Monthly Archives: March 2018

Edited versions of ‘private binding rulings’ now available on the ATO Legal database – to make them easier to find and search

On 12 Feb 2018, the ATO announced that edited versions, of Private Binding Rulings (EVs), are now available in the ATO Legal database (this produces a ‘search box’ and you can ‘refine search’ by ‘edited private advice’ to get all the EV’s on the subject matter for which you were searching). Moving them to the ATO…

PR 2018/1-3 – HSBC: ‘presently entitled’ share; Macquarie: interest deductibility; Macquarie: Capital protected loans and Div 247 effect on interest deductibility

The following Product Rulings were released by the ATO on Wed 14.2.2018: PR 2018/1 – Tax consequences of investing in the HSBC UCITS Common Contractual Fund. This ruling provides that the relationship between the fund manager and unit holders constitutes a trust and that the share of the net income of the trust to which…

TR 2018/2 – Record-keeping requirements: electronic records of transactions, elections and the like (revising 2005 ruling)

On 14 Feb 2018, the ATO issued Taxation Ruling TR 2018/2 on the record-keeping obligations of business taxpayers (individuals and companies) where records are kept in electronic form. The ruling contains a series of principles about electronic record-keeping. These principles are that: electronic records are recognised as documents for tax law purposes (Section 2B of…

ATO’s Statement on Corporate Tax Compliance – it assures is under control because of strengthened legislation (BEPS initiatives) and enhanced compliance efforts and focus

On 14 February 2018, the ATO issued a statement (on its website) seeking to assure taxpayers that it was well placed, after various ‘BEPS’ initiatives, to ensure that companies, including particularly big companies, were paying ‘appropriate’ amounts of Australian income tax. The ATO also wants to advise that it is already getting on top of…

Walsh v CofT – DPO issued against taxpayer set aside after he petitioned for his own bankruptcy (leading to a discharge of the tax debt)

The AAT has set aside a departure prohibition order (DPO), against a taxpayer, who had become bankrupt, as the DPO was no longer serving its purpose. The Commissioner issued assessments to the taxpayer/applicant totalling about $1.7m (for the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 years). They arose out of money transferred to Vanuatu and they alleged…

SMSF auditor in NSW – disqualified by ASIC for breach of auditor independence requirements

On 28.2.18, ASIC announced that had disqualified Robert Mark Taylor, of New South Wales, from being an approved self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditor for breaching fundamental independence requirements. ASIC found that Mr Taylor had breached the auditor independence requirements of APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants in auditing his own fund, the fund…

Superannuation rates and thresholds for 2018-19 – indexed by latest AWOTE figures from the ABS

On 22 February 2018, The Australian Bureau of Statistics released their Nov 2017 Average Weekly Earnings figures (ABS Catalogue no: 6302.0), which include those for ‘ordinary time earnings’ (AWOTE). This allows the 2018/19 superannuation related thresholds to be calculated, under Subdiv 960-M of the ITAA 1997. CONTRIBUTIONS CAPS: The concessional contributions cap is $25,000 for 2018-19…

AWU v BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd – Additional super guarantee contributions required – ‘additional hours’ and work on ‘public holidays’ within ‘ordinary time earnings’

The Federal Court has held that an employer (BlueScope) should have made contributions under the superannuation guarantee scheme in respect of the “additional hours” and “public holidays” components of employees’ salaries as they constituted ‘ordinary time earnings’. The agreements required employees to work additional hours and employees were in fact routinely called upon to work…