The Government has released a Discussion Paper seeking comments on its proposal to introduce a $2,000 cap on tax deduction claims for work-related self-education expenses per person from 1 July 2014. The proposal was announced by the Treasurer on 13 April 2013 “as part of a package of reforms to make a down-payment on the National Plan for School…
The High Court has dismissed the Commissioner’s application for special leave to appeal against the decision of the Full Federal Court in FCT v Crown Insurance Services Ltd [2012] FCAFC 153. The Full Federal Court had dismissed the Commissioner’s appeal from a 2011 AAT decision that held that insurance premium income derived by a non-resident…
On 12 June 2013, the Government released Advancing Australia as a Digital Economy: Update to the National Digital Economy Strategy. A copy of the update is available on the National Broadband Network website. As part of this process, the Government announced that it would review the policy settings around employee share schemes (ESS). Treasury announced on Tues…
The Government Mon 3.6.2013, released a Discussion Paper on Preventing dividend washing. In the 2013-14 Federal Budget on 14 May 2013, the Government announced reforms to close, with effect from 1 July 2013, a loophole it said currently enabled sophisticated investors to engage in so-called “dividend washing”. The Government said this was a process that allowed sophisticated investors to…
The High Court has refused applications by the taxpayer for special leave to appeal against the decisions of the Full Federal Court in Weeks v FCT [2013] FCAFC 2 and Weeks v FCT and Commonwealth of Australia [2013] FCAFC 78. In the first case, the Court had confirmed that a termination payment made to the…
A full court of the High Court on Wed 5.6.2013, unanimously dismissed the appeallant’s appeal against his conviction in the NSW Supreme Court for conspiring to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth, contrary to s 135.4(5) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The appeallant was charged with 2 counts of conspiracy, both of which arose out…
The Government announced on Wed 12.6.2013, that it will undertake [amongst other things] a review into employee share schemes (ESS) to help address the barriers faced by start-up companies in attracting and retaining staff. The ESS review will consider what measures could help address the barriers faced by start-up companies, such as: developing guidance to…
The new Tax and Transfer Policy Institute was launched on Thur 27.6.2013, at the Australian National University’s Crawford School. The Institute was established through a $3m grant from the Federal Government to encourage a better understanding of Australia’s tax and transfer systems. It will work collaboratively and inclusively with other institutions and think tanks, and…
The High Court has dismissed the taxpayers’ applications for special leave to appeal against the decision of the Qld Court of Appeal in Reardon & Anor v DCT [2013] QCA 46. The Court of Appeal had by majority upheld the decision of the court at first instance to grant summary judgment against 2 directors for…
The Assistant Treasurer says the Government will prevent dividend washing by inserting a specific integrity rule in the tax law. Mr Bradbury said that in developing the approach, the Government had worked with the business community, in particular with the Australian Financial Markets Association, the Australian Custodial Services Association, the Financial Services Council and the…