The Budget papers contain further developments in relation to various tax and superannuation measures that have been announced by former governments but not yet legislated. These are set out under the headings below. Exempt income of charities: no change The previous Government announced in the 2011-12 Budget that the tax concessions provided to charities and…
From the 2013-14 income year, the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for families will be increased to $34,367 (up from $33,693 for 2012-13). The additional amount of threshold for each dependent child or student will also be increased to $3,156 for 2013-14 (up from $3,094). Note that the Medicare levy low-income threshold for individuals will remain…
As foreshadowed before the Budget, the Government announced the introduction of a Budget deficit levy (tax), to apply for 3 years commencing on 1 July 2014. It is formally known as the Temporary Budget Repair Levy. The temporary levy will apply at 2% for incomes over id=”mce_marker”80,000 ie 2% on taxable income in excess of id=”mce_marker”80,000. Individuals…
M o r g a n’ s T a x M o n t h – May 2014 Developments – This is a collection of developments in Australian tax law and practice that occurred in May 2014 and which aims at being of relevance to tax lawyers.* F John Morgan A member of the Victorian…
Minister for Trade Andrew Robb has announced that the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) was signed in Seoul on Tue 8.4.2014. Mr Robb expects the Agreement to be in force by the end of this year. On entry into force of the Agreement, 84% of Australia’s exports (by value) to Korea will enter duty free,…
The Treasurer has announced that Australia and the United States on Mon 28.4.2014 signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to reduce the burden on Australian financial institutions in complying with the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is a US information-reporting regime that will commence on 1 July 2014 and will affect a large part…
On 24 March 2014, interested parties were invited to comment on the OECD discussion draft on Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy related to Action 1 of the BEPS Action Plan. Many comments were received and they have now been published by the OECD. They will be discussed by delegates to the Task Force on the Digital…
Minister for Trade Andrew Robb has announced that Australia has concluded negotiations on an historic Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan. The Minister said Australia has broken new ground as the first major agricultural exporting economy to conclude such a liberalising agreement with Japan. Key features on the Agreement include: a halving of the Japanese tariff on frozen beef…
The European Parliament has adopted in plenary session the amended Directive on Statutory Audit and the Regulation on specific requirements regarding the statutory audit of public-interest entities (PIEs). The new framework will cover all statutory audits required by EU law. Key measures in the proposed new legal framework for statutory audit include: Public-interest entities will…
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) says an academic report it commissioned from RMIT University School of Economics, Finance and Marketing provides extensive evidence that the corporate income tax system is not “broken” and that it is not being eroded. The report Multinational corporations, stateless income and tax havens asserts that there is no…