Class Rulings: CR 2018/4-6 – Govt Bonds exchanged for Chess Depository Instruments, scrip for scrip roll-over relief confirmed for merger, scrip for scrip relief also available for Tatts’ merger with Tabcorp in Dec 2017

Tax Month - January 2018

Three Class Rulings were released by the ATO on Wed 24.1.2018: CR 2018/4 – Australian Government Bond holders electing to exchange bonds for CHESS Depository Interests (CDIs). It states that CGT event H2 will occur when a bondholder chooses to exchange a bond for a CDI in that bond, but that there will be no…

PCG 2018/1 – Thin cap rules for outward investing Australian bank’s – calculating their ‘adjusted average equity capital’

Tax Month - January 2018

The Commissioner released Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2018/1, on Wed 24.1.2018. It explains how the ATO will administer s820-300(3) of the ITAA 1997 (this is the thin capitalisation rule for outward investing banks/ADI’s and sits within Subdiv 820-D, which is the thin cap rules for outward investing entities). This section (reproduced below): Applies to outward investing banks…

A much simpler super system – Bob’s ‘15% – 15% – 0% system’ – take a look inside

Tax Month - February 2017

On Thursday 25 January 2018, the Tax Institute’s Senior Tax Counsel: Mr Bob Deutsch proposed a remedy to the unutterable complexity of Australia’s superannuation system. This was in the Institute’s weekly ‘Tax Vine’ publication #2, 25 January 2018. He proposes, what he calls a “15%, 15%, 0%” system for, respectively, contributions tax, earnings tax and employee…

De Figueiredo v CofT – Receipt of $3.6m Glencore shares was assessable as a non-contingent financial benefit on dismantling a deferred remuneration scheme for an IPO

Tax Month - January 2018

The AAT has found that a taxpayer’s assessable income, for the year ended 30 June 2011, includes the amount of $3,610,467 million, being the value of 16 shares, in a new holding company: Glencore International PLC. This was so, because the taxpayer exchanged his ‘Profit Participation Units’, in a subsidiary, as part of the float of the…

GST administration annual performance report 2016–17 by ATO – $59.8m collected/4.3% increase; low value goods; digital economy & currency; sharing economy (Uber); fewer objections; more debt

Tax Month - January 2018

On 25 January 2018 (one day before Australia Day), the Deputy Commissioner – Indirect Taxation: Tim Dyce, presented the Commissioner’s ‘GST administration annual performance report for 2016–17’ and uploaded the summary set out below. The principal points were as follows. The ATO’s collections growth this year, while not quite as high as last year, but…

A & A Property Developers v MCCA Asset Management Ltd – inserting merely ‘GST’ in the box (instead of ‘plus GST’) was sufficient to get the purchaser of the land to pay the vendor extra for its GST liability – Victorian Court of Appeal

Tax Month - January 2018

In December 2017 the Victorian Court of Appeal allowed the appeal brought by the vendor in A & A Property Developers Pty Ltd v MCCA Asset Management Ltd as trustee for the MCCA Property Fund [2017] VSCA 365. The Court found that the insertion of the words “GST”, rather than “plus GST”, in the Particulars of Sale,…

ACN 154 520 199 Pty Ltd v CofT – AAT orders ATO to produce internal advices regarding the GST-free status of supplies of gold bullion that was ‘re-refined’

Tax Month - January 2018

The AAT has directed that the Commissioner produce any ‘internal legal advice’ that bore on the question of whether it was reasonably arguable that the taxpayer’s supplies of gold bullion were GST-free or input taxed. The AAT made this order under s37(2) of the AAT Act, on the basis that it was “of the opinion…

ACNC recommends changes to its governing legislation, including: register to show reasons for revocation; minimum of 3 responsible persons; post registration protection for charities assets

Tax Month - January 2018

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has released its submission to the government review of the ACNC legislation. The Commission made a number of recommendations to be considered by the review panel, including: Whether measures could be introduced at the Commonwealth level to protect a charity’s accumulated charitable income and assets after its ACNC…

ATO extends due date for 2016–17 SMSF returns to 30 June 2018 to cater for all the changes resulting from the $1.6m ‘transfer balance cap’ measures

Tax Month - January 2018

On 19 January 2018, the ATO announced that it will extend the due date for lodgment of self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) annual returns for 2016–17 to 30 June 2018. This is the first financial year that the $1.6m ‘transfer balance cap’ (and related) measures came into operation – that is, from 1 July 2017. SMSF’s in particular, have important…