We have reported that there has been a lot of activity around the allocation of profits within professional firms, in the last 6 months (December 2017 to May 2018). [See Related TT Article] In the light of this, we thought it worth surveying the types of structures, and some of the history, that gets us to the…
Whistleblowing and leaks – in the public interest (or not): an American view The following is an extract from an article by Michael Walzer, entitled ‘Just and Unjust Leaks’, which was published in the ‘Foreign Affairs’ publication (March/April 2018; Volume 97, Number 2; www.foreignaffairs.com). Abstract: This US insight comes while the Australian Bill, for…
STAPLED STRUCTURES Details of integrity package March 2018 [Australian Government – Treasury: Measures announced 27 March 2018, Details of Measures; Related TT Tax Month Article] OVERVIEW A stapled structure is an arrangement where two or more entities that are commonly owned (at least one of which is a trust) are bound together, such that they…
The Senate – Economics Legislation Committee Committee’s Report – Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2017 [TT Tax Month article: Exposure Draft of Bill; Introduction of Bill; Committee’s Report] Chapter 2 – Content of the Bill (extract) – a useful summary Harmonising whistleblower regimes 2.1 The current protections in the Corporations Act 2001 (the Corporations Act) cover a current…
The Government announced draft legislation for a ‘tax debt transparency’ (disclosure) measure on 11 January 2018, for consultation purposes (see related Tax Month article). On the same day, ATO uploaded the following article, seeking simultaneous consultation on its proposed administration of this proposed measure (with suitable disclaimers about this only being proposed administration of a…
On 13 December 2017, the Australian office of the international law firm: Ashurst, put out the following briefing. The authors were: George Cooper, Partner; James Clarke, Senior Associate; and Lucy Cameron, Graduate. What you need to know On 7 December 2017, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2017 was tabled in Parliament. The Bill…
The Full Federal Court handed down its judgement in Lewski v Commissioner of Taxation [2017] FCAFC 145 on 18 September 2017, overturning the AAT’s decision, in : Re TVKS and FCT [2016] AATA 1010. The Court set aside the Commissioner’s amended assessments to Mrs Lewski of $10.1m in the 2006 year and $3.1m in the 2007 year. There were…
Introduction On April 6th 2016 the High Court handed down a 3-2 majority decision holding, inter alia, that a trustee had validly exercised a power to “advance” and “apply” trust capital, or income, by creating a debt, enforceable at law, that reflected the increase in value of the main asset of the trust, at the…
Tax and settlements Dr Philip Bender, barrister, List A Barristers Introduction This paper looks at the impacts of Federal taxes on litigation settlements. The main areas covered by the paper are: Goods and Services Tax (GST) and settlements; Income tax (including capital gains tax) and settlements; and Superannuation death benefits. GST and settlements In order…
Paradise Papers: Apple moves to Jersey in new tax loophole Article from the Australian Financial Review, by Neil Chenoweth; dated 7 November 2017. Apple swapped one tax haven for another from Ireland to Jersey, the Paradise Papers reveal. Apple, the world’s biggest company, swapped one tax haven for another, shifting the management of its Irish subsidiaries…