The Full Federal Court has unanimously dismissed the appeal of the taxpayers (ie Anthony Stewart, John Cornell, Paul Hogan and Rimfire Films Pty Ltd) from the decision at first instance in Australian Crime Commission v Stewart & Ors [2012] FCA 29 in which the Federal Court held that legal professional privilege did not apply to…
A taxpayer has suffered a double defeat in the Full Federal Court – firstly, the Commissioner’s appeal against a decision that damages were received by the taxpayer in a fiduciary capacity was upheld, with the result that the damages were assessable to the taxpayer; and, secondly, his appeal against a decision that distributions from a…
On 10 October 2012, the High Court heard the taxpayer’s appeal against the Full Federal Court decision in Mills v FCT [2011] FCAFC 158. The Court reserved its decision but has released a transcript of the hearing – [2012] HCATrans 259. The Full Federal Court had confirmed, by majority, that the “imputation benefit” scheme provisions…
In a 4:1 majority decision (Heydon J dissenting), the High Court on Tues 2.10.2012, held that Qantas Airways Limited was liable to pay GST when it received fares on unclaimed flights. The Court allowed the Commissioner’s appeal against the Full Federal Court decision in Qantas Airways Ltd v FCT (2011) 81 ATR 816. The Full…
As part of the 2012-13 Budget, the Government announced it will ensure that Australia’s implementation of the Basel III capital reforms does not preclude certain Tier 2 regulatory capital instruments from being classified as a debt interest for the purposes of the income tax law. The Government on Wed 31.10.2012, released for comment exposure draft…
Following the establishment of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the Assistant Treasurer has announced that annual review fees currently charged by ASIC will be removed for Australian charities. From 1 July 2013, registered charities will no longer have to pay annual fee (ranging from $43 to $1,086) as oversight for the not-for-profit sector…
The Business Tax Working Group (BTWG) on Wed 24.10.2012 released its draft final report on whether a revenue-neutral lower company tax rate can be supported. Overall, the Working Group said it was not able to recommend a revenue-neutral package to lower the company tax rate; however, it said that Australia should have “an ambition” to…
On 21 November 2011, the Government released an initial consultation paper which outlined 3 possible models for taxing trust income. Treasury noted that the consultation on that paper highlighted a desire for more information about 2 of the proposed models – that is, the “trustee assessment and deduction” model, and the “proportionate within class” model.…
The Government has announced that discussions with relevant stakeholders in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector have commenced for the development of a Consultation Code. The Code will be a practical guide to ongoing consultation between the Government and the NFP sector. The Assistant Treasurer also announced the Government would use the consultations to start a discussion…
Speaking at the Thomson Reuters Not-for-profit Law & Regulation Conference in Sydney on Wed 17.10.2012, the Assistant Treasurer announced that the implementation of a “report-once, use-often reporting framework” for the not-for-profit (NFP) sector would be supported by amendments to Commonwealth Grant Guidelines. The Guidelines establish the grants policy and reporting framework for all Commonwealth departments…