Greenwoods and Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 10.10.08

ATO Documents

Released 8.10.08

Product Ruling
PR 2008/65: Income tax: Great Southern 2009 High Value Timber Project
Class Ruling
CR 2008/61: Income tax: implications of the Centennial Coal Company Limited return of capital for participants in the Centennial Deferred Employee Share Plan
Notices of Withdrawal
Class Ruling
CR 2007/113: Income tax: merger between the Mulgrave Central Mill Company Limited and TQ Sugar Limited
Product Ruling
PR 2008/15: Income tax: Mediterranean Olives Project 2008 - (Joint Venture Growers)

Released 10.10.08

Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2008/136: GST and motel apartments 10 October 2008
ATO ID 2008/137: Separate Net Income: account-based pensions

TOFA Exposure Draft Legislation - Tax Brief Released

Treasury has released an Exposure Draft Bill and related Explanatory Material dealing with Taxation of Financial Arrangements (TOFA) Stages 3 and 4. The TOFA exposure draft legislation has undergone a number of technical changes including the addition of integrity rules to address value shifting and non-arm’s length dealings in relation to financial arrangements. Greenwoods & Freehills has issued a Tax Brief on the latest TOFA releases.

Tax Cases

Virgin Holdings SA v FCT [2008] FCA 1503, 10 October 2008: The Federal Court has allowed the taxpayer's appeal against capital gains tax liability on a gain the taxpayer had made on a sale of shares. The Court dismissed the Commissioner's argument that the "Australian income tax" mentioned in the Swiss-Australian DTA did not include capital gains tax as Australia did not have a CGT regime at the time the treaty entered into force. The Court held that the Treaty did extend to capital gains as the Income Tax Assessment Act, at the time the treaty entered into force, treated various capital gains and receipts as income. We will be issuing a Tax Brief on this case in the near future.