Category Archives: Tax Month – March 2014

*ATS Pacific Pty Ltd v FCT – GST: Supplies to non-resident travel agents fully taxable – no GST-free element for ‘arranging’ services to foreign travel agent [23]

The Full Federal Court has unanimously upheld the Commissioner’s argument that a supply made by an Australian inbound tour operator to overseas customers was fully subject to GST. At first instance, the Federal Court held that the supply of a promise to provide travel products (such as hotel rooms, airport transfers etc) to non-resident tourists…

*Rigoli v FCT – Onus of showing assessments excessive not discharged by accepting FCT’s calculation but for depreciation – remitted back to AAT [22]

A taxpayer has been unsuccessful before the Full Federal Court in a matter concerning default assessments that had been issued under s 167 of the ITAA 1936 for the 1994 to 2001 income years. In an earlier decision, the Federal Court had remitted the matter to the AAT for redetermination. The Federal Court held the taxpayer…

*Chemical Trustee Limited v DCT – Wickenby: taxpayer loses because estoppel, res judicata and abuse of process claims rejected [21]

The Full Federal Court has upheld a decision giving judgment to a Deputy Commissioner for unpaid income tax, together with the shortfall interest charge and general interest charge, totalling over $28m. [The matter relates to ongoing litigation arising under Project Wickenby in relation to transactions involving the Hua Wang Bank and others.] These proceedings (the…

*Treasurer will “explore” lowering GST-free import threshold [20]

The Treasurer has agreed to a request from the States collectively to further explore options around lowering the value at which GST is applied to the importation of goods into Australia. The threshold is currently id=”mce_marker”,000. The Treasurer has also proposed an asset recycling initiative, which he said “could see the Commonwealth offer substantial financial…

*Minerals Exploration Development Incentive – Discussion Paper released [19]

The Government on Thur 13.3.2014, released for consultation a Discussion Paper – Exploration Development Incentive: Policy Design. This follows the Government’s election commitment to introduce an Exploration Development Incentive, which will provide incentives for greenfields minerals exploration activity, with a focus on the small exploration sector. The Paper outlines and seeks feedback on possible implementation arrangements…

AUSTRAC signs finance intelligence exchange agreement with Vatican City [18]

The Government has announced that AUSTRAC has signed an agreement to share financial intelligence with the Vatican City State. “Criminals involved in money laundering, terrorism, tax evasion, drug trafficking and other serious crimes do not respect borders, so cooperation is needed between financial intelligence units and law enforcement in a range of countries,” said Minister…

*Tax hurdles for small businesses to be reviewed by the Board of Taxation by 31 August 2014 (in time to feed into the ‘white paper’ on tax reform) [17]

The Government has asked the Board of Taxation to conduct review to identify features in the tax system that are hindering or preventing small businesses from reaching their commercial goals. In making the announcement on Fri 28.3.2014, the Government said it was “fully committed” to the Tax White Paper process and that the Board’s “review…

*‘Statutory remedial power’ being investigated by Treasury, ATO and Private Sector working group – Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer [16]

Speaking on the final day of the Tax Institute National Conference on Fri 28.3.2014, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Steven Ciobo, revealed that Treasury and the ATO have established a Working Group with representatives of the private sector to look at creating a power for the Tax Commissioner to resolve unintended and anomalous outcomes, known…

*Offshore voluntary disclosure initiative – ATO announcement [15]

The ATO on Thur 27.3.2014, launched “Project DO IT: Disclose Offshore Income Today” in a bid to urge taxpayers with offshore assets to declare their interest ahead of a global crackdown on international tax havens. The ATO said its offshore voluntary disclosure initiative (OVDI) provides a last chance opportunity for those who haven’t declared their…

*Anti-dividend washing legislation – draft released [14]

The Government on Mon 24.3.2014, released for public comment draft legislation to amend the income tax law to prevent dividend washing. The Government announced it would proceed with this measure on 6 November 2013, as part of its consideration of the announced but not enacted measures of the former Government. Dividend washing (also referred to as distribution…