As we have previously reported, the Government announced in the 2017 Budget that amendments would be made to Division 7A incorporating recommendations from the 2014 Board of Taxation’s final report on the ‘Post Implementation Review of Division 7A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936’ (the earlier report).
Sladen Snippet - Pintarich – a Clayton’s decision denied High Court special leave
We reported on the Full Federal Court decision of Pintarich v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCAFC 79 here.
MD Commercial: transfers to “bare” trustees failed to qualify for an exemption from Victorian stamp duty
The Victorian Supreme Court in the decision of MD Commercial Pty Ltd & AJ Commercial Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2018] VSC 560 confirmed that certain transfers of land to trustees were not exempt from duty under section 35 of the Duties Act 2000.
Wu: taxation objections - get your grounds right
The case of Wu v FCT [2018] FCA 1339 illustrates the importance of correctly stating the grounds for a taxation objection.
Victorian Supreme Court strikes a blow to payroll tax clampdown against the healthcare industry: The Optical Superstore Case
CGT Discount Denied for Employee Share Scheme interest holder
Sladen Snippet - Fox v FC of T: A cautionary tale on Employee Share Schemes
Changes in the wind: increased tightening of taxpayers’ eligibility to CGT small business concessions
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).
Sladen Snippet – Harding decision has been appealed
As reported in our earlier article on Harding v FCT [2018] FCA 837, the Federal Court ruled that the taxpayer who lived and worked in Bahrain was an Australian tax resident.
Corporate tax residency – tax ruling highlights the need for foreign companies to manage residency risk
Foreign companies that may be controlled by an Australian entity should review their key decision-making procedures following the newly issued Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Taxation Ruling, TR 2018/5 (TR 2018/5) which gives guidance on when the ATO could find a foreign company’s central management and control (CMC) is located in Australia.
Sladen Snippet - New ATO penalty relief for taxpayers
CGT marriage breakdown rollover does not apply to entities controlled by former spouses
In Ellison v Sandini Pty Ltd [2018] FCAFC 44, the Full Federal Court overturned decision which allowed Mr Sandini (the Taxpayer) to benefit from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) marriage breakdown rollover for the transfer of shares to an entity controlled by his former spouse, pursuant to a Family Court Order (FCO).
Sladen Snippet - What is “market value” for the purpose of the MNAV test
In Commissioner of Taxation v Miley, the Federal Court overturned decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning the share valuation method for the purposes of the maximum net asset value (MNAV) test in s 152-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Sladen Snippet - ATO to disclose overdue tax debts to credit agencies
In the 2016-2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (http://www.budget.gov.au/2016-17/content/myefo/download/09-Appendix-A-Revenue.pdf), the Government announced that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) would be allowed to report to credit reporting agencies the tax debt information of entities that don’t effectively engage with the ATO to manage those tax debts.
Sladen Snippet - Differential streaming of franked dividends and franking credits case granted special leave
Case illustrates primacy of Part IVC in challenging assessments
The strength of the Commissioner of Taxation’s (Commissioner) hand in raising taxation assessments, and the difficulties taxpayers face in challenging a taxation assessment other than under Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Administration Act) has again been illustrated in the Federal Court decision of Chhua v Commissioner of Taxation [2017] FCA 1127 (Chhua).
Recent case illustrates the importance of drafting
The recent Full Federal Court cases of Bazzo v FCT [2017] FCAFC 139 illustrates the importance of drafting in agreements and, in particular, agreements with revenue authorities.
ATO provides a “safe harbour” for fixed trusts
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) published the final version of the Practical Compliance Guidelines (PCG) 2016/16, which provides guidance in relation to what will be considered by the Commissioner when exercising his discretion to treat an interest in the income or capital of a trust as being a fixed entitlement and by extension whether a trust is a fixed trust for the purposes of the tax law.