Tax Month – January 2012

M o r g a n’ s   T a x   M o n t h

– January 2012 Developments –

This is a collection of developments in Australian tax law and practice that occurred in January 2012 and which aims at being of relevance to tax lawyers.*

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

 

 

Table of Contents

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ACTS, BILLS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Acts & Bills

*Protocol amending the Australia-India tax treaty [A1]

Australia signs new tax info exchange agreements with Bahrain, Andorra & Liberia [A2]

*Anstis amendments – draft amendments released [A3]

 

Announcements

Regulatory framework for public ancillary funds: Treasury releases submissions by public [A4]

NFP reforms – public consultations to commence in February [A5]

 

 

CASES AND APPEALS

High Court

Full Federal Court

Federal Court

*Howard v FCT (No 2) – Damages held in trust for company and distributions by non-resident trust estate [C1]

*Grapsas v FCT – Court has no jurisdiction to entertain appeal from former bankrupt [C2]

Pre-Paid Professional Administration Ltd v FCT – Assessability of admin fees: Extension to file appeal refused [C3]

 

Federal Magistrates Court

Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)

*Deductibility of expenses against PSI [C4]

*Re Ohl & ACN 104 950 156 Pty Ltd and FCT – Failure to lodge returns: 75% penalties affirmed [C5]

Taxpayer proves software license fee expenditure incurred [C6]

*Re Bell and FCT – CGT: maximum net asset value test failed – liability of family trust to make distribution not related to any assets and can’t be counted [C7]

 

Other Courts

Appeals

*Re Crown Insurance Services Ltd and FCT – Commissioner appeals (like a dog that won’t give up its bone) the AAT decision that the Vanuatu insurance company was neither resident, nor had any Australian source income [C8]

*Mills v FCT – taxpayer seeks leave to appeal to the High Court against the decision that the CBA’s Pearls V Securities constituted franking benefit avoidance [C9]

*On Call Interpreters and Translators Agency Pty Ltd v FCT (No 3) – taxpayer withdraws appeal – translators remain SGC ‘employees’ [C10]

Mitsui & Co (Australia) Ltd v FCT – taxpayer appeals Federal Court’s decision that expenditure on a single mining right can’t be apportioned between amortizable and deductible expenditure [C11]

 

 

COMMISSIONER’S PUBLICATIONS

Decision Impact statements

*GE Capital Finance Australasia Pty Limited and GE Capital Australia v Commissioner of Taxation [R1]

 

Rulings

*TR 2012/1 – Tax treatment of retail premiums paid to non-participating shareholders on rights issues and the like – a dividend [R2]

 

Determinations

*TD 2012/D1 – When income tax will be a “present legal obligation” for Div 7A (distributable surplus) purposes [R3]

 

Class Rulings

 

ATO Interpretive Decisions (ATOIDs)

 

Practice Statements

 

Tax Alerts

 

Other Commissioner news

*Reportable tax position: early disclosure form 2012 [R4]

 

 

GST DEVELOPMENTS

Legislation (GST)

*GST – remaining changes to ‘financial supply’ provisions provisions announced in the 2010-11 Budget – draft regulations released [G1]

 

Cases (GST)

Centrebet Pty Ltd v FCT – Appeal dismissed by consent after Commissioner agreed to allow prizes paid overseas as a reduction to the ‘global GST amount’ on which tax is levied [G2]

GST: going concern and penalties – ATO view on Aurora Developments case [G3].

Rulings & Other things (GST)

 

 

SUPERANNUATION DEVELOPMENTS

Legislation (Super)

*Refund of excess super contributions: draft legislation released [Su1]

*The CGT primary code for superannuation entities – draft legislation released to limit the trading stock exception [Su2]

 

Cases (Super)

*Re Shail Superannuation Fund and FCT – Non-complying SMSF: deduction not allowed for misappropriated funds (wife trustee left holding the baby after husband trustee stole the fund) [Su3]

*Re Trustee for R Ali Superannuation Fund and FCT – SMSF non-compliance notice upheld for related party loans [Su4]

Rulings (Super)

Announcements etc (Super)

 

 

CARBON TAX

 

MINERALS & PETROLEUM RENT RESOURCE RENT TAX

PRRT Bills – Parliamentary Library releases digests [M1]

*Constitutional legality of the MRRT and PRRT – Treasury releases opinions etc [M2]

 

BOARD OF TAXATION

*New ‘Tax Studies Institute’ – Board announces consultation on its formation

 

 

INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION

 

 

TAX PRACTITIONERS BOARD & LEGISLATION

 

 

STATE TAXES

Legislation (State)

Cases (State)

Touma & Ors v Chief Comr of State Revenue – NSW duty: taxpayers’ conceded overlooking ‘land rich’ duty on share transfer, had their valuation accepted preferred but still had 90% penalty confirmed [St1]

 

Rulings (State)

Other (State)

Qld duty changes announced in Mid-Year Review [St2].

 

 

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Victoria celebrates 150 years of Torrens System land titles and conveyancing [O1]

*Personal Property Securities Register open for business on 30 January 2012 [O2]

 

 

THE END

*NB: I have gathered these articles from various sources for the purposes of study and teaching and I have acknowledged the sources. None of this publication should reproduced in breach of copyright belonging to the acknowledged source. The headings to the articles are often mine (and shouldn’t necessarily be attributed to the publisher).

Source Abbreviations: ‘EDTN’ = Electronic Daily Tax News, published by CCH; ‘LTN’ = Latest Tax News published by Thomsons; and ‘Taxvine’ is the weekly publication by the Tax Institute of Australia; Greenfields = Greenfields Financial Services; TaxBar = Melbourne Tax Bar Association Newsletter at www.vicbar.com.au / Members / Bar Associations / Tax