Category Archives: Tax Month – November 2014

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regs amended re Korea and Japan FTAs [79]

The Trade Agreements Legislation Amendment Regulation 2014 was registered on Mon 3.11.2014. It amends the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations 1989 and the Life Insurance Regulations 1995 to give effect to Australia’s foreign investment screening and life insurance regulation commitments under the recently signed Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement. Among other…

FoFA regulations disallowed by Senate [80]

The Corporations Amendment (Streamlining Future of Financial Advice) Regulation 2014 (FoFA amendment regs) were disallowed by the Senate on Wed 19.11.2014, after Senators Lambie and Muir joined cross-bench Senators to support a motion by Senator Dastyari (ALP) to disallow the Government’s FoFA amendment regs. The vote to disallow the Regulation was agreed to 32 votes…

Enhanced register of financial advisers: draft reg released [81]

An Exposure Draft of the Corporations Amendment (Register of Relevant Providers) Regulation 2014 was released on Thur 27.11.2014, which proposes to make a number of amendments to the Corporations Regulations 2001 to: enable ASIC to establish and maintain a public register of financial advisers; and for Australian Financial Service licensees to collect and provide information…

Foreign Investors to pay administration fee to FIRB – recommendation by Parliamentary Committee [82]

The report of the House of Reps Standing Committee on Economics into Foreign investment in residential real estate was tabled Thur 27.11.2014. The 148-page report made 12 recommendations, including that the Government apply a modest administrative fee to the current screening for all foreign purchases of residential real estate, including purchases by temporary residents. This…

Vic payroll tax: reduced penalty for voluntary disclosure of payments to private security industry licensees as exempt ends after 30.11.14 [78]

The Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO) has reminded employers of holders of private security individual operator licences that the voluntary disclosure period is nearing its end. In September 2014, the SRO issued Payroll Tax Bulletin PTX1/14 which offers employers a reduced rate of penalty tax if they voluntarily disclose on or before 30 November 2014 that they have classified…

Qld payroll tax: employment agencies and workers on-hired to government [77]

The Qld Office of State Revenue (OSR) has updated harmonised payroll tax Public Ruling PTA028.2 (Employment agency contracts – workers on-hired to government). The Ruling clarifies the correct payroll tax treatment of payments made by an employment agent to a worker on-hired to a government department. The Ruling took effect on 1 July 2014. [FJM Note:      This…

Vic land rich duty provisions: Denison Funds Management Ltd v Comr of State Revenue – assessment confirmed on “reconstruction” of property trusts [76]

A taxpayer has been unsuccessful before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a matter concerning the Victorian land rich provisions. The matter concerned an assessment issued to the taxpayer in February 2011 for $5.2m (which comprised $3.8m in duty, $937,775 in penalties, and $488,993 in interest). For the purposes of the proceedings, the taxpayer was acting…

Vic – Duty – Lend Lease Development Pty Ltd v Comr of State Revenue –whether payments to the vendor for construction works were part of the consideration for the land transfer? [75]

A Full Court of the High Court in Canberra on Tue 4.11.2014 also began hearing the Commissioner of State Revenue’s appeals against the Victorian Court of Appeal decision in Lend Lease Development Pty Ltd & Ors v Comr of State Revenue [2013] VSCA 207. The Court of Appeal had allowed the appeal of the 3…

*NSW payroll tax – Newcastle Airport Ltd v Chief Comr of State Revenue – assessments revoked because wages exempt as paid by a ‘council’ [74]

The NSW Supreme Court has held that payroll tax assessments issued to Newcastle Airport Ltd (NAL) should be revoked. The Chief Commissioner of State Revenue had issued payroll tax assessments to NAL totalling just over $622,000. NAL argued that the wages in respect of which payroll tax was assessed were not taxable wages, but were…

NSW land tax: Ferella & Anor v Chief Comr of State Revenue – primary production exemption refused by NSW Court of Appeal [73]

A couple (husband and wife taxpayers) has been unsuccessful before the NSW Court of Appeal in seeking an appeal against an earlier decision which had denied their claim for the primary production land tax exemption under s 10AA of the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW) in respect of a property for the 2007 to 2011…