The Federal Court has made declarations that Colonial First State Investments Limited (CFSIL), as trustee of the Colonial FirstChoice Fund, made false or misleading representations to members in relation to MySuper. CFSIL’s conduct was the subject of a case study by the Banking Royal Commission. The Court declared that on at least 12,978 occasions, CFSIL made misleading…
The ATO has issued a worksheet aimed at first-time share and Exchange Traded Funds (“ETF”) investors. The ATO states that the growth of micro-investment platforms has helped a “record number of new investors enter the market”. The release is mostly targeted at ETFs, which the ATO states is an increasingly popular investment option among “millennials”. ETFs provide…
Class Ruling CR 2021/58, issued on Wed 1.9.2021, considers the tax treatment of amounts paid to Tennis Australia officials for participating in non-professional tennis tournaments. The ATO notes that historically (presumably pre-COVID-19), Tennis Australia engaged over 500 officials per year. The average amount paid each year to an official was $2,566 for around 21 days…
The taxpayer has discontinued his appeal to the Federal Court from the AAT decision in Joubert and FCT [2020] AATA 2645. The Tribunal decision, which now stands, held that a taxpayer who moved to Singapore for work, but who regularly and frequently returned to Australia to visit his family, remained a tax resident of Australia. TAXATION – residency…
The High Court has dismissed the taxpayer’s application for special leave to appeal from the decision of the Full Federal Court in Coal of Queensland Pty Ltd v Innovation and Science Australia [2021] FCAFC 54. The Full Federal Court decision, which now stands, had upheld an AAT decision that certain activities designed to make extracting coal from particular deposits…
On 28.9.21, the Australian Federal Police, ATO and ASIC issued a joint media release, reporting that a man, from Sydney’s inner west, will appear before Downing Centre Local Court, to face charges in relation to a $20m fraud and money laundering operation. The case is part of Operation Bordelon, a Serious Financial Crime Taskforce joint…
The ATO has issued a release on 3 convictions for illegal phoenix operations. The 3 men were alleged to have established multiple labour hire companies to provide workers to vineyards, fruit and vegetable growers, and meat processers around South Australia and in Queensland. The companies failed to remit both GST and PAYG withholding to the ATO, despite…
The AAT has dismissed an application for review of an objection decision where the taxpayer, despite having his objection allowed in full, was still not happy with the outcome. In the 2019 income year, the taxpayer received a lump sum compensation payment in settlement of a Comcare claim. The payment reflected 3 years of compensation.…
A company was not entitled to the cash flow boost in respect of an amount paid to its sole director because it entered into a scheme to increase its entitlement to the cash flow boost. The company’s 2 shareholders (Mr and Mrs K) decided in late March 2020 to pay Mrs K (its sole director) $25,000 remuneration.…
The AAT has refused to waive a tax debt even though payment of the debt would cause a business consultant serious hardship. The taxpayer was the CEO of a former listed public company (NS) which operated a business as a satellite communications provider. The company collapsed, however, and eventually went into liquidation. The taxpayer had…