business on his own property in northern NSW. The partner and the partnership both…
The Full Federal Court has unanimously upheld the Commissioner’s argument that a supply made by an Australian inbound tour operator to overseas customers was fully subject to GST. At first instance, the Federal Court held that the supply of a promise to provide travel products (such as hotel rooms, airport transfers etc) to non-resident tourists…
A taxpayer has been unsuccessful before the Full Federal Court in a matter concerning default assessments that had been issued under s 167 of the ITAA 1936 for the 1994 to 2001 income years. In an earlier decision, the Federal Court had remitted the matter to the AAT for redetermination. The Federal Court held the taxpayer…
The Full Federal Court has upheld a decision giving judgment to a Deputy Commissioner for unpaid income tax, together with the shortfall interest charge and general interest charge, totalling over $28m. [The matter relates to ongoing litigation arising under Project Wickenby in relation to transactions involving the Hua Wang Bank and others.] These proceedings (the…
The Treasurer has agreed to a request from the States collectively to further explore options around lowering the value at which GST is applied to the importation of goods into Australia. The threshold is currently id=”mce_marker”,000. The Treasurer has also proposed an asset recycling initiative, which he said “could see the Commonwealth offer substantial financial…
The Government on Thur 13.3.2014, released for consultation a Discussion Paper – Exploration Development Incentive: Policy Design. This follows the Government’s election commitment to introduce an Exploration Development Incentive, which will provide incentives for greenfields minerals exploration activity, with a focus on the small exploration sector. The Paper outlines and seeks feedback on possible implementation arrangements…
The Government has announced that AUSTRAC has signed an agreement to share financial intelligence with the Vatican City State. “Criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism, tax evasion, drug trafficking and other serious crimes do not respect borders, so cooperation is needed between financial intelligence units and law enforcement in a range of countries,” said Minister…