In our earlier article, we noted the Federal Court in FCT v Eichmann [2019] FCA 2155 (Eichman) in late 2019 had found in favour of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) (appealing a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) and held land used for storage was not an active asset for the purposes of the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions in Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997).

As the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt across Australia, federal and state governments continue to take measures to stimulate the economy and provide financial assistance to taxpayers.

On 26 June 2020, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced a streamlined process for COVID-19 affected borrowers to make applications under section 109RD to extend the time to make minimum yearly repayments (normally required to be made by 30 June 2020) under Division 7A.

As part of the broader framework of the JobKeeper scheme (discussed here) established by the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020, the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Jobkeeper Payment) Regulations 2020 (Amending Regulations) have now been made.

The recent Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) decision of Holman v FCT highlights once again the importance of documentation and maintaining objective factual evidence to discharge the statutory burden of proof when disputing an assessment.

As previously discussed here, the ATO has now finalized the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) In-house Asset Determination — Intermediary Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement Determination 2020 (Determination).

As part of the 2019-20 Budget and as previous discussed here, the Australian Government announced that Australians over age 65 would have greater flexibility in making voluntary concessional and non-concessional superannuation contributions from 1 July 2020.

As part of its response to COVID-19, on 13 May 2020 the Australian Taxation Office announced that it has extended the time for lodgment of 2019 tax returns for certain companies and trusts and made changes to its administration of Division 7A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

The Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas announced on 5 May 2020 that the Victorian Government will provide additional tax relief to businesses suffering as a result of COVID-19. The measures, which bring the Government’s economic survival and job package cost to $1.7billion include:

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) position for several years has been a foreign beneficiary distributed a capital gain made by an Australian discretionary trust on an asset that is not taxable Australian property is assessed on the capital gain even though that would not occur if the foreign resident made the gain directly, or through a fixed trust. Some commentators disagree with that view, the Federal Court in a recent case agreed with the ATO position in what may be the first skirmish of a battle through the courts on this issue.

The Court of Appeal handed down its decision in MD Commercial Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2019] VSCA 295 in late 2019. The decision has provided further clarity on the application of section 35 of the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) which provides an exemption from duty for transfers to bare trusts.

Further to my article on the COVID-19 JobKeeper measure, and pending the release of legislation, on 5 April 2020 Treasury further updated and expanded its JobKeeper fact sheets and included a ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQ) document.

On 29 March 2020 the Federal Government announced changes to the foreign investment review regime as Australia continues to deal with the economic implications of COVID-19.

Once the legislation is passed, effective from 29 March 2020, all proposed foreign investment into Australia subject to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 will require approval, regardless of the value of the investment or nature of the foreign investor. This is to be achieved by reducing to $0 the monetary screening thresholds for all foreign investment under the Act.

As foreshadowed in our earlier article, on 30 March 2020 the Federal Government announced further COVID-19 business support – the JobKeeper Payment.

Under the JobKeeper Payment, businesses significantly affected by Coronavirus outbreak be able to access a subsidy from the Government to continue paying their employees.

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.