APRA has written to locally incorporated banks and insurers to confirm its position in relation to certain tax event call provisions in capital instruments under Basel III. APRA noted that Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital instruments may only be callable at the initiative of the issuer within the first 5 years of issuance as a…
The ATO says it is increasing its focus on rental property deductions. It says common errors made by rental property owners include: claiming rental deductions for properties not genuinely available for rent; incorrectly claiming deductions for properties only available for rent part of the year such as a holiday home; incorrectly claiming structural improvement costs…
The ATO says it will soon commence the next phase of its dividend washing compliance program by issuing letters to 500 taxpayers who did not respond to the ATO’s initial letters, and up to 1,500 other taxpayers who updated data analysis suggests may have entered into a dividend washing transaction. The letters will ask those taxpayers to…
On 8 August 2014, the Commissioner delivered an address to the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) 12th National Small Business Summit 2014 held in Melbourne. Mr Jordan discussed how the ATO can reduce tax administration burdens and simplify interactions with the ATO to give small businesses the space to focus on running and growing their businesses.…
The ATO on Wed 27.8.2014, issued the following Class Rulings: CR 2014/67: Essential Water Mix and Match Program; CR 2014/68: Avant Mutual Group Limited – Retirement Reward Dividend; and CR 2014/69: FBT: employers who use the TomTom Telematics system for car log book and odometer records. [LTN 165, 27/8/14]
The ATO says it has on Wed 20.8.2014, delivered guidance on the tax treatment of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies in time for people to complete their 2013-14 income tax returns. The guidance includes Draft Taxation Determinations and a Draft GST Ruling (see below). The ATO has also issued a Guidance Paper. Under its guidance, the…
This Draft Ruling, released Wed 13.8.2014, outlines the special conditions that various entities listed in Div 50 of the ITAA 1997 (mostly not-for-profit entities) must satisfy for their ordinary and statutory income to be exempt from income tax. It considers 2 of the special conditions that the entities must satisfy, namely: that the entity must comply…
The ATO on Fri 1.8.2014, released Decision Impact Statements on AAT Case [2014] AATA 335, Re Dempsey and FCT – In this case, the AAT allowed the taxpayer’s objection to amended assessments issued to him for the 2009 and 2010 income years after finding the taxpayer was not a “resident” of Australia as that term…
The ATO has released a Decision Impact Statement on the NSW Court of Appeal’s decision in FCT v Moodie [2014] NSWCA 59. In that case, the Court of Appeal dismissed the Commissioner’s appeal and held that he should pay a liquidator’s costs in relation to a matter where a claim was made by the liquidator…
The ATO has released a Decision Impact Statement on the Full Federal Court decision in FCT v Hunger Project Australia[2014] FCAFC 69. The Full Federal Court decision dismissed the Commissioner’s appeal and held that Hunger Project Australia (HPA) is a public benevolent institution (PBI) for FBT purposes even though it was predominately engaged in fund…