M o r g a n’ s T a x M o n t h – August 2012 Developments – This is a collection of developments in Australian tax law and practice that occurred in August 2012 and which aims at being of relevance to tax lawyers.* F John Morgan A member of the Victorian…
A new report, outlined in a paper released by the Tax Justice Network, claims that, conservatively estimated, between US$21 trillion and US$32 trillion is held unrecorded and in offshore tax havens around the world. The paper – Inequality: You don’t know the half of it – says it is a first attempt to lay out…
At its meeting on Tue 3.7.2012, the Reserve Bank Board decided to leave the official cash rate unchanged at 3.50%. The Board said “recent data suggest that the economy continued to grow in the first part of 2012, at a pace somewhat stronger than had been earlier indicated”. Therefore, it considered the “stance of monetary…
The Victorian Office of State Revenue (OSR) has released the following publications on the new landholder duty provisions which commenced operation on 1 July 2012: Duties Act Bulletin DUT 2/12 (Duties Act 2000 – Landholder provisions); Revenue Rulings: ▪ DA.055 (Obligations on making a relevant acquisition and calculation of duty); ▪ DA.056 (Acquisitions of interests…
The ACT Revenue Office has recently updated its website for the following tax rates and thresholds for 2012-13: land tax rates; rates calculation; fire and emergency services levy; payroll tax. The ACT Revenue Office has also advised the interest rates for late or non-payment of duties and taxes for the period 1 July 2012 to…
The Full Court of the SA Supreme Court has affirmed an earlier decision, which had held that an instrument created proprietary rights in a taxpayer and that the instrument was a conveyance within the meaning of s 60 of the Stamp Duties Act 1923 (SA). The matter concerned a trustee of a discretionary trust, which…
The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (the taxpayer) has been successful before the WA State Administrative Tribunal in seeking a payroll tax exemption, on the basis that it came within the definition of a charitable body or organisation for the purposes of the Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA). The Commissioner had refused the…
The Appeal Panel of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal has dismissed a taxpayer’s appeal and affirmed an earlier decision refusing the taxpayer’s claim for the primary production land tax exemption for the 2007 to 2010 land tax years. In 2006, the taxpayer purchased a block of land from a farmer. The evident purpose of the…
In a decision handed down on Fri 13.7.2012, the Victorian Court of Appeal, by majority, affirmed a decision made by the Victorian Supreme Court in favour of a taxpayer regarding the application of the “land rich provisions” under Ch 3 of the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) in relation to a stapling transaction in October 2005…
The Tasmanian Supreme Court has affirmed that a transfer of plant and equipment of a school to a taxpayer was not a “gift” and therefore denied the exemption under s 53(n)(i) of the Duties Act 2000 (Tas). The property was transferred by an incorporated association of the school to the taxpayer by way of a…