Treasury on Thur 30.1.2014, launched the Financial System Inquiry website. The Inquiry is charged with examining how the financial system could be positioned to best meet Australia’s evolving needs and support Australia’s economic growth. The Treasurer had in December 2013 announced the final terms of reference of the Inquiry (see last month’s edition). Interested stakeholders can now…
Treasury on Thur 30.1.2014, released the Tax Expenditures Statement 2013, dated January 2014. The 2013 Tax Expenditures Statement lists 355 tax expenditures (eg tax exemptions, deductions or offsets, concessional tax rates and deferrals of tax liability) provided to taxpayers by the Australian Government and, where possible, the estimated value or order of magnitude of the benefit to…
The Government on Friday 24.1.14 announced that the Australian Valuation Office (AVO) will close and will cease to provide services by 30 June 2014. [The Tax Office manages the business operations of the AVO.] The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer Steven Ciobo said the AVO had become unsustainable and was expected to incur losses of up to…
At his address to the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland on Thur 23.1.2014, the Prime Minister spoke of the need for efficient smaller governments, profitable private businesses, and he also commented on Australia’s role as Chair of the G20 this year and what he would like see agreed on taxation in the globalised…
The CPI indexation factor, which is used for FBT purposes concerning remote area benefits (under ss 60 and 60AA of the FBTAA), for the December quarter 2013 increased 0.8 from the September 2013 quarter to 104.8. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said inflation was running at 2.7% through the year to 31 December 2013 (up from 2.2% through the year…
The Federal Government has granted a request from the National Commission of Audit to extend its reporting date for the phase one report by up to 2 weeks. The Government originally asked the group to deliver its recommendations in a short time frame by 31 January 2014. The Treasurer said the Commission has advised the Government that…
The Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO) has issued Revenue Ruling DA.026 (version 2) (Aggregation of dutiable transactions and the exception from aggregation for domestic builders where residential premises are to be constructed). The SRO says the Ruling has been updated to reflect the amendments made by the State Taxation Acts Amendment Act 2012 (Vic) to…
Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings on Thur 16.1.2014, announced that the State Election will be held on Saturday, 15 March 2014. The Premier has also terminated the ALP’s agreement with the Australian Greens and will withdraw the Greens commission as Ministers in the Tasmanian Government from Fri 17.1.2014. The Premier said the ALP will not enter into a…
The Federal Office of Best Practice regulation on Wed 15.1.2014, released its findings into post-implementation reviews conducted by Treasury into: The non-commercial loss provisions introduced following the 2009-10 Budget announcement. FBT: changes to the statutory formula method for determining the taxable value of car fringe benefits ie applying a single 20% rate. Better targeting concessions…
The Assistant Treasurer on Wed 29.1.2014, released for public consultation draft regulations and legislation (and accompany explanatory materials) to enact the Government’s announced reforms to the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regime. Senator Sinodinos said although the Government was supportive of the FoFA principles, the previous Government’s reforms were “unwieldy, burdensome and unnecessarily complex”. He…