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Over the course of the last year, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has repeatedly indicated in various forums that advisors are in the ATO’s sights.

A recent Full Federal Court decision reflects the diversity of issues which can arise in the complex world of discretionary trusts.

The ATO has a new collaborative and tailored approach to managing the collection and recovery of disputed debts.

The High Court in Bosanac v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] HCA 34 culminated a protracted debate on whether to apply the presumption of resulting trust or presumption of advancement in the context of a matrimonial home.

On 19 September 2022, Justice Thawley of the Federal Court handed down his decision in BBlood Enterprises Pty Ltd v FCT [2022] FCA 1112 (BBlood), the most recent decision on section 100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was successful in arguing that section 100A applied.

Does context and purpose narrow the reach of s 100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936?

The oft-debated question as to whether the development, subdivision and sale of land constitutes the mere realisation of a capital asset in an enterprising way has once again been considered in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) case of Ian Mark Collins & Mieneke Mianno Collins ATF The Collins Retirement Fund and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation) [2022] AATA 628 (Collins)

We wrote that 2022 is the ‘Year of 100A’ after the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released three guidance products, two in draft, on section 100A and the ATO’s appeal to the Full Federal Court from the decision of Logan J in Guardian AIT Pty Ltd ATF Australian Investment Trust v FCT [2021] FCA 1619 on section 100A.

In one sense, the High Court judgment in FCT v Carter [2022] HCA 10 (Carter) will come as welcome relief for tax advisors. That is, after dealing with the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) view of the ‘lore’ in the form of practical compliance guidelines, Carter turns minds back to the ‘law.’ Unfortunately, the law in Carter can result in unpleasant tax outcomes for certain trust beneficiaries.

Quoting Winston Churchill, we said that the Federal Court decision in Guardian AIT Pty Ltd ATF Australian Investment Trust v FCT [2021] FCA 1619 (Guardian AIT) concerning section 100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 is perhaps the “end of the beginning” of what may become increased clarity on the judicial and administrative approach to that section.

We considered the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) recently released guidance on section 100A here and here. Those documents give the clearest public indication to how the ATO interprets section 100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

After our semi-serious opening statement on the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) recently released guidance on section 100A and unpaid present entitlements, this is one of a series of deep-dive articles on that guidance.

After our semi-serious opening statement on the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) recently released guidance on section 100A and unpaid present entitlements, this is one of a series of deep-dive articles on that guidance. These articles look at each of the ATO guidance products separately and then we discuss what the overall impact may be.

After six years the ATO has released draft guidance on section 100A. Keeping with the draft theme, the ATO also released (updated) draft views on when an unpaid present entitlement held on sub-trust becomes financial accommodation for purposes of Division 7A.

Legal professional privilege (LPP) has once again become a topic of significant interest following the recent Full Federal Court decision of CUB Australia Holding Pty Ltd v FCT [2021] FCAFC 171 (CUB Decision) and the release of the draft LPP protocol from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

In 2014, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) undertook the high-profile amnesty – Project DOIT – that allowed Australian taxpayers to voluntarily disclose (undeclared) offshore income in return for a range of ATO administrative concessions on the period-of-review, penalties, and shortfall interest.

The legislative and regulatory complexity of Employee Share Schemes has once again inspired recommended reforms, this time by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue, in a recent report.

The Full Federal Court decision in Advanced Holdings Pty Limited as Trustee for The Demian Trust v FCT [2021] FCAFC 135 highlights important principles of trust deed interpretation and the limitations of statutory provisions concerning the evidentiary force of company records.

It also serves as a “sobering bookkeeping reminder” to directors of small companies and corporate trustees to keep good records, and as always, read the trust deed!

A recent Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decision re-emphasizes that taxpayers who purchase, subdivide, and sell land within a short timeframe may have entered into an isolated profit-making transaction, with any gains assessed on revenue account.