Greenwoods & Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights 9.3.12

ATO documents

Tax Determination
TD 2012/1: can Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 apply to deny a deduction for some, or all, of the interest expense incurred in respect of an 'investment loan interest payment arrangement' of the type described in this Determination?

GST Determination
GSTD 2012/3: does an adjustment for a change in extent of creditable purpose necessarily arise for services acquired in relation to a proposed merger and acquisition transaction that does not eventuate, or that does not proceed in the manner contemplated at the time the services were acquired?
 
Product Rulings
PR 2012/1: 2012 Grain Co-Production Project 
PR 2012/2: tax consequences of investment in units in the Westpac Enhance Trust issued on or before 30 June 2014 - limited recourse borrowings
PR 2012/3: tax consequences of investment in units in the Westpac Enhance Trust issued on or before 30 June 2014 - full recourse borrowings
PR 2012/4: tax consequences for a Holder of NSW Waratah Inflation Protected Annuity Bonds and NSW Waratah Fixed Rate Bonds   

Addenda
PR 2011/18: tax consequences for a Nominee Investor in the Australian Securities Property Fund
Erratum
MT 2008/1: Penalty relating to statements: meaning of reasonable care, recklessness and intentional disregard

Interpretative Decision
ATO ID 2012/16: Superannuation Excess Contributions Tax: concessional contributions - allocation of contributions
Withdrawn Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2003/342: CGT: trust to company rollover - capital loss made by unit trust on expiry of a lease during the trust restructuring period
ATO ID 2003/362: CGT: scrip for scrip roll-over - choice not to apply roll-over to all interests exchanged
ATO ID 2003/452: CGT: Status of pre-CGT asset owned by demerged entity 
ATO ID 2003/497: CGT - Demutualisation of a foreign mutual entity

Decision Impact Statement
2008/3923: Commissioner of Taxation v Newton; 

On 7 March 2012, Treasury released revised exposure draft legislation proposing to implement Elements 1 and 2 of the Government’s proposed Investment Manager Regime. The revised draft takes account of submissions on the previous draft released on 16 August 2011.

Element 1 proposes amendments to clarify how certain income of foreign funds is taxed for the 2010-11 and prior years. These changes are intended to address the uncertainty arising from the application of US accounting standard “FIN 48” for US-based fund managers investing in Australia

Element 2 often referred to as the “conduit income” amendments, proposes amendments aimed at ensuring that foreign funds are not subject to Australian tax solely because they engage the services of an Australian based entity, which gives rise to a permanent establishment in Australia.  

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited v Konza [2012] FCA 196 (Federal Court, Lander J, 9 March 2012): The Federal Court has held that s.264 notices issued by the ATO to ANZ were valid. The ATO issued two s.264 notices requiring that ANZ provide certain information concerning customers who have or who have had accounts with it or any of its subsidiaries in Vanuatu. The information was held by ANZ in Australia.

As at 9.3.12