Category Archives: Tax Month – March 2015

Engineering Manager and FCT – Individual returning to Australia mid-year was not resident for the whole year – no question of law (really?) [38]

The ATO [on Mon 2.3.2015] issued a Decision Impact Statement on The Engineering Manager and FCT [2014] AATA 969. In that case, the AAT held that an engineer who returned to Australia in April 2011 after working overseas since 2004, was not a resident of Australia for the whole of the 2011 year. The ATO said the…

Rio Tinto Services Ltd v FCT – appeal from decision that taxpayer not entitled to input tax credits to build and maintain mining accommodation [37]

The taxpayer has appealed to the Full Federal Court against the decision in Rio Tinto Services Ltd v FCT [2015] FCA 94. The Federal Court had dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal concerning its entitlement to input tax credits (ITCs) for certain acquisitions relating to mining accommodation (employee/contractor housing) in WA. [LTN 50, 16/3/15] FJM Note As…

Yazbek v FC of T – taxpayer discontinues his appeal [36]

The taxpayer has discontinued his appeal to the Federal Court against the AAT’s decision in Yazbek v FC of T [2014] AATA 423; 2014 ATC ¶10-369. The case concerned the derivation of dividend income and whether it was “paid” to the taxpayers for purposes of s 44 of the ITAA 1936. [IT 10/3/15] [LTN 47,…

*Financial Synergy Holdings Pty Ltd v FCT – ‘time of acquisition’ for consolidation purposes of deemed pre-CGT asset 19 September 1985 [35]

The taxpayer has appealed to the Full Federal Court against the decision in Financial Synergy Holdings Pty Ltd v FCT [2015] FCA 53. In that case, the Federal Court held that for the purposes of determining the “allocable cost amount” (or cost base) of an asset that came to be owned by a consolidated group…

*R v Dickson (No 18) – Individual sentenced to 11 years for conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth of $135m through false depreciation claims [34]

An individual, who was found guilty under s 135.4(5) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 of conspiracy to dishonestly cause a loss or risk of loss to the Commonwealth of potentially some id=”mce_marker”35m (as well as conspiracy to deal with the actual proceeds of crime from the conspiracy of id=”mce_marker”m), has been sentenced to imprisonment for…

*Gadens Lawyers Sydney Pty Ltd v Symond – Taxpayer’s damages for negligent advice re tax liability from company restructure reduced [33]

In a decision handed down on Tue 17.3.2015, the NSW Court of Appeal has partly allowed an appeal and has reduced the amount of damages awarded to the respondent, Mr John Symond (founder of “Aussie Home Loans”), by just over id=”mce_marker”m after finding that the primary judge had erred in including in his calculations of the…

Healy v DCT – Court rules DPN effectively served on company director by post to the address listed in ASIC records [32]

The WA Court of Appeal has dismissed a taxpayer’s appeal against his arguments about claimed non-effective service of a DPN (director’s penalty notice). A company director was served with a DPN under s 222AOE of the ITAA 1936. The DPN was enclosed in a prepaid letter sent from the ATO in Canberra on 23 August 2006 and the…

DCT v Aitken – Directors’ Penalty Notice (DPN) liability upheld [31]

The District Court of WA has upheld a director’s penalty notice (DPN) issued to the director of a failed company. The company had failed to meet its obligations to remit withholding tax to the Commissioner over a 7-month period between 1 July 2009 and 31 March 2011. The Court said the director did not give or call any evidence…

Re Rigoli and FCT – AAT again finds that taxpayer failed to discharge onus [30]

Following the decision in Rigoli v FCT [2014] FCAFC 29, in which the Full Federal Court unanimously confirmed that the taxpayer had failed to discharge the burden of proving that the default assessments issued to him, under s 167 of the ITAA 1936, for the 1994 to 2001 income years were excessive, the AAT on remittal…

*Re Ting and FCT – Teacher denied deduction for post-graduate studies in management [29]

The AAT has denied a taxpayer’s deduction claim for “work related self-education expenses” under s 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 for the 2013 income year. The taxpayer was employed on a full-time basis as a teacher at a secondary college. He was also enrolled as a part-time student in the then “Postgraduate Diploma in Management” at…