Greenwoods and Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 27.3.09

ATO Documents

Released 25.03.09

Taxation Determinations
TD 2009/5: Income tax: Division 7A: in exercising the discretion under subsection 109Y(2) of Division 7A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to substitute an appropriate value for a private company's assets, can the Commissioner take into account the value of the company's assets not shown in the company's accounting records?"
Draft Taxation Ruling
TR 2009/D1: Income tax: entitlement to foreign income tax offsets under section 770-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 where income is derived from investing in fiscally transparent foreign entities
Product Rulings
PR 2009/12: Income tax: ITC Pulpwood Project 2009
PR 2009/13: Income tax: Tasmanian Premium Cherries Project (May 2009 Growers) 
PR 2009/14: Income tax: Macquarie Eucalypt Project 2009 (pre 1 July 2009 Growers)
Class Ruling
CR 2009/15: Income tax: return of capital: DSF International Holdings Limited (previously Deep Sea Fisheries Limited)
CR 2009/16: Income tax: payments assigned to representative public dentists under the Medicare Teen Dental Plan
CR 2009/17: Income tax: Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (NSW) Attendant Care Program Direct Funding Model
Notice of  Withdrawal
Class Ruling
CR 2006/83: Income tax: Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (NSW) Attendant Care Program Direct Payment Pilot project

Released 27.3.09

Interpretative Decisions 
ATO ID 2009/16: Foreign exchange (forex) gains and losses: bond maturity 27 March 2009
ATO ID 2009/17: A compulsory subscription payable from foreign earnings in a foreign country under a legislative decree is not income tax
Practice Statement
PS LA 2009/1: The Commissioner's discretion to issue a written notice specifying the amount of a tax offset for research and development allowable to an eligible company

Released 26.3.09

The Assistant Treasurer has alerted taxpayers to the Government's commitment to ensuring the integrity of the new income tax law relating to financial arrangements. The implementation of TOFA will be monitored by the Government to ensure that taxpayers are not using synthetic arrangements to engineer an outcome which will undermine the intent of the tax law. The Government will be considering the need for specific integrity measures to address issues such as synthetic arrangements.