Coventry v CofT – DFAT employee’s overseas earnings exempt from Australian tax, under s23AG, because diplomatic immunity was not ‘the only’ reason for no Pakistani tax (and draft DIS)

Tax Month - February 2018

On 12 January 2018, the AAT has decided that a DFAT employee’s earnings while working in Pakistan were exempt under s 23AG of the ITAA 1936. This was because there was a Development Agreement, that gave the earnings exemption from Pakistani tax. I will explain why. Section 23AG(1) exempts, from Australian tax, any foreign earnings derived by…

EU proposing to ‘go it alone’, in taxing ‘digital’ services, whilst waiting for OECD/G20 multi-lateral initiatives to tax these services

Tax Month - March 2018

On 21.3.18, the European Commission proposed new rules to tax digital business activities – ‘going it alone’, ahead of any consensus from the OECD/G20. In response to this, the Australian Treasurer was reported as saying: ‘that Australia, like other G20 nations, might go it alone with measures to tax digital economy companies, like Uber, because…