On 6 November 2017 Treasury published an Exposure Draft of legislation that will require purchasers of new residential premises and lots in new residential subdivisions to pay an amount equal 1/11th of the purchase price directly to the ATO at or before settlement. The legislation was announced in the 2017-18 Budget and views on the…
The AAT has upheld the Commissioner’s decision to disallow a range of work related expenses, claimed by a public servant and upheld a decision to impost a 50% administrative penalty for being reckless. The taxpayer, an employee with the Department of Finance, claimed various work-related travel expenses, clothing expenses and self-education expenses in her tax…
On 6 November 2017 the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reported that they had significant amounts of leaked information from an offshore law firm Appleby in Bermuda – that they called the ‘Paradise Papers’. The ATO was anticipating this release and issued the following media release, to coincide with the ICIJ release of the Paradise Papers.…
Paradise Papers: Apple moves to Jersey in new tax loophole Article from the Australian Financial Review, by Neil Chenoweth; dated 7 November 2017. Apple swapped one tax haven for another from Ireland to Jersey, the Paradise Papers reveal. Apple, the world’s biggest company, swapped one tax haven for another, shifting the management of its Irish subsidiaries…
On Sunday 5 November 2017, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists issued this media release. On that day the ICIJ released The Paradise Papers, a global investigation that reveals the offshore activities of some of the world’s most powerful people and companies. ICIJ and 95 media partners explored 13.4 million leaked files from a combination of…
The staged introduction of the 27.5% lower rate of company tax began on 1 July 2016, using a ‘carrying on business’ test, probably intending it to exempt companies receiving ‘passive’ investment income. That, however, hit headwinds, when the Commissioner started making his views known in a form that he later issued as TR 2017/D7. The…
The SA Legislative Council has voted to strike out the bank levy from the Budget Measures Bill 2017 (SA). Schedule 1 of the Bill had sought to introduce a major bank levy from 1 July 2017 and would have applied to all authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) that offer services in South Australia and were liable for the…
On 31 October 2017, the Victorian Government introduced the State Taxation Acts Further Amendment Bill 2017 into the Victorian Legislative Assembly and was read a second time the following day. It will amend various taxing statutes, in the ways and from the commencing dates set out below. Part 2, which amends the Congestion Levy Act…