The Stamp Duties (Off-the-plan apartments) Amendment Bill 2013 (SA) was introduced into the SA House of Assembly on 30 October 2013. The Bill proposes to amend the Stamp Duties Act 1923 (SA) to extend the stamp duty concession for apartments bought off-the-plan to include the inner metropolitan area as specified by the SA Government. The off-the-plan stamp…
The Qld Government has announced a plan to help open up the Galilee Basin to mining. To help lower upfront costs, the Qld Premier said the Government is “offering a ramp-up-to-royalty initiative whereby the Government will consider offering reduced royalties for an initial period of time”. The strategy, Galilee Basin Development StrategyNovember 2013, is available…
Pursuant to s 62TBA(7)(c) of the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW), the amount of $412,000 has been determined as the tax threshold for the 2014 NSW land tax year (up from $406,000 for the 2013 land tax year). Further, pursuant to s 62TBC(4) of the Act, $2,519,000 has been determined as the premium rate threshold for…
The Payroll Tax Amendment Bill 2013 (No 2) (ACT) has passed all stages without amendment and awaits notification. It amends the Payroll Tax Act 2011 (ACT) to implement the ACT Government’s election commitment to provide a payroll tax concession, of up to $4,000, to eligible employers who hire a recent school leaver with a qualifying…
The Tax Practitioners Board has finalised the following information sheets: TPB(I) 17/2013 (Code of Professional Conduct – Reasonable care to ascertain a client’s state of affairs); and TPB(I) 18/2013 (Code of Professional Conduct – Reasonable care to ensure taxation laws are applied correctly). The Information Sheets provide guidance for registered agents on the application of…
The Tax Practitioners Board has released updated information about tax agent services and labour hire firms and service trusts. The Board says where a service trust or labour hire entity provides services to a client and the client can reasonably be expected to rely upon the service to satisfy their liabilities or obligations or claim…
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has released its updated Continuing Professional Education (CPE) policy. This CPE policy incorporates the recent legislative amendments to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) which made CPE a registration renewal requirement for individual tax and BAS agents. The CPE policy includes relevant examples to assist registered tax and BAS…
In a decision handed down on Tue 12.11.2013, the Federal Court has imposed a monetary penalty totalling $32,000 on a man for providing tax agent services while unregistered and for advertising those services. The Court said the man holds degrees in Commerce and Economics and during the 1990s, was employed in accounting firms and qualified…
The Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT), Mr Ali Noroozi, on Tue 19.11.2013, announced terms of reference for his review into the ATO’s administration of valuation matters and called for stakeholder submissions. Australia’s tax and superannuation laws are increasingly relying on concepts such as market value, Mr Noroozi said. While there may be sound economic reasons for using such…
The ACNC has advised that charities with a 30 June year-end have been granted an extension until 31 March 2014 to submit their Annual Information Statement (AIS). This is to give charities more time to prepare for this new requirement. Originally, the AIS would have been due by 31 December 2013. Charities that use a different reporting period (eg the calendar…