The taxpayer has lodged an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court against the decision of the Full Federal Court in Mills v FCT [2011] FCAFC 158. The Full Federal Court had (by majority) confirmed that the “imputation benefit” scheme provisions in s 177EA of the ITAA 1936 applied to cancel franking…
The Commissioner has appealed to the Federal Court against the decision in AAT Case [2011] AATA 847, Re Crown Insurance Services Ltd and FCT. The AAT had held that an insurance company (the taxpayer) incorporated in Vanuatu neither carried on a business in Australia nor had its central management and control in Australia, and therefore,…
The AAT has ruled that a taxpayer failed the maximum net asset value test for the purposes of accessing the CGT small business concessions in relation to a capital gain of over $6m made by a family trust to which he was presently entitled from the trust’s sale of units in related unit trusts. The…
The Federal Court has refused a taxpayer an extension of time to file and serve a notice of appeal against the 2008 decision of Heerey J in Pre Paid Professional Administration Ltd v DCT (2008) 73 ATR 779. Heerey J had held that amounts held by the taxpayer were assessable administration fees and were not…
A taxpayer has managed to satisfy the AAT that he incurred expenditure in acquiring software under licence. The taxpayer claimed deductions for the software licence fees in the 2004 and 2005 income years. The fees, which totalled just over $305,000, were paid to a resident of South Africa. The Commissioner disallowed the deductions on the…
The AAT has affirmed a 75% shortfall penalty imposed on 2 taxpayers in relation to failing to lodge their income tax returns on time for the 2005 income tax year. The taxpayers were an individual and a company which had the individual as its sole director and secretary. For the year ended 30 June 2005,…
The AAT has mostly affirmed the Commissioner’s decision that losses and outgoings a taxpayer incurred in earning personal services income (PSI) were not allowable deductions as there was not enough substantiation. The taxpayer provided horticultural advice to a business through a company. The Tribunal previously concluded in AAT Case [2009] AATA 906 that the income…
A taxpayer whose objections against notices of assessment for over $220,000 were ruled invalid by the Commissioner on the basis that he was bankrupt at the time and therefore had no standing to object to them, has been unsuccessful in his application to the Federal Court to appeal against the Commissioner’s decision. Although the taxpayer…
The Federal Court has held damages received by a taxpayer were not assessable income as they were held in trust for a company in relation to the 2005 income year. However, the Court dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal in relation to trust distributions received from a non-resident trust for the 2006 income year, but reduced the…
In December 2011, the Government released draft legislation for the new Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), and a discussion paper to gather community feedback on elements of a new reporting framework for charities. Public consultation meetings are scheduled to be held around Australia commencing on 30 January 2012 in Brisbane and concluding on 13…