The Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding for Proprietary Companies) Bill 2017 was introduced into Parliament on 14 September 2017.  If passed, as is expected, the Bill will extend the reach of the Crowd-sourced Equity Funding (CSEF) legislation that will at this stage apply only to public companies from 29 September 2017.

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.

Businesses exporting products around the world can now apply for the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG). Applications can be completed and submitted online up until 30 November 2017.

On 18 September 2017, the Government released for public consultation exposure draft legislation to amend the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 to confirm that companies that earn predominantly passive income will not be eligible for the lower company tax rate.

On 14 September 2017, the Government released for public consultation exposure draft legislation to implement the announcement in the 2017 Budget that from 1 January 2018 the CGT discount for eligible resident investors in qualifying affordable housing to 60% (from 50%). The change is part of the government’s policy to encourage increased investment in affordable rental housing.

On 14 September 2017, the government introduced to the Parliament the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No. 6) Bill 2017 (the Bill) that includes amendments to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999. The Government announced these changes in the 2017 Budget on 9 May 2017.

The Federal Government has this week announced a number of proposed reforms aimed at those individuals, entities and advisors who undertake or facilitate illegal phoenix activity.

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.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) recently held in the case of MSAUS v FC of T that Division 135 of the Good and Services Tax (GST) Act did not apply to impose an increasing adjustment [an amount of GST on an otherwise GST-free transaction] to the sale of leased residential apartments

Further to our Sladen Snippet, we are reminding and encouraging businesses with interests in producing and selling wine (and who rely on the WET Rebate) to ensure they have properly secured trade mark registration.

As previously discussed in this forum, changes to the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) Rebate eligibility criteria and cap reduction were announced in December 2016 by the Turnbull Government. These reforms received assent on 23 August 2017 and bring significant changes to the entitlement to the WET producer rebate.

Further to our previous snippets on the ATO’s new transfer balance report (TBAR) regime (see here and here), the ATO has announced that it will consult on two alternative options for the TBAR regime.