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…
A surgeon based in Melbourne, who spent about 70% of his time working as a locum, in NSW hospitals, has been denied a deduction for car and meal expenses incurred while travelling to and working in those hospitals. The taxpayer was an assistant surgeon based in Melbourne. In the 2015-16 income year, he was also…
Treasury has released the consultation paper concerning its review of the insolvent trading “safe harbour”. The safe harbour was established under the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No 2) Act 2017 (as part of the Government’s so called National Innovation and Science Agenda). It provides protection for company directors from personal liability for insolvent trading if…
The Industry Research and Development Amendment (Industry Innovation and Science Australia) Bill 2021was passed unamended by Federal Parliament on 30 August 2021. It will rename the independent statutory board currently known as “Innovation and Science Australia” (“ISA”) to “Industry Innovation and Science Australia” (“IISA”) and will make the necessary consequential amendments (ie to other Acts). [LTN 170, 3/9/21]…
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No 6) Bill 2021was passed by Parliament without amendments on 2 September 2021 and received Royal Assent on 13 September 2021, as Act On 111 of 2021. The Bill contains amendments to: make refunds of large-scale electricity generation shortfall charges non-assessable non-exempt; remove the requirement for certain super funds to provide…
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No 2) Bill 2021 passed both houses of Parliament on 2/9/21 and received Royal Assent on 13/9/21 as Act No. 110 of 2021. This followed amendments made in the Senate. The Bill will implement previously announced changes to the deductible gift recipients (DGR) and Offshore Banking Units (OBU) rules. The…
The Treasurer, on Thursday 30.9.2021, released the Final Budget Outcome for 2020-21 showing a Budget cash deficit of $134.2 billion for 2020-21, representing a $26.8 billion improvement on the $161bn deficit estimated in the May 2021 Budget. This improvement was the result of higher total receipts by $20.1 billion and lower total payments by $6.7 billion. Net debt was…
The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has published a “Budget explainer” on bracket creep and its fiscal impact, noting that the Government faces a trade-off between returning bracket creep to taxpayers and allowing bracket creep to reduce debt faster. The report notes that Commonwealth net debt is expected to peak at 40.9% of GDP in 2024-25 with…
The Commonwealth and ACT governments on Thursday 30.9.2021, jointly announced a further package of COVID-19 grants for small and medium-sized businesses through until mid-October, at which point the ACT is expected to reach 80% vaccination. An additional ACT COVID-19 Business Grant Extension payment of $10,000 will be made available for all employing businesses (and $3,750 for non-employing…
The Commonwealth and Victorian governments have announced a funding package of up to $2.27bn on Thur 30.9.2021, which will support Victorian businesses as the state embarks on its roadmap to re-opening. Victoria is expected to reach a 70% vaccination rate around 26 October, and 80% by 5 November 2021. The funding includes: an automatic Business Costs Assistance Program grants…