The ANAO report on the Administration of the Australian Business Register (ABR) was released on Mon 23.6.2014. The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Register. As at 7 May 2014, the ABR held information relating to 10.8 million ABNs, of which 7.7 million were active. The report says there…
The Government on Mon 2.6.2014, released the Inspector-General of Taxation’s (IGT) report into the ATO’s management of transfer pricing matters. The report was presented to the Assistant Treasurer in December 2013. The review found that key causes of stakeholder concerns were inadequate succession planning and resource management. Mr Noroozi reported that experience specialist officers had left the…
The Australian National Audit Office’s Report No 35 assessing the effectiveness of the ATO’s activities to promote tax compliance by high wealth individuals (HWIs) was tabled in Parliament on Wed 4.6.2014. The ATO defines HWIs as Australian resident individuals who, together with their associates, effectively control an estimated net wealth of $30m or more. The…
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on Thur 12.6.2014, released Audit Report No 39 Compliance Effectiveness Methodology. The review examined the application of the ATO’s Compliance Effectiveness Methodology (CEM) in evaluating the effectiveness of key compliance activities and in shaping the development of strategies to promote voluntary compliance. The review found the ATO applied generally…
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee on Mon 16.6.2014, tabled its report on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No 1) Bill 2014. The Bill, which is still before the House of Reps, proposes to repeal the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, thereby abolishing the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (the ACNC). The…
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has reminded charities of the 30 June 2014 deadline for lodging their 2013 Annual Information Statement. The ACNC warned it is a legal requirement that all registered charities submit an annual statement. Details of how to lodge the 2013 Annual Information Statement can found at acnc.gov.au/2013AIS or contact the ACNC…
The Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 [No 2], also re-introduced on Mon 23.6.2014, proposes to repeal the mining tax and make consequential amendments to other legislation, including the ITAA 1997 and the Taxation Administration Act 1953, required as a result of the repeal of the MRRT. These include repeal of:…
The ATO on Thur 5.6.2014, issued a Decision Impact Statement on the decision in AAT Case [2014] AATA 205, Re Dominic B Fishing Pty Ltd and FCT. In that case, the AAT held that fishing crew members on a commercial fishing vessel operated by the taxpayer, were not “employees”, at common law, or under the…
The Government re-introduced a series of Bills in the House of Reps on Mon 23.6.2014, to repeal the carbon tax and the mining tax and related measures. The Bills had previously been defeated in the Senate. The carbon tax repeal Bills are: Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [No 2]. Clean Energy (Income…
The AAT has rejected a taxpayer’s appeal and upheld the Commissioner’s disallowance of its input tax credit (ITC) claims. The taxpayer’s main business activity was computer system design, although it also marketed licensed computer software. It accounted for GST on a cash basis. The Commissioner audited the taxpayer and reduced its ITC claims from $404,491…