The Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No 4) Bill 2012 was introduced in the House of Reps on Thurs 28.6.2012. It contains the following amendments:
- amends the and the ITAA 1997 to reform the taxation treatment of living-away-from-home (LAFH) allowances and benefits (note the – see below). For example, the amendments would:Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986start date has been deferred by 3 months
- generally treat LAFH allowances as part of an employee’s assessable income rather than as fringe benefits;
- allow an income tax deduction for reasonable expenses incurred and substantiated for accommodation and food and drink, to employees who maintain a home in Australia for their own personal and immediate use and enjoyment at all times while required to live away from home for their work, for a maximum period of 12 months in respect of an individual employee for a particular work location;
- tax employers on: (i) LAFH allowances to the extent they relate to “ordinary weekly food and drink expenses” of employees who satisfy the requirements to claim an income tax deduction and have provided their employer with a declaration; and (ii) LAFH benefits (ie the provision of accommodation, food and expense payments) provided to employees who would not be eligible to claim an income tax deduction had they incurred the expenses directly;
- DATE OF EFFECT: will apply from 1 October 2012, not 1 July 2012 as originally announced.
- amends the GST Act to ensure that in circumstances where a representative of an incapacitated entity is a creditor of that entity, the correct provision of the GST Act is applied. DATE OF EFFECT: will apply from the first quarterly tax period on or after Royal Assent of the Bill;
- following recent amendments to the consolidation regime, amends Sch 3 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No 2) Bill 2012to ensure that:
- no interest is payable if an overpayment of income tax arises because of a deduction under the pre-rules in Pt 1 of Sch 3 to that Act (which apply, broadly, to corporate acquisitions in the period before 12 May 2010); and
- no shortfall interest or administrative penalty is payable if additional tax becomes payable because an amendment to an assessment is made, to the extent that the amendment is attributable to a deduction under the pre-rules in Pt 1 of Sch 3 to that Act or under the interim rules in Pt 2 of Sch 3 to that Act (which apply, broadly, to corporate acquisitions in the period between 12 May 2010 and 30 March 2011);
- DATE OF EFFECT: would commence on the day that the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No 2) Bill 2012 receives Royal Assent.
[LTN 123, 28/6]
Bill referred to Economics Committee
The Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No 4) Bill 2012 was referred to the House of Reps Standing Committee on Economics for report and will not be debated until after Parliament resumes on 14 August 2012 and has been.
[LTN 124, 29/6]