Search

The article focuses on important federal tax developments that took place in May 2023. The topics include the reduction of the GDP adjustment rate for small businesses and individuals, the temporary increase in the instant asset write-off threshold for small businesses, and the withdrawal of the FBT exemption for eligible plug-in hybrid electric cars.

The article reports that on September 16, 2022, a single judge of the Federal Court handed down his judgment in Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v FCT. Topics include examines the ATO put forward three schemes under Pt IVA as the second and third schemes are similar, the authors have simply referred to them as the second scheme.

The article offers information about the tax issues that arise in relation to inbound interest-free loans. It mentions about the varied circumstances in which an interest-free loan could be treated as an equity interest for tax purposes. It discusses about the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, an act of the Parliament of Australia.

The article offers multiple points which highlight important federal tax developments that occurred during April 2021. Topics discussed include the Commissioner has released a fact sheet to assist employers in understanding their FBT obligations where employees are provided with benefits to support working from home arrangements; and the Commissioner has issued a draft ruling which considers the personal services income rules contained in Pt 2-42 of Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

The article discusses corporate taxpayer information has increasingly being disclosed to revenue authorities and the general public. Topics include corporate taxpayers has navigated the current tax environment and the importance of maintaining a robust tax corporate governance framework in order to manage tax risks; and taxpayers lack confidence, reluctance has developed to disclose voluntarily the requisite information."

Businesses which opt out or are ineligible to claim the temporary full expensing concession for certain assets may still be eligible for other concessions, including the original "instant-asset write-off" concession and the backing business investment accelerated depreciation measure. w hen is an entity eligible for temporary full expensing? Al TerNa TIVe asseTs INsIgHTs alternative assets Insights by Sarah Saville, ATI, and Patricia Muscat, CTA, PwC Temporary full expensing of depreciating assets Temporary full expensing of depreciating assets will supercharge previous capital allowance concessions. Temporary full expensing of the cost of depreciating assets is intended to "supercharge" previous capital allowance concessions by extending access to larger businesses and eliminating the cap on the cost of eligible assets. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) implications of providing electric vehicles to employees. Topics include the conditions for FBT exemption, benefits for employers and employees, upcoming changes to FBT exemptions for hybrid electric cars, and other considerations such as charging station expenses and reportable fringe benefits.

The small business restructure roll-over came into effect on 1 July 2016, allowing small businesses to restructure their affairs without incurring an income tax liability. Despite its usefulness to small businesses, caution must be taken in electing to apply this roll-over, as the anti-avoidance provisions continue to apply. This article considers the meaning of "genuine restructure" in the provisions and attempts to predict the court's interpretation of the genuine restructure requirement. In doing so, the application of the roll-over and eligibility requirements will be outlined. Both sides of the "interpretative debate" will then be analysed and considered against the principles of statutory interpretation adopted by the High Court since the 1970s and 1980s. This analysis suggests that if the genuine restructure requirement is litigated, it will be interpreted to exclude a change of structure solely entered into to eliminate or defer tax liability. That is, the roll-over will be read together with the anti-avoidance policy underlying the income tax Acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the need for reform of the taxation of trusts and foreign beneficiaries in Australia as of August 2018 and the key tax rules for Australian resident trusts with foreign beneficiaries. They argue that Australia's rules for the taxation of trusts are complex especially when there are foreign beneficiaries or income. Also discussed are the treatment of interest, unfranked dividends and royalties and the High Court case FCT v Bamford.

The article discusses that Australian Taxation Office has been challenged by the Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT) to review cash flow boost applications for taxpayers that may have commenced operations in January 2020. It mentions about construing a legislative provision commences with an examination of the purpose of the provision.

There is a range of issues that can potentially undermine the intentions of a trustee when attempting to make distributions from the trust to beneficiaries. Failure to address methodically each potential issue in a timely way will lead to unintended outcomes that may be impossible to remedy once discovered. Further, there is increasing evidence that the Australian Taxation Office is acutely aware of many of the issues, and actively conducts compliance activity in the area. This article focuses on a number of the more common scenarios where purported distributions fail, in the context of a typical family discretionary trust with a range of beneficiaries, including family members and related trusts and companies. It also addresses the potential resulting tax consequences. The article considers trust distributions to a "beneficiary", distributions to particular beneficiaries, ATO requirements for tracing distributions, areas of ATO focus, and the ramifications of failed distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the regulatory requirements that charities need to comply to qualify for Commonwealth tax benefits, outlined by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). It states that registration of an organization as a charity with the ACNC is entirely voluntary. However, it indicates that registration with the ACNC is not the only step to secure tax benefit and highlights importance of obtaining endorsement from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The article presents an interview with the Bryan Soepardi, Assistant Manager, RSM Australia, New South Wales. It mentions that Seopardi provide R&D tax advice to a cross-section of Australian businesses, along with discusses the reason for undertaking CTA1 Foundations and explores key components of the Australian tax system.

The Tax Institute firmly believes that 2021 should be a year that focuses on necessary tax reform to assist economic recovery and protect future generations. The committees consider, analyse, debate, prepare submissions and report on the development, implementation and administration of tax technical and policy issues related to their specific area of tax law.

The article comments on the proposed reforms to the tax benefit test in Pt IVA of Australia's income tax law, outlined in a November 2012 exposure draft of legislation. It notes the proposed changes as an unnecessary overreaction to recent cases, noting further that amendments are in order only if taxpayer behavior and appetite for risk shifted inappropriately following recent cases. Also outlined are The Tax Institute's recommendations in a final submission to the Commissioner of Taxation.