Greenwoods and Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 23.5.08
ATO Documents
Released 21.5.08
Taxation Determination
TD 2008/13: Income tax: capital gains: what is the improvement threshold for the 2008-09 income year under section 108-85 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997?
Class Rulings
CR 2008/37: Income tax: assessable income: payments received under the Redress Scheme for former residents of State care in Western Australia
CR 2008/38: Income tax: scrip for scrip: acquisition of Dyno Nobel Limited by the Incitec Pivot Limited Group
Product Rulings
PR 2008/46: Income tax: Curtis Eastern Project
PR 2008/47: Income tax: tax consequences of rebalancing, contributing to and partially redeeming an investment in a unit in the Credit Suisse Asset Management Select Investment Flexible International Shares Fund - 2008 Product Disclosure Statement
PR 2008/48: Income tax: Rewards Group Berry Project 2008 - Late Growers
PR 2008/49: Income tax: tax consequences of investing in ABN AMRO Unlisted Rolling Instalment Warrants 2007 Product Disclosure Statement (Cash Applicants) - Navra Blue Chip Australian Share Retail Fund
PR 2008/50: Income tax: tax consequences of investing in ANZ Protected Equity Leveraged Solutions
Addenda
Product Ruling
PR 2008/13: Income tax: tax consequences of investing in Next Financial Instalments - Series NF 330
Notices of Withdrawal
Product Ruling
PR 2007/11: Income tax: tax consequences of rebalancing, contributing to an investment and partially redeeming a unit in the Credit Suisse Asset Management Select Investment Flexible International Share Fund - 2007 Product Disclosure Statement
Taxation Determination
TD 93/159: Income tax: if a purchase of depreciable plant comprises individual items costing $300 or less each or having an effective life of less than 3 years, can these individual items be depreciated at the rate of 100% in terms of subsection 55(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936?
Released 23.5.08
Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2008/71: Capital allowances: environmental protection activities - payment to purchaser of mining tenement to assume liability and indemnify taxpayer
ATO ID 2008/72: Capital allowances: mining site rehabilitation - payment to purchaser of mining tenement to assume liability and indemnify taxpayer
ATO ID 2008/73: Test individual and amendments to FTE legislation
ATO ID 2008/74: PSO: complying with relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation
ATO ID 2008/75: GST and a retrospective application of a changed apportionment method under Division 11
ATO ID 2008/76: GST: has an entity 'taken into account' an input tax credit to calculate a net amount
Taxpayer Alerts
TA 2008/9: Private company loan arrangement to obtain tax-free distributions and avoid deemed dividends
TA 2008/10: Purported prepayment of service fees designed to postpone tax liability
Board Of Taxation Issues Paper - CFC/FIF Rules
The Board of Taxation has released its Issues Papers on possible reforms to Australia's foreign source income anti-tax-deferral regimes. These regimes are comprised of the CFC rules, the FIF rules, the transferor trust rules and the deemed present entitlement rules. The Issues Papers cover the following topics: public company exemption; active investment exemption; distribution exemption; identification and measurement of interests; and branch-equivalent calculations.
Appeals Update
ConnectEast Management Ltd v FCT [2008] FCA 557: The taxpayer has appealed to the Full Federal Court. The Federal Court had held that the taxpayer had not acquired the status of a "listed widely held trust" for the purpose of the trust loss measures.
Malouf v FCT [2008] FCA 497: The Commissioner has appealed to the Full Federal Court . The Federal Court had held that the taxpayer's obligations to pay a purchase price on land acquired was incurred during the year the contract was entered into.
Tax Cases
FCT v Reliance Carpet Co Pty Limited [2008] HCA 22, 22 May 2008: The first GST case has been decided by the High Court of Australia. By unanimous judgement delivered on 22 May 2008 in Commissioner of Taxation v Reliance Carpet Co Pty Limited [2008] HCA 22, the Court found for the Commissioner that GST was payable where a deposit held by a vendor for the sale of commercial property was forfeited.
For our full Tax Brief - click here.Raftland Pty Ltd as trustee of the Raftland Trust and FCT, High Court, 22 May 2008: The High Court has unanimously dismissed the taxpayer's appeal. The Court agreed with the Commissioner, that the trust reimbursement agreement provisions made the taxpayer liable for distributions it made to the beneficiary of the trust in question. The Court also allowed the Commissioner's cross appeal. The Commissioner had argued that a sum which had not been found to be assessable income at an earlier instance should have been classed as assessable income. The Court found that the sum was in fact attributable to the reimbursement agreement and was therefore assessable.
Progress of Legislation
As at 23.5.08
|
Bill |
Intro House |
Passed House |
Intro Senate |
Passed Senate |
Date of Royal assent / Act Number |
Description |
|
Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No 1) Bill 2008 |
13.2.08 |
21.2.08 |
11.3.08 |
|
|
Carbon Sink Forests, Grants to Tobacco Growers, Deductible Gift Recipients, Equine Workers Hardship Supplement, Gifts to political parties. |
|
The Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Review of Prudential Decisions) Bill 2008 |
11.3.08 |
|
13.2.08 |
11.3.08 |
|
Overhaul of rules for operation of financial sector entities. |
|
Tax Laws Amendment (Personal Income Tax Reduction) Bill 2008 |
14.2.08 |
12.3.08 |
13.3.08 |
|
|
Personal Income Tax Cuts |
|
Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No 2) Bill 2008 |
20.3.08 |
15.5.08 |
|
|
|
CGT, Misappropriated amounts, Superannuation Guarantee, Deductible Gift Recipients |