The ATO on Tues 8.10.2013, issued Taxpayer Alert TA 2013/2 warning taxpayers against 2 contrived arrangements that are designed to create additional Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) rebates through non-commercial dealings between entities. Broadly, the ATO said the first arrangement involves a wine producer arranging for another entity to be the producer of some of its…
The Inspector-General of Taxation Annual Report 2012-13 has been released. The Inspector-General Ali Noroozi said there has been a gradual shift in the ATO’s perceptions of the IGT and increasingly, the ATO is appreciating that, in addition to being a scrutineer, the IGT’s office “can also play a role as an independent consultant”. Mr Noroozi…
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on Tue 15.10.2013, issued Performance Audit Report No 5 of 2013-14 concerning the ATO’s administration of the personal services income (PSI) regime. The ANAO noted that at the time of preparing its report, the ATO’s PSI data was limited to taxpayers who had declared themselves subject to the PSI…
CPA Australia on Tue 15.10.2013, released a guide focussed on helping Australian charities meet new financial reporting obligations. CPA Australia chief executive Alex Malley FCPA said the new guide, Charities – A guide to financial reporting and assurance requirements, provides charities with a detailed explanation of the new requirements established following commencement of the Australian…
The Government on Thur 24.10.2013, released for comment draft legislation – the Exposure Draft Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 – to repeal the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) and related tax measures. The Draft Bill proposes to remove the MRRT with effect from 1 July 2014. The Bill would also discontinue or…
The Government on Tue 15.10.2013, released the draft carbon tax repeal Bills for public consideration. In line with its election commitment, the Prime Minister said the Government’s first item of parliamentary business will be the legislation to abolish the carbon tax. He said that, while the carbon tax will be gone, the household assistance already…
The Tax Office has issued an SMSF News Alert reminding trustees of their obligations if they become a “disqualified person” under s 120 of the SIS Act. The Tax Office notes that if a trustee of an SMSF (or a director of the corporate trustee of an SMSF) becomes a “disqualified person”, the person is not…
ASIC has warned consumers about advertising that promotes the use of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) to invest in residential properties through the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). That Scheme is run by the Federal Government in partnership with the states and territories to promote investment in affordable rental housing. The Scheme offers direct payments and…
ATO Assistant Commissioner, Superannuation, Matthew Bambrick recently spoke at the 5th Annual 2013 SISFA SMSF Forum and discussed issues of concern to the ATO regarding the SMSF sector. Mr Bambrick noted that over the past few years, the proportion of SMSFs reported to the ATO by approved auditors has remained “fairly stable at 2%”. However,…
The Victorian Supreme Court has found that the sole director of a family trust company had breached fiduciary duties owed to the company by facilitating the making of contributions to a super fund on behalf of individual members of the super fund. The director had arranged for the company to borrow some $2.5m to make…