The Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 2) Bill 2013 was introduced in the House of Reps on Wed 20.3.2013. It contains the following amendments:
- GST instalment system – the Bill would amend the GST law to enable entities that are paying their GST by instalments, and that subsequently move into a net refund position, to continue to pay their GST by instalments if they choose to do so. DATE OF EFFECT: The first 1 July after Royal Assent.
- Super co-contribution – the Bill would amend the Superannuation (Government Co-contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 to make changes to the superannuation co-contribution ie (i) reduce the rate of payment for the superannuation co-contribution from 100% to 50%; (ii) decrease the maximum amount payable from id=”mce_marker”,000 to $500; (iii) extend the freeze on the indexation of the lower income threshold for the 2012-13 income year; and (iv) set the higher income threshold at id=”mce_marker”5,000 above the lower income threshold (down from $30,000). DATE OF EFFECT: These amendments would commence from the date of Royal Assent and apply from the 2012-13 income year.
- Merging multiple accounts in super – the Bill would amend the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to expand the duties of trustees of particular super funds to establish and implement procedures to consolidate accounts where a member of the fund has multiple accounts within a fund and consolidation is in the member’s best interest. DATE OF EFFECT: 1 July 2013.
- Consolidating the dependency tax offsets – would amend: (i) the ITAA 1997 to create a new consolidated dependency tax offset for taxpayers maintaining certain classes of dependants who are genuinely unable to work; (ii) the ITAA 1936 to preserve the existing dependency tax offsets for taxpayers eligible for the zone, overseas forces and overseas civilian tax offsets; and (iii) the ITAA 1936 to reflect the impact of the consolidation of the dependency tax offsets on the net medical expenses tax offset. DATE OF EFFECT: These changes would apply for the 2012-13 and later income years.
- TOFA – the Bill would amend Div 230 of the ITAA 1997 and the Tax Laws Amendment (Taxation of Financial Arrangements) Act 2009 to clarify and refine the operation of certain aspects of the Taxation of Financial Arrangements (TOFA) regime. DATE OF EFFECT: The amendments would effectively apply from the commencement of the TOFA regime (ie 26 March 2009). The TOFA regime applies for income years commencing on or after 1 July 2010, unless a taxpayer has elected to apply the Division for income years commencing on or after 1 July 2009.
- Tax exemption for natural disaster payments – would amend the ITAA 1997 to exempt from income tax the Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy for people who have lost income as a result of ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald and related flooding in Queensland. It also exempts from income tax the ex-gratia payment for eligible New Zealand special category visa holders, equivalent to the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, made in relation to the natural disasters occurring across Australia during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 financial years. DATE OF EFFECT: applies to payments relating to disasters occurring in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 income years.
- Documentaries and film tax offsets – would amend the ITAA 1997 to define “documentary”, and clarify that the exclusion of light entertainment programs from eligibility for the film tax offsets does extend to game shows. DATE OF EFFECT: Definition of “documentary” would apply to films that started principal photography on or after 1 July 2012. The exclusion of game shows from eligibility for the film tax offsets would apply to films that start principal photography on or after the Royal Assent.
- Deductible gift recipients – amends the ITAA 1997 to update the list of deductible gift recipients (DGRs) by adding the following 6 entities as DGRs: The Conversation Trust; National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples Limited; National Boer War Memorial Association Incorporated; the Anzac Centenary Public Fund; the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial Project Incorporated; and Philanthropy Australia Inc.
[LTN 54, 20/3/13]
Committee to review Tax and Super Bill (No 2) 2013
The House of Reps Economics Committee will inquire into changes to taxation and superannuation laws contained in the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 2) Bill 2013. Committee chair Julie Owens said the Committee will examine the adequacy of the Bill in achieving its policy objectives and where possible identify any unintended consequences. The Bill contains amendments concerning: GST instalment system; super co-contribution changes; merging multiple accounts in super; consolidating the dependency tax offsets; TOFA changes; tax exemption for natural disaster payments; documentaries and film tax offsets; 6 new DGRs added.
Submissions are due by 5 April 2013. Further information is on the Committee’s website.
[LTN 57, 25/3/13]