The Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 2) Bill 2013 was introduced in the House of Reps on Wed 29.5.2013. It is a large Bill containing the following amendments:
- Monthly PAYG instalments: would amend Div 45 of Sch 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to require certain large entities to pay PAYG instalments monthly. Entities will be transitioned into the monthly PAYG instalment system over a 4-year period. DATE OF EFFECT: would apply to corporate tax entities from 1 January 2014 and to other entities from 1 January 2016.
- Transparency of Australia’s business tax system: would amend the Taxation Administration Act 1953to:
- require the Commissioner of Taxation to publish limited information about the tax affairs of large corporate taxpayers;
- allow for the publication of certain aggregate tax information irrespective of whether the publication [of that information would be otherwise protected by secrecy provisions];
- allow for enhanced information sharing between Government agencies in relation to decisions under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy. DATE OF EFFECT: would apply to the 2013-14 and later years.
- Removing the CGT discount for foreign individuals: the Bill would amend the ITAA 1997 to remove the CGT discount on discount capital gains accrued after 8 May 2012 for foreign resident and temporary resident individuals. DATE OF EFFECT: would apply to disposals of CGT assets after 8 May 2012.
- Tax loss incentive for designated infrastructure projects: would amend the ITAA 1997 to provide a tax incentive for entities that carry on a nationally significant infrastructure project that has been designated by the Infrastructure Coordinator. The tax incentive would: (i) uplift the value of such entities’ carry forward tax losses by the long-term bond rate; and (ii) exempt such entities from the continuity of ownership, same business, trust loss and bad debt deduction tests. DATE OF EFFECT: would apply for the 2012-13 and later income years.
- Regulatory framework for tax (financial) advice services: would amend the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 to bring entities that give tax advice in the course of giving advice that is usually provided by financial services licensees within the regulatory regime administered by the Tax Practitioners Board. DATE OF EFFECT: amendments mostly commence from 1 July 2013.
- GST-free treatment for NDIS funded supports: would ensure that certain services and other things supplied to a participant as a part of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) are GST-free. DATE OF EFFECT: would apply in relation to supplies made on or after the proclamation date for when an NDIS plan is in effect under the NDIS Act.
- DGRs: would amend the ITAA 1997 to update the list of specifically listed deductible gift recipients (DGRs). DATE OF EFFECT: various.
- Tax exemption for payments under the Defence Abuse Reparation Scheme: the Bill would amend the ITAA 1997 to exempt from income tax, payments made under the Defence Abuse Reparation Scheme. DATE OF EFFECT: would apply to the 2012-13 income year and later income years.
- PRRT: would amend the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 to address the “unintended impacts” arising from the decision of the Full Federal Court in Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd v FCT [2012] FCAFC 5. DATE OF EFFECT: For most projects the applicable commencement date is 1 July 1986.
- Miscellaneous amendments: makes a number of miscellaneous amendments to the taxation and superannuation laws, including: (i) clarifying the tax treatment of native title benefits distributed through charities; (ii) ensuring the FBT rebate operates as intended; and (iii) updating a number of significant taxation and superannuation thresholds to reflect reporting changes made by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. DATE OF EFFECT: various.
[LTN 102, 28/5/13]