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.

The Federal Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) has given notice that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will commence a data matching program on cryptocurrency.

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.  

We previously reported here and here on the Full Federal Court decision of Pintarich v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCAFC 79 (Pintarich) and the unsuccessful application for special leave to the High Court.

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 Commissioner of Federal Taxation has expressed his preliminary views, in Tax Determination TD 2019/D4, that a company, which

The Federal Court has ruled, in a decision that the Court itself described as an “unpalatable result”, that the capital gains tax (CGT) discount did not apply to the sale of shares held by a trust.

With the next Federal Election expected in May, there are currently several pending bills in the Parliament introduced by the Coalition Government (Coalition).

In this election year, the focus of the Budget was the emphasis on the Budget surplus, cash payments to, and tax cuts for, low to medium income earners, and increasing investment in infrastructure.

 We reported on the Full Federal Court decision of Satyam Computer Services Limited v CoT (2018) [2018] FCAFC 172 (Satyam) here.

Previously we reported here and here, legislation was introduced to the Parliament in October 2017 (then dropped) and again in February 2018 regarding proposed changes to the CGT main residence exemption as that exemption applies to foreign residents.

We previously reported here in relation to the Full Federal Court decision in the residency case of Harding v COT [2019] FCAFC 29 (Harding) which found in favour of Mr Harding, reversing the Federal Court’s decision at first instance.

We have previously written on the ATO releasing guidance on demergers and back-to-back CGT roll-overs. The ATO recently released Draft Taxation Determination TD 2019/D1 concerning demergers although the ATO’s draft views may be illustrative of the Commissioner’s views in the context of back-to-back CGT rollovers.

Sladen Legal’s Daniel Smedley, Neil Brydges and Phil Broderick have received recognition in the 12th Edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia. The list of impressive legal professionals was announced in the Australian Financial Review on 22 March 2019.

As reported recently by The Age and ABC News, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is targeting property investors particularly taxpayers who may have made mistakes, errors or false claims on their tax returns in relation to property owned for investment purposes.

It is the time of the year again. The Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO) is currently issuing land tax assessments for the 2019 land tax year.

The Full Federal Court has now handed down its decision in the residency case of Harding v COT [2019] FCAFC 29 (Harding), reversing the Federal Court’s decision at first instance, and finding in favour of Mr Harding. 

In Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Pedley (No 2) (2018) FCA 2015 (Pedley), the Federal Court confirmed the wide discretion available to the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) to allocate payments made to it for tax debts especially where the taxpayer has not provided explicit direction as to what payments should be applied to which debts.

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.

On 6 February 2019, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) withdrew its long-standing Interpretative Decision 2003/589 that a company can forgive a debt owed by a natural person for reasons of “natural love and affection” and not trigger consequences under the commercial debt forgiveness rules.