The Federal Court of Australia’s judgment in ASIC v Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd highlights that if a corporation honestly relies on advice from their lawyers that may provide reasonable grounds to defend the making of a representation that concerns the present state of affairs.

The Federal Court found that representations made by Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd (REST) regarding their rules and practice were opinions expressed as to the law based on reasonable grounds due to reliance on advice received from their lawyers and other trusted sources. Therefore, the representations made could not amount to misleading or deceptive conduct.

While the thin capitalisation rules have traditionally had limited application to many private groups, the new debt deduction creation rules (DDCR) that apply from 1 July 2024 are a clear creep into that space.

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.

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.

On 31 July 2024, the ATO released draft TD 2024/D2 and draft PCG 2024/D1 on aspects of section 99B.

While we welcome the ATO guidance on section 99B, it is not what taxpayers and advisors want– section 99B requires legislative amendment. However, is the draft ATO guidance what advisor’s need?

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.

The Federal Court has confirmed that a liability to pay Capital Gains Tax applies to trustees in bankruptcy in respect of capital gains derived in their capacity as trustee.

If you are selling an asset to a trust, don’t forget about CGT event E2…

As soon as the business or investment structure involves entities such as companies, it is inevitable that there will be intra-group loans arising from either:

This is the first article in a series that aims to demystify the application of the tax consolidation rules in Part 3-90 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 for private groups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In 2022, the decision of the Federal Court in Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 1092 raised the question that tax benefits emanating from trustee decisions could be subject Part IVA. At that time, we said we think ‘no’ (see here).  

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) has held in Quy v FCT [2024] AATA 245 that a taxpayer, who was physically in Australia for less than 2 months each year, was a resident of Australian tax purposes.

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

In an “unusual outcome” concerning a main residence, the AAT has highlighted the breadth of what constitutes a profit-making scheme and the functionality of ATO public rulings.

If 16 December 2009 was the beginning of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) treating an unpaid present entitlement (UPE) with a corporate beneficiary as a loan for purposes of Division 7A, could 28 September 2023 be the end of that era?

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.

This time last year, we published an article querying whether the Federal Court decision in Guardian AIT Pty Ltd ATF Australian Investment Trust v FCT [2021] FCA 1619 (First Instance Decision) would ignite an administrative and judicial quest for clarity on the interpretation of section 100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

On 23 November 2022, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) released Taxation Ruling TR 2022/3, finalising its views on personal services income (PSI) and personal services businesses (PSB).

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.

The recent Federal Court decision of Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 1092 (Minerva) signifies that the Federal Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) can successfully scrutinise a trustee’s discretion under the general anti-avoidance provisions (Part IVA).