On 17 August 2020, the Full Federal Court handed down its decision in FCT v Fortunatow [2020] FCAFC 139 allowing the Commissioner’s appeal from the decision of Griffiths J of the Federal Court and finding Griffiths J had erred in his construction of section 87-20(1)(b) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 97).

As we discussed in Coelho v FCT [2020] AATA 2474, different tax rates apply to residents and non-residents. Further, under Pt III of Sch 7 to the Income Tax Rates Act 1986, a working holiday maker pays tax at 15% on the first $37,000 of income in Australia. Commonly referred to as the ‘backpacker tax’.

In a significant victory for Australian employers, the High Court has ruled in favour of Cadbury manufacturer Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd clarifying the meaning of the word “day” in the context of personal/carer’s leave entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act).

We wrote here on the decision of Thawley J of the Federal Court in Peter Greensill Family Co Pty Ltd (trustee) v FCT (Greensill) where the Commissioner of Taxation was successful in arguing that section 855-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) does not disregard a capital gain distributed to a foreign resident beneficiary of an Australian discretionary trust. The taxpayer has appealed that decision to the Full Federal Court.

This article looks at what determines the tax residence of a trust and what the consequences can be from a change of tax residence.

Where the trustee is unable or unwilling to vary the identity and/or powers of the appointor, the court may intervene.

IP Australia is providing applicants with an opportunity to file a free streamlined extension of time of up to three months due to the COVID-19 disruptions.

Life interest trusts are a popular strategy for blended families in estate planning, but it is important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a multi-faceted impact which touches on almost every aspect of our lives. In turn this may be causing a shift in priorities for investors and business owners.

In anticipation of the conclusion of the superannuation guarantee (SG) amnesty (discussed here) on 7 September 2020, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a draft Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2020/D1 (PSLA 2020/D1) in relation to how, post amnesty, the ATO officers may exercise their discretion to remit Part 7 penalties.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a welcome draft legislative instrument, Self Managed Superannuation Funds (COVID-19 Rental income deferrals - In-house Asset Exclusion) Determination 2020 (SPR 2020/D2), that will exclude COVID-19 related rental deferrals from being ‘loans’ under the in-house asset rules.

As the economic effects of COVID-19 continue to be felt across the country, the regulatory landscape for SMSFs has also changed.

On 21 July 2020, the Government announced an extension until 28 March 2021 – labelled JobKeeper 2.0 - to the JobKeeper programme.

A new report on the economic contribution of Australia’s copyright industries identifies software developers and advertising services as high performing copyright industries.

An individual in Australia for more than 183 days for an income year, whether continuously or intermittently, is an Australian tax resident unless the Commissioner of Taxation is satisfied the individual’s usual place of abode is outside Australia and the individual does not intend to take up residence in Australia.

In Chadbourne v FC of T [2020] AATA 2441 (Chadbourne) the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) held that a beneficiary (Taxpayer) of a discretionary trust (Trust) was unable to deduct interest on borrowed funds where the funds borrowed in the Taxpayer’s name were used by the Trust to buy real property and shares.

In the recent decision of Gulliman Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2020] VCAT 804, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) held that the discharge of debt owed by vendor to purchaser in respect of previous transaction amounts to non-monetary consideration and, therefore, was subject to land transfer (stamp) duty.

Each jurisdiction across Australia has a primary production land tax exemption. The requirements of those exemption are similar.

In the recent decision of Dental Corporation Pty Ltd v Moffet [2020] FCAFC 118 (16 June 2020) , the Full Federal Court found that a dentist fell within the extended definition of ‘employee’ under s12(3) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth) (SG Act). Section 12(3) broadly provides that an employee is a person who is working ‘under a contract that is wholly or principally for the labour of the person.’

Payments made to independent contractors, under “relevant contracts”, are subject to payroll tax under the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic) unless an exemption applies.