In a decision handed down on Wed 4.9.2013, in a tax dispute matter, the Federal Court has held that, in what it said were “the unusual circumstances of the matter”, it agreed with the taxpayer’s request that certain documents in the case remain confidential. The substantive appeal in question concerns a challenge to the correctness…
The Federal Court has refused 2 companies in the Macquarie Bank group their application for the Court to review a decision of Commissioner and his delegate to refuse to apply his view of the law on the allocation of Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) expenses solely on a prospective basis. The taxpayers sought the jurisdiction of…
The Assistant Treasurer: Senator Arthur Sinodinos on Sun 29.9.2013, announced the Government would not proceed with the 1 October 2013 start date for the reforms to the Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) regime that were originally announced in the 2013-14 Budget. As part of the 2013 Federal Budget, the previous Government had announced that it would amend the…
Treasurer Joe Hockey has indicated that the Government plans to sort through the previous Government’s list of announced but unlegislated measures in relation to taxation. He said: “The final major piece of legislation from our portfolio perspective is cleaning up Labor’s mess of announced but unlegislated initiatives in relation to taxation. We are methodically going through…
A motion proposing to permit the incorporation of barristers’ practices was defeated at a general meeting of the NSW Bar Association held on 17 September 2013. The motion had sought an indication of support for changes that would allow barristers to choose to practise through single member, sole director companies. The motion was defeated (745 no; 375…
The Ministry for the incoming Coalition Federal Government was announced on Mon 16.9.2013. In announcing the Cabinet Ministers, Outer Ministry and Parliamentary Secretaries, Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott announced the following revenue-related appointments: Treasurer – Joe Hockey. Assistant Treasurer – Senator Arthur Sinodinos AO. Minister for Finance – Senator Mathias Cormann. Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer –…
Australian Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne has announced that, as long as the Greens hold the balance of power in the Senate, the Coalition would NOT be able to: repeal the carbon tax, although Senator Milne said the Greens would work to improve the legislation; abolish the instant asset tax deduction for small business; abolish…
The Coalition has announced that it would, if elected, introduce an Exploration Development Incentive that will allow investors to deduct the expense of mining exploration against their taxable income. Under the scheme, the ATO would determine a proportion of expenses that can be claimed as tax credits by investors. Under the proposed scheme, a tax…
The Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has announced that, if elected, the Coalition will introduce a “Tax Receipt” for taxpayers. Mr Hockey said “taxpayers deserve a Government that is fully accountable as to where their taxes go”. He said that under the proposal, every PAYE taxpayer will receive a taxation receipt that provides details on how their…
M o r g a n’ s T a x M o n t h – September 2013 Developments – This is a collection of developments in Australian tax law and practice that occurred in September 2013 and which aims at being of relevance to tax lawyers.* F John Morgan A member of the Victorian…