The taxpayers in the following cases all applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court. Bywater Investments Ltd & Ors v FCT [2015] FCAFC 176. The Full Federal Court had dismissed the taxpayers’ appeals from 2 Federal Court decisions that had held the taxpayers were residents of Australia for tax purposes and were liable…
The ATO has set out its “Service Commitment” to taxpayers in resolving disputes in response to a recommendation made by the Inspector-General of Taxation. In this context, a dispute refers to an objection, a review by the AAT or an appeal to a Court. The ATO said it recognises that when disputes are not managed well, the…
The Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No 1) Bill 2016 was introduced into Parliament on 10 February 2016 to give effect (amongst other things) to the previously announced measure that reduces the GST duties of non-residents and gives ‘Australian-based business recipients’ more responsibility under the ‘reverse charge’ provisions in Div 84 (Schedule 2). These changes will…
The Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No 1) Bill 2016 was introduced into Parliament on 10 February 2016 to give effect (amongst other things) to the previously announced measure that GST should apply to overseas digital supplies, to Australian consumers. If the supply is made through an ‘electronic distribution platform’ the operator of that platform…
The Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No 1) Bill 2016 was introduced in the House of Reps on Wed 10.2.2016. It proposes the following amendments: Extending GST to digital products and other imported services – Schedule 1 amends the GST Act to ensure that digital products and other imported services supplied to Australian consumers by foreign entities…
A taxpayer has been successful before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in obtaining a marriage break-up transfer exemption from stamp duty under s 68 of the Duties Act 1997 (NSW). The taxpayer married Mr H in 2003. The couple occupied premises in Greenacre owned by Mr H. On 3 November 2011, the taxpayer and Mr H made an oral…
The ATO says it has completed a pilot trial with participating businesses to test and refine a methodology to determine Effective Taxes Borne (ETB) and its use in analysing the Australian and global tax performance of multinationals. According to the ATO, its pilot findings show ETB as an effective risk and compliance tool to help it identify…
The ATO has, on Tuesday 9.2.2016, released on its Legal Database a series of what till now have been internal ATO documents entitled “interpretation NOW!” (iNOW!). The documents (or “Episodes” as they are called) are an ATO Tax Counsel Network (TCN) initiative and aim to raise awareness about what courts are saying about statutory interpretation.…
interpretation NOW! goes public in January 2016 – in response to growing external interest. Find it under ‘miscellaneous papers’ in the ATO Legal Database. iNOW! is a Tax Counsel Network initiative to improve awareness about what courts are saying in this increasingly important field. iNOW! is not legal advice or a public ruling, nor is it a substitute for legal…
In a decision handed down on Mon 8.2.2016, the Appeal Panel of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal refused a taxpayer leave to appeal an earlier decision which had refused the primary production land tax exemption for bee-keeping. The Tribunal had affirmed land tax assessments after finding that the taxpayer’s use of the relevant land for…