Yearly Archives: 2017

Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No 2) Bill 2017 – Senate Committee recommends passing Bill giving directors an Insolvency safe harbour for restructuring outside formal administration and outlawing ‘ipso facto’ clauses

The report of the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No 2) Bill 2017 was tabled on Tue 8.8.2017. The Committee recommended the Bill be passed. The Bill had previously passed the House of Reps without amendment and is before the Senate. The Bill proposes to amend the Corporations Act…

FCT v Jayasinghe – High Court finds foreign earnings as an expert ‘project manager’ with the UN were not exempt from income tax as he was not relevantly ‘a person who held an OFFICE in an international organisation’

On Wed 9.8.2017, the High Court unanimously held that the taxpayer, Mr Jayasinghe, was not entitled to exemption from taxation in the income years ended 30 June 2010 and 30 June 2011, as he was not a person who held an office in an international organisation within the meaning of s 6(1)(d)(i) of the International Organisations (Privileges…

GST: SAM 2017/D1 – Replacement Simplified Accounting Method for eligible food retailers that sets a proportion of GST-free and taxable food acquisitions and sales – draft Legislative Instrument released for comment

On Wed 9.8.2017, the ATO released Draft SAM 2017/D1 – GST: Simplified Accounting Methods Determination 2017 for Food Retailers – Business Norms, Stock Purchases and Snapshot Methods. This is made under s123-5(1) of the GST Act (providing for simplified methods of accounting). It allows eligible food retailers a sampled method of calculating their net GST by…

NSW payroll tax: Knight Watch Security Services Pty Ltd v Chief Comr of State Revenue – multiple parties liable in ‘chain of on-supply’ of labour – Commissioner’s assessment of taxpayer upheld (closest to the ‘ultimate client’) – it did not have to be the party paying the actual security guard

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has confirmed payroll tax assessments issued under the employment agency provisions of the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW). The taxpayer operated a security services business, part of which involved the provision of security guards to clients. The taxpayer employed its own security staff and also engaged sub-contractors to obtain…

NSW payroll tax: Chief Comr of State Revenue v Smeaton Grange Holdings Pty Ltd – controlling persons disclaimer of benefits as a beneficiary of 2 discretionary trusts, expressed to have effect from the creation of the trusts, were not effective retrospectively against this third party, to defeat the grouped assessments

The NSW Court of Appeal has allowed the Comr of State Revenue’s appeal and overturned a Supreme Court decision that a retrospective disclaimer by a beneficiary of his rights under a discretionary trust meant that the trust was not grouped, for payroll tax purposes, with other entities controlled by the beneficiary: A company had failed…

DCT v Arora – Director penalty notices for $1.9m upheld – it did not matter that the liquidator might pay, that he’d tried to get finance (not ‘reasonable steps’) or illness and marriage breakdown from audit etc (not ‘unreasonable to expect [him] to take part in the management’)

The Supreme Court of NSW has entered judgment for a Deputy Commissioner for $1.9 million against a director of 2 companies for unpaid withholding tax and SGC. The defendant was the director of 2 companies. The companies had withheld amounts from salary, wages and other payments which were not remitted to the ATO. SGC assessments…

Academy Cleaning & Security Pty Ltd v DCT – Contract for the purchase of future property: ’emission units’ of ‘sequestered carbon’ – No deduction for unpaid 85% balance of purchase price after Australia’s emissions trading scheme did not proceed

The Federal Court has dismissed a taxpayer’s appeal and held that its claimed deduction of $420,000 for the purchase of “sequestered carbon” was not deductible. The Court also held that the Commissioner’s Part IVA determination was “correct and inevitable on the evidence”. On 29 June 2009, the taxpayer, which provided security and cleaning services under contacts, entered…

USA signs CbC report exchange Arrangement with Australia – joining 18 others including Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa

The US and Australia signed a bilateral Competent Authority Arrangement on 1 August 2017 to exchange Country-by-Country (CbC) Reports. The arrangement is expected to apply for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2016. As at 3 August 2017, the US has such arrangements with 19 countries including Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Netherlands, New Zealand, South…