The Australian Government has recently issued its response to a legislation review undertaken by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) titled ‘Strengthening for Purpose:

As we previously reported here, in the decision of Thawley J in Greig v Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCA 1084 the taxpayer was unsuccessful in arguing the loss on selling shares was deductible on the basis he was in the business of dealing in shares. The taxpayer appealed this decision.

The Federal Court in FCT v Eichmann [2019] FCA 2155 (Eichmann) held that land used for storage was not an active asset for purposes of the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions in Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997).

The Full Federal Court in Hart v FCT affirmed the Federal Court’s decision in Paule v FCT that the capital gains tax (CGT) discount did not apply to the sale of shares owned by a trust.

Our international tax series discusses Commonwealth tax issues relating to non-resident beneficiaries or non-resident trustees of a trust.

This is the first article in a series relating to the Australian tax consequences for resident and non-resident beneficiaries of Australian and foreign trusts.

In Watson as trustee for the Murrindindi Bushfire Class Active Settlement Fund v Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 228 (Watson), the Federal Court ruled that an investment trust established to hold funds received as compensation for victims of the black Saturday bush fires could not deduct administrative expenses associated with the trust’s operation.  

The Federal Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) has issued Taxation Ruling TR 2019/1 (Ruling) which addresses when a company carries on a business within the meaning of:

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has determined that land, used to store tools and materials for the purposes of operating a business, constituted an “active asset” for the purposes of the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions.

In a recent case of Nifuno Pty Ltd atf Stephen Forbes Pension Fund v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2019] NSWCATOD 3, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) considered the application of an available duty concession for the transfer of property in connection with persons changing superannuation funds, including self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

Thousands of businesses across regional Victoria have already taken advantage of the Victorian Government’s regional payroll tax cuts, which have saved businesses more than $31 million in the first financial year it was introduced.

On 20 September 2017, the Senate passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2018 (the Bill).

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has denied a taxpayer a capital gains tax (CGT) discount on a gain on the disposal of shares she acquired as part of an employee share scheme (ESS).

A taxpayer has been found liable for a tax bill of $106,058 in relation to shares they acquired as part of an employee share scheme (ESS) with their previous employer, NewSat Limited, a now insolvent company with a share value of nil. 

On 15 August 2018, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) updated Practical Compliance Guideline (PCG) 2017/13 to extend its application to Division 7A sub-trust arrangements adopted in accordance with Practice Statement Law Administration 2010/4 (PS LA 2010/4) that mature in the 2019 income year.

Greig v Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCA 1084 (Greig) reiterates the uncertainty in respect of the revenue and capital dichotomy and draws on well-known case law principles.

Taxation of cryptocurrency continues to gain substantial attention in the media. Our thoughts on the implications of having a commercial nature when acquiring and selling cryptocurrency and the general uncertainty around taxation of cryptocurrency were recently shared in Forbes.

The application of the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions in Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (CGT Concessions) is an area of interest for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The Federal Commissioner of Taxation  (Commissioner) recently updated his guidelines on cryptocurrency and for the first time addressed the taxation of cryptocurrency acquired as the result of a chain split.  

Australia is obligated under Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) regimes to automatically exchange financial account information with foreign jurisdictions.