As discussed here and here, the Treasurer confirmed by media release that the former Division 296 Bill would not be reintroduced in the same form as the draft legislation introduced to Parliament in November 2023.

The Victorian State Government has announced new taxes to partially fund the Suburban Rail Loop as part of “value capture” arrangements.

The Board of  Taxation (BOT) has recently released its report on the taxation of digital taxes – Review of the tax treatment of digital assets and transactions in Australia. This includes a section, from page 155, on whether crypto assets should receive the “trading stock” exemption.

As noted in part 1 of our articles on the application of the Bendel decision to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act), in our view, it is likely that the Courts will apply the Bendel decision to the SIS Act, such that the expanded definition of loan in the SIS Act will apply to arrangements that involve the advancement of principal with an obligation to repay and that it will not apply to a mere creditor and debtor arrangement.

As noted in part 1 of our articles on the application of the Bendel decision to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act), in our view, it is likely that the Courts will apply the Bendel decision to the SIS Act, such that the expanded definition of loan in the SIS Act will apply to arrangements that involve the advancement of principal with an obligation to repay and that it will not apply to a mere creditor and debtor arrangement (like a UPE).

In this part 3 of the series we examine how this may play out in the in-house asset rules contained in Part 8 of the SIS Act.

As noted in part 1 of our articles on the application of the Bendel decision to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act), in our view, it is likely that the Courts will apply the Bendel decision to the SIS Act, such that the expanded definition of loan in the SIS Act will apply to arrangements that involve the advancement of principal with an obligation to repay and that it will not apply to a mere creditor and debtor arrangement (like a UPE).

As previously noted, the Government has released regulations to permit the conversion of legacy pensions and reserves over a 5 year period and to better allow allocations from non-pension reserves. These regulations have now been tabled in parliament.

The Australian government has proposed reforms to the Competition and Consumer Act in response to the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct and Franchising Code of Conduct reviews. The consultation process closes on 4 October 2024 and welcomes submissions from interested stakeholders.

The Government announced further policy design details on the Payday Super measures scheduled to be effective from 1 July 2026 (see our earlier article) contained in a four page fact sheet.

At long last proposed regulations have been released for consultation that would permit the conversion of legacy pensions and reserves over a 5 year period. As a nice added bonus, the regulations will also better allow allocations from non-pension reserves.

In the decision of In the matter of Gainer Associates Pty Limited [2024] NSWSC 1138, the Court amongst other things gave advice that the self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) corporate trustee (Gainer Associates Pty Ltd – referred to as Gainer) could be indemnified from the assets of the SMSF in relation to all issues disclosed to the Court in that application for judicial advice.

In this fifth part of our series on the decision of In the matter of Gainer Associates Pty Limited [2024] NSWSC 1138, we examine Gainer’s request for the Court’s advice as to whether it would be justified to remunerate Mr Heesh for his time and efforts in acting as sole director of Gainer in its role as the corporate trustee for a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and, if so, at which rate and whether the remuneration could be for some or all of the work completed by Mr Heesh.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued a draft Decision Impact Statement (DIS) on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decision of Merchant and Commissioner of Taxation [2024] AATA 1102 (which was decided on 16 May 2024) (Merchant).

We wrote about the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) in Quy v FCT [2024] AATA 245 here. In that decision, the Tribunal held that Mr Quy, who was physically in Australia for less than 2 months each year, was a resident of Australia for tax purposes.

Following the passing of changes to non-arm’s length expenditure (NALE) rules through Parliament on 25 Jun 2024, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has finalised its Taxation Determination TD 2024/5 (previously Draft TD 2023/D1).

After a number of years in the making, the changes to the non-arm’s length expenses (NALE) rules have now passed through Parliament. While, as previously noted, the changes did not go far enough for many of the tax industry, and accounting bodies, the changes offer some relief to taxpayers.

In a case run by Sladen Legal, Merristock Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue (Review and Regulation) [2024] VCAT 535, the taxpayer has successfully appealed against a Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO) determination that land owned by the taxpayer was not eligible for the primary production land tax exemption.

In the decision of S&H Investments Pty Ltd and Commissioner of Taxation [2024] AATA 893, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), the Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Commissioner of Taxation to assess the taxpayer for the superannuation guarantee charge for failing to pay superannuation for their employee/contractor referred to as “TW”.

On 7 May 2024, the Victorian State Government presented the Victorian State Budget for 2024/25.

No substantial tax measures were announced.  There were only new State Tax measures in the Victorian State Budget 2024-25 which are listed within this article.

In Colaciello Super Pty Ltd v Christensen [2023] VSC 568 the Supreme Court of Victoria held that a loan in breach of sections 62 and 65 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) was unenforceable under the defence of illegality.