Legal news
On 12 June 2025, the High Court granted the Commissioner special leave to appeal the decision of the Full Federal Court in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15 (Full Court Decision) that we wrote about here.
On 19 February 2025, the Full Federal Court handed down its decision in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15. On 18 March 2025, the ATO applied for special leave and, on 19 March 2025, the ATO updated its interim decision statement (DIS) on the case.
We review the updated DIS below.
#Division 7A, #UPE, #Unpaid present entitlements, #Tax, #Trusts, #TD2022/11, #Bendel, #109D #Special leave #Decision Impact Statement
On 19 February 2025, the Full Federal Court, in FCT v Bendel [2025] FCAFC 15 (Bendel), held that an unpaid present entitlement (UPE) with a corporate beneficiary is not a loan under subsection 109D(3) of Division 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).
The ATO has finalised its practical compliance guidance Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2024/3 (Guideline) to clarify how the ATO will apply its compliance resources in relation to the application of section 99B when Australian residents receive payments or benefits from non-resident trusts. The guideline outlines common scenarios, record-keeping expectations, and low-risk arrangements.
Is the payment of a death benefit to a spouse’s estate tax free? The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a Private Binding Ruling 1052273158502 (PBR) in which it determined that it was not under section 302-10(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 97).
On 28 August 2024, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) published Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2024/D2 (Draft PCG) on Personal services businesses and Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.
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.
In the current economic landscape, business owners may be considering a restructure, merger, or demerger to adapt, survive, or enable growth. A change in the structure of a business typically involves either the transfer of ownership interests in the entire business or of specific assets of the business.
As we’ve noted previously, commercial and industrial properties sold or transferred on or from 1July 2024, will enter the new commercial and industrial property regime. Broadly, the regime will operate such that future transfers will not trigger land transfer (stamp) duty but rather the property will be subject to a (further) set of land tax, known as commercial and industrial property tax (CIPT).
The Full Federal Court in the BBlood appeal found for the ATO on section 100A and the taxpayer dividend stripping (albeit on a technical, non-substantive basis).
The 100A analysis was limited to ‘tax avoidance purpose’ with the Full Court holding that, in certain circumstances, the purpose of advisors can be relevant.
In our previous article, we discuss Revenue NSW’s announcement that it has determined that NSW surcharge purchaser duty and surcharge land tax are inconsistent with international tax treaties entered into by the Australian Federal Government and certain countries (Treaty Countries).
On 29 May 2023, Revenue NSW has updated its list of Treaty Countries to now include India, Japan, Norway and Switzerland.
On 21 February 2023 Revenue NSW announced that it has been determined that NSW surcharge purchaser duty and surcharge land tax (Surcharge Provisions) are inconsistent with international tax treaties entered into by the Australian Federal Government with New Zealand, Finland, Germany, and South Africa (Treaty Countries).
