The following Bills were all passed by the Senate Tue 25.6.2013, without amendment and effectively await Royal Assent:
- Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No 6) Bill 2012 – contains amendments concerning: FBT and in-house benefits, medical expenses rebate, managed investment trusts (MITs), limited recourse debts, native title benefits, exploration expenditure, deductible gift recipients (DGRs), and other miscellaneous amendments.
- Tax Laws Amendment (Countering Tax Avoidance and Multinational Profit Shifting) Bill 2013 – The Bill makes amendments to Pt IVA of the ITAA 1936 to ensure its effective operation as the income tax general anti-avoidance provision. It amends Pt IVA to deal with what the Government considers are perceived weaknesses in the “tax benefit” concept in s 177C that are considered to have reduced the effectiveness of Pt IVA in countering tax avoidance arrangements. In particular, the amendments are intended to target these perceived deficiencies in s 177C, and the way it interacts with other elements of Pt IVA, especially s 177D. However, otherwise the amendments are not intended to change the operation of Pt IVA. The Bill also contains significant tranche 2 amendments affecting Australia’s transfer pricing laws. The amendments would apply to both tax treaty and non-tax treaty cases. A key feature of the new rules is their alignment with international best practice as set out by the OECD. They will also operate on a self-assessment basis. The new rules would also introduce a 7-year time limit within which the Commissioner may amend a taxpayer’s assessment to give effect to a transfer pricing adjustment. Specific rules linking voluntary documentation with a reduction in administrative penalties are also included.
- Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 1) Bill2013 – The Bill as introduced contains amendments concerning: loss carry-back [now amended]; SMSF asset acquisitions and disposals [now removed from the Bill]; FBT and airline transport fringe benefits; interest on unclaimed money; Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure Program; and Miscellaneous amendments.
- Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 2) Bill 2013 – contains amendments concerning: GST instalment system; super co-contribution to reduce to 50% of the eligible personal superannuation contributions; would reduce the maximum amount of co-contribution from id=”mce_marker”,000 to $500; merging multiple accounts in super; consolidating the dependency tax offsets; TOFA changes; tax exemption for natural disaster payments; documentaries and film tax offsets; and new DGRs added.
[LTN 121, 26/6/13]