NSW land tax: Teebee Holdings Pty Ltd atf Teebee Property Trust v Chief Comr of State Revenue – primary production exemption denied for nominal tree farming on 9 of 73 hectares – zoned rural and environmental and residential

Tax Month - November 2017

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found that land owned by a taxpayer was not eligible for a land tax exemption as the dominant use of land was not for primary production, and in any case it did not meet the commerciality test. The taxpayer purchased land that was zoned partly rural, partly environmental…

VPRX v CofT – Agreement to sell domain name with website, produced a stream of receipts, detected by AUSTRAC, and assessed as income under an associated ‘revenue share agreement’ with 75% penalty

Tax Month - November 2017, Uncategorized

The AAT has held that regular international payments received by a taxpayer in relation to the sale of a website domain name were ordinary income and not capital. The Applicant, who is a resident of Australia, created a domain name and website in 2006 (“the domain name”). The website generated revenue through Google Advertising. In…

OECD/BEPS – Multi-lateral Convention (MLI) – Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties’ Report supports the ‘multi-lateral treaty’ approach

Tax Month - November 2017

The OECD’s new approach to tackling multinational tax avoidance has been backed by the Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. The Committee supports the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) and recommended that binding treaty action be taken. The MLI will only apply to…

Zappia v CofT – Taxpayer fails to discharge her onus of proof by relying on facts found by the Commissioner in his objection decision

Tax Month - November 2017

The Full Federal Court has dismissed a taxpayer’s appeal, agreeing with the primary judge, that the taxpayer had not discharged the burden of proof that, default assessments, that included $2 million, that was received into a bank account, held in the taxpayer’s name, were excessive. The Court said the taxpayer submitted that she was able…

Commissioner of Taxation v Jayasinghe – Commissioner’s ‘Decision Impact Statement’ on High Court decision that income from UN was not exempt

Tax Month - November 2017

Decision: Commissioner of Taxation v Jayasinghe [2017] HCA 26, HCA Case Summary  Judge Name: Kiefel CJ, Gageler, Keane, Gordon and Edelman JJ Judgment date: 9 August 2017 Précis Outlines the ATO’s response to this case which concerns whether a taxpayer held an office in an international organisation within the meaning of subparagraph 6(1)(d)(i) of the International…

ACT duty: land tax – Samani & Anor v Comr for ACT Revenue – land tax assessed as not sufficient evidence Commissioner told property rented not principal residence

Tax Month - November 2017

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal has rejected arguments, by husband and wife taxpayers, that they provided sufficient notice to the Commissioner of ACT Revenue, in relation to their land tax liabilities. It also found that there was no basis for remission of the penalty tax imposed. The husband and wife taxpayers were the owners…

DCT v SMAR Nominees Pty Ltd (in liq) – winding up order, obtained in ignorance of the action, set aside by consent, on evidence of solvency and arrangements to pay the tax and liquidators fees

Tax Month - November 2017

The Federal Court has ordered that a winding up order be set aside on the provisio that a taxpayer pay an amount of unpaid taxes to the DCT as well as liquidator fees. This was done by consent. Background On 13 September 2017, a Registrar of the Court ordered the SMAR Nominees Pty Ltd (SMAR)…