Tax Laws Amendment (Norfolk Island CGT Exemption) Bill 2016 – passed the Senate on 3 March 2016 and obtained Royal Assent on 18.3.16 as Act No 20 of 2016. It amends the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to exempt assets held by Norfolk Island residents before 24 October 2015 from CGT. This has to do with changing the grandfathering of…
The Taxation and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No 1) Bill 2016 was passed by the House of Reps without amendment, on Thursday 3.3.2016. The Bill proposes amendments re GST treatment of digital products and other services and the GST treatment of cross-border transactions between businesses (in the process changing the definition of ‘present establishment’ in Australia).…
A Self Managed Superannuation Fund (‘SMSF’), which has investments in collectables or personal-use assets that were acquired before 1 July 2011, has to meet the requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SISR) for these assets. Assets considered collectables and personal-use assets include things like artwork, jewellery, antiques, vehicles, boats and wine. Investments in such items must be made…
A notice has been gazetted specifying the repayment incomes and repayment rates for the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) for the 2016-17 financial year. The details are: HELP repayment thresholds and rates 2016-17 For repayment income in the range Percentage rate to be applied to repayment income Below $54,870 Nil $54,870 to $61,120 4% $61,121 to $67,369…
The OECD has released a discussion draft that includes proposals for changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention concerning the treaty residence of pension funds. Paragraph 12 of the final version of the Report on Action 6 of the BEPS Action Plan (Preventing the Granting of Treaty Benefits in Inappropriate Circumstances) indicates that: Additional work will also…
The superannuation rates and caps that are indexed, for 2016/17, can be calculated by adjusting them by the recently released AWOTE (Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings) index figures. They are as follows. CONTRIBUTIONS CAPS: The general concessional contributions cap is $30,000 for 2016-17 (unchanged from 2015-16). Note the higher temporary concessional cap of $35,000 (not…
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Proceeds of Crime and Other Measures) Bill 2015 , on Monday 29.2.2016, received Royal Assent as Act No 15 of 2016. It contains a range of measures to improve and clarify Commonwealth criminal justice arrangements, including amending the Criminal Code to insert 2 new offences of false dealing with accounting documents eg re…
T a x T e c h n i c a l – M o n t h l y N e w s – March 2016 Developments – This is a collection of developments in Australian tax law and practice that occurred in March 2016 which aims to be relevant to tax practitioners.[i] Compiled By F John…