Greenwoods & Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights 13.7.12

ATO documents

Taxation Determination
TD 2012/18: Income tax: does a New Zealand citizen who was present in Australia as the holder of a temporary visa granted under section 32 of the Migration Act 1958 (a Special Category Visa) that ceased to be in effect when they departed Australia, still hold a temporary visa for the purposes of paragraph (a) in the 'temporary resident' definition in subsection 995-1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997?

Goods and Services Tax Ruling
GSTR 2012/3: Goods and services tax: GST treatment of care services and accommodation in retirement villages and privately funded nursing homes and hostels 

Class Rulings
CR 2012/49: Income tax: Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc adjustment to employee share schemes due to sub division and consolidation of ordinary share capital
CR 2012/52: Income tax: Gloucester Coal Limited - Special Dividend and Capital Return

Notices of Withdrawal
TR 98/3: Income tax: treatment of receipts for dealing with or disclosing mining, quarrying or prospecting information 11 July 2012   
 
Goods and Services Tax Rulings
GSTR 2011/2: Goods and services tax: appropriations

Addenda
TR 2006/10: Public Rulings
TR 2006/11: Private Rulings
MT 2008/1: Penalty relating to statements: meaning of reasonable care, recklessness and intentional disregard 
MT 2008/2: Shortfall penalties: administrative penalty for taking a position that is not reasonably arguable
MT 2011/1: Miscellaneous taxes: application of penalties and interest charges to the Commonwealth, States, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory
MT 2012/3: Administrative penalties: voluntary disclosures

Erratum
TR 2012/5: Income tax: section 254T of the Corporations Act 2001 and the assessment and franking of dividends paid from 28 June 2010

Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2012/60: Income Tax Division 7A: application of section 109D of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to a loan made in an income year where the loan agreement put in place in the following income year amounts to an agreement for a new loan
ATO ID 2012/61: Income Tax Division 7A: income year in which an amalgamated loan is taken to be made when written loan agreement put in place after the end of the year of income in which loan(s) made but before lodgment day
ATO ID 2012/62: Division 7A: unpaid present entitlements between a unit trust and unit holders
ATO ID 2012/63: Capital gains tax - CGT event E4 and expenses deductible for taxation purposes in a different year to that for trust law purposes
ATO ID 2012/64: Tax losses: savings rule - deductions and capital losses that 'could occur in future'
ATO ID 2012/65: Deductions: student services and amenities fee

Withdrawn Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2002/690: Refund of Excess Franking Tax Offset - franked dividends paid on or after 1 July 2000
ATO ID 2002/1070: Trust with Nil net income - refund of imputation credits
ATO ID 2002/1071: Trust with Nil net income - refund of imputation credits
ATO ID 2002/1100: Franking tax offset - refund to trustee
ATO ID 2012/21: GST and Division 81 of the GST Act: fee imposed before 1 July 2012 that was specified in the final Determination
ATO ID 2012/22: GST and Division 81 of the GST Act: judicial system daily hearing fee imposed after 30 June 212

Taxpayer Alert
TA 2012/4: Accessing private company profits through a dividend access share arrangement attempting to circumvent taxation laws 
 
Decision Impact Statements
DIS: Clark v Commissioner of Taxation
DIS: International All Sports Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation; Sportsbet Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation
DIS: Commissioner of Taxation v Clark (No 2)  

As part of the 2012-13 Budget, the Government announced that it would amend the “integrity provisions” in the CGT scrip for scrip roll-over rules, including changes to fix what it perceived to be weaknesses in those rules highlighted by the decision in FCT v AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd [2010] FCAFC 134. Treasury has now released a proposals paper - 'Strengthening certain integrity provisions in the scrip for scrip roll-over'- outlining the Government’s proposed changes and seeking submissions. In broad terms, the proposed changes are:

• when identifying significant and common stakeholders, to take into account any options, rights or similar interests that give an interest holder an entitlement to acquire a share, rather than just strict shareholder rights;
• new rules dealing with the CGT implications of intra-group financing arising from scrip for scrip transactions in “downstream” acquisitions; and
• rules to extend the restructure and stakeholder provisions to trusts in addition to companies.

Appeal update

Commissioner of Taxation v Greenhatch [2012] FCAFC 84 (7 June 2012): The taxpayer has applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court. The Full Federal Court (Edmonds, Greenwood and Robertson JJ) previously upheld the Commissioner’s appeal, deciding that the assessable income of a beneficiary presently entitled to a discounted capital gain made by the trust was only the discounted proportion of the gain and not the entire gain.  

As at 13.7.12