Yearly Archives: 2020

The mess that is Australia’s international tax rules – source, residence, permanent establishment (PE), Double Tax Agreements (DTA), Multi-lateral Instrument (MLI) system, double- Irish sandwiches, digital services taxes (DTS), Multi-national Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL), Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) and possibly (soon) the OECD’s ‘Phase 1’ new system

On Friday 31 January 2020, The Tax Insitute’s Bob Deutsch published his weekly ‘Senior Tax Counsel’s Report, in Edition 3 of TaxVine – titled: The International Tax Scene – could it get even messier? This is a marvellous overview of the layers of complexity, currently involved in Australia taxing (or attempting to tax) international income or…

APRA releases its ‘Policy’ and ‘Supervision’ Priorities documents for 2020 – which include a focus on APRA regulated superannuation funds

On Thursday 30 January 2020, APRA released its Policies Priorities and Supervision Priorities papers, with a Media Release to announce and summarise the thrust of these documents. They include a focus on APRA regulated superannuation funds. See below for the media release and likes to the APRA Priorities documents.

Commissioner relaxes his own secrecy restrictions, for deceased estates, by use of his ‘remedial power’

On 13 January 2020, a delegate of the Commissioner of Taxation: Louise Clarke, made a declaration under the Commissioner’s ‘Remedial Power’ deeming the secrecy provisions to be amended so as to allow deceased estate information to be given to the tax agent or lawyer of the Estate’s executor, administrator or their lawyers and on 29…

TPB information sheet on ‘Code of Conduct’ Item 9, requirement to take ‘reasonable care’ in ascertaining a client’s state of affairs’ – 2013 Information sheet updated to include 2 new examples covering the ‘black economy’

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has updated its Information Sheet: Reasonable care to ascertain a client’s state of affairs, information sheet, to include Examples 9 & 10 about the Black Economy. See below for details. [Tax Month – January 2020]       The TPB issued an ‘information sheet’: TPB(I) 17/2013, in 2013, to flesh out…

Global tax chiefs undertake unprecedented multi-country day of action to tackle international tax evasion – ATO post

On 24 January 2020, the ATO uploaded a post, entitled: ‘Global tax chiefs undertake unprecedented multi-country day of action to tackle international tax evasion’. It relates to coordinated action by the J5 nations to investigate a financial institution in Central America. See below, for further details. [Tax Month – January 2020]  

The Government’s 2018 announcement to allow ‘early release’ of superannuation to victims of family and domestic violence? – ‘Victim X’ asks: ‘where the bloody hell is it?’ because she needs it NOW

In November 2018, the then Minister for Women: Kelly O’Dwyer announced that her Government would move the amendment of the superannuation law (SISreg 6.19A) to allow the early release of superannuation, for victims of family and domestic violence (see related TT article). The then Assistant Tresaurer: Stuart Robert, also issued a Media Release. However, In…

ATO notice to tax agents – AUSkey closes in nine weeks (late March 2020) – ‘myGovID’ to be the default ‘log in’ from 25 January 2020 for tax agents login page

On 21 January 2019, the ATO posted an article advising that ‘AUSkey’ closes in nine weeks (late March) and ‘myGovID’ will become the default login option on the Online services for agents login page, from 25 January 2020. See below for the post. [Tax Month – January 2020]

NGFZ v CofT – AAT largely upholds ATO audit and asset betterment assessments rejecting, amongst other things, claims that amounts received were loans

On 25 Oct 2019, the AAT (McCabe DP), a couple have largely failed to satisfy the AAT that amounts assessed by the ATO were loans or loan repayments – in another “where did the money come from” case. See below for a summary of the case. [Tax Month – January 2020]

DCT v MWB Accountants – ATO fails to recover allegedly overpaid GST refunds from the tax agent [but note the Agent’s account of the events … ]

On 20 September 2019, the County Court of Victoria (Marks J) held that the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation was not entitled to be repaid overpaid GST refunds from a tax agent, who didn’t pass them on to its client. See below for a summary of the case. [Tax Month – January 2020]     [WARNING –…

Whitt v Clough Projects – Super contributions for offshore gas worker, “in accordance” with the SGC law, were limited to ‘maximum contribution base’ earnings (after which there is no SG charge)

On 20 December 2019, the Federal Circuit Court ruled that an offshore gas worker was only entitled to superannuation contributions under an industrial agreement up to the “maximum contribution base” in accordance with the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration)Act 1992 (SGAA). See below for a summary of the case. [Tax Month – January 2020]