Tax Month – December 2021

T a x  T e c h n i c a l  –  M o n t h l y  N e w s

– December 2021 Edition –

‘Tax Developments’ for tax practitioners by a tax practitioner.

 

Compiled by F John Morgan
A member of the Victorian Bar (www.FJMtax.com)

Table of Contents

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Cases

High Court

• DCT v Huang – High Court upholds worldwide freezing order, despite there being no reasonable prospect of the ATO being able to enforce its debt in China
• Advanced Holdings Pty Limited atf The Demian Trust v CofT – High Court dismisses taxpayer’s application for special leave to appeal – paying debts not deductible

Full Federal Court

• Pitman v CofT – Bankrupt taxpayer lacked standing to challenge objection decision (not relevantly ‘dissatisfied’) despite facing related criminal charges

Federal Court

• La Mancha Africa S.A.R.L. v CofT – “Harman undertaking” does not constrain the Commissioner getting and using documents from other Court proceedings
• Singapore Telecom Australia Investments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation – Federal Court finds against taxpayer on transfer pricing interest deductions
• Singtel fails in claim for deductions on $895k of interest – failing the ‘arms length’ test in the ‘transfer pricing rules’
• Guardian AIT Pty Ltd ATF Australian Investment Trust v Commissioner of Taxation – Federal Court finds finds against ATO on both s100A reimbursement and Part IVA general anti-avoidance assessments

Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)

• Oberg v CofT – Australian national working overseas for 23 years still an Australian tax ‘resident’ under the ‘ordinary meaning’ of that term
• Stealth Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd v CofT – Canberra brothel understated its income – assessed after making an insurance claim for an arson attack

 

Rulings

Practical Compliance Guides

• PCG 2021/4 – New guidelines on allocation of professional firm profits (read degree of ‘income splitting’) – 1 July 2022 start date (don’t ask why it only applies to ‘professionals’)

Other ATO news or statements

• ATO’s corporate tax transparency report for 2019-20 released – 2,370 big entities paying $2.8 trillion in tax

 

Superannuation

Other (Super)

• Proxy advice to Super funds – regulations made to require advisers to be independent, advise companies on the same day and superfunds to disclose how they ended up voting
• APRA issues annual ‘MySuper’ performance heatmaps and inaugural ‘Choice products’ heatmap – on average dearer for poorer performance

 

State Taxes

Other (State)

• Typical Medical Clinic structures now exposed to payroll tax on remitting balance of fee collected as agent after deducting their service charges

 

Other Developments

Inspector General and Ombudsman and other external supervisors

• IGTO’s IGoT News! – edition 18 released – Rights to Complain; Taxpayers Charter; data on ATO review decisions; regional investigations; Auditor-General on ATO & TAGs; ATO Complaints

 

 

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ATW – Australian Tax Week (CCH); LTN – Latest Tax News (Thomson Reuters); TaxVine – The Tax Institute weekly email.