ACE Insurance Limited v Trifunovski & Ors – Insurance agents found to be employees, not contractors: company’s appeal dismissed [13]

The Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by a company against a July 2012 decision of the Federal Court (Perram J) in ACE Insurance Limited v Trifunovski (No 2) [2012] FCA 793. The Federal Court had imposed a civil penalty on the company, Combined Insurance Company of America Ltd (“Combined”), for treating insurance agents as independent contractors…

*Weeks v FCT – Full Federal Court holds that public service ‘redundancy’ was not tax law ‘genuine redundancy payment’ – senior ATO officer [11]

The Full Federal Court has unanimously dismissed the appeal of the taxpayer, a former senior tax officer, and confirmed that a termination payment made to her because her services could no longer be effectively utilised by the Tax Office was not a “genuine redundancy payment” under s 83-175 of the ITAA 1997. The taxpayer was offered,…

*Healey v FCT – Taxpayer’s appeal dismissed: CGT liability confirmed as onus not satisfied that ‘market value substitution rule’ applied to cost base [10]

The Full Federal Court has unanimously dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal from Healey v FCT [2012] FCA 269. In that case, the taxpayer, a beneficiary of a trust, was held to be assessable on a capital gain of $14m that arose from the sale of shares by the trust for $17m (which had previously been agreed…

NSW land tax: Chief Comr of State Revenue v Metricon Qld Pty Ltd – dominant purpose test, in primary production exemption, involves assessing competing physical uses (grazing cattle) not the ‘land-bank’ purpose of holding the land

In confirming that a land development company qualified for the primary production land tax exemption, the NSW Court of Appeal has ruled that any competing use of the land considered in applying the dominant use test must be a physical use of the land. The taxpayer is a property developer, which owns a number of…

Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd v DCT – illegally obtained material from the Cayman Islands did not prevent collection of the tax; whether this was “conscious maladministration” was beyond the State Court’s jurisdiction

The NSW Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed a taxpayer’s application for leave to appeal the decision in the Commissioner’s favour in his debt recovery case: DCT v Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd & Ors [2016] NSWSC 975 (note the other 5 applicants, in this first instance case, set out below). In those cases, the…

‘SMSF Association’ and ATO announce strategic 3 year partnership to jointly to ensure effective regulation and integrity of the SMSF sector

The SMSF Association and Australian Tax Office (ATO) have announced a three-year strategic partnership, effective 15 February 2017. In a statement of intent released today, the Association and ATO outlined their intentions to work together to ensure effective regulation and integrity of the SMSF sector. The goals include improve and maintain the integrity and professionalism…

Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2017 introduced to increase the Commonwealth ‘penalty unit’ from $180 to $210 from 1 July 2017 and defer the first automatic 3 year CPI adjustiment to 1 July 2020

The Government introduced the Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2017 into the House of Reps 16.2.2017 (see APH Bill Tracker). It proposes to amend the Crimes Act 1914 to increase the amount of the Commonwealth ‘penalty unit’ from $180 to $210, with effect from 1 July 2017. It would also delay the first automatic adjustment of the…

Treasury Laws Amendment (Working Holiday Maker Employer Register) Bill 2017 – information kept by the ATO on employer registration will be kept confidential

The Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Working Holiday Maker Employer Register) Bill 2017 in the House of Reps on 16.2.2017. It proposes to give effect to the Government’s commitment that: the information collected by the Commissioner of Taxation concerning the employer registration information of employers of working holiday makers will not be able to…