Treasury on Tue 25.3.2014, released for public consultation exposure draft legislation, which seeks to implement the Government’s announcement of a legislated protection of taxpayers, in relation to announced by un-enacted tax amendments.
On 14 December 2013, the Government had announced that it would not proceed with 48 announced but un-enacted tax and superannuation measures. The Government had previously announced on 6 November 2013 that “there will be legislated protection for any taxpayer who has self-assessed with announced changes that the Government will not proceed with”.
The draft legislation – Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No 2) Bill 4 2014: Protection for discontinued announced measures – proposes to amend ITAA 1936 to introduce a protection provision to ensure that outcomes are preserved in relation to income tax assessments where:
- taxpayers have reasonably and in good faith anticipated the impact of identified announcements made by a previous Government that the tax law would be amended with retrospective effect; and
- the current Government has now decided that the announced proposal to change the law will not proceed.
The protection is primarily effected by placing a statutory bar on the Commissioner amending an income tax assessment to the extent that it reflects a taxpayer’s anticipation of the impact of an announcement that meets the conditions set out in the provision.
The protection provision is proposed to commence on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent.
COMMENTS are due by 21 April 2014
[LTN 57, 25/3/14]