Greenwoods & Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 6.8.10

ATO Documents

Released 4.8.10

Class Rulings
CR 2010/33: Income tax: demerger of Dart Energy Limited by Arrow Energy Limited
CR 2010/34: Income tax: demerger of DuluxGroup Limited by Orica Limited
CR 2010/35: Income tax: scrip for scrip roll-over: exchange of units in Westpac Office Trust for Mirvac Group stapled securities
Notice of Withdrawal
GSTD 2008/1: Goods and services tax: for taxable supplies or creditable acquisitions made by a member entity of a GST group, is the representative member of the GST group liable to pay GST and entitled to input tax credits if the GST or input tax credits are attributable to a tax period other than when the entity is a member of the GST group?
Addenda
GSTD 2004/2: Goods and services tax: are all supplies made by the entity nominated as the joint venture operator to entities that are participants in the GST joint venture to be treated as if they are not taxable supplies?
GSTR 2004/2: Goods and services tax: what is a joint venture for GST purposes?
GSTR 2004/3: Goods and services tax: arrangements of the kind described in Taxpayer Alert TA 2004/2 - Avoidance of GST on the sale of new residential premises
GSTR 2005/3: Goods and services tax: arrangements of the kind described in Taxpayer Alert TA 2004/9 - exploitation of the second-hand goods provisions to obtain input tax credits
GSTR 2005/4: Goods and services tax: arrangements of the kind described in Taxpayer Alerts TA 2004/6 and TA 2004/7: use of the Grouping or Margin Scheme provisions of the GST Act to avoid or reduce the Goods and Services Tax on the sale of new residential premises

Released 6.8.10

Withdrawn Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2001/653: GST and the date of effect of approval of an additional member of a GST group
ATO ID 2001/710: Assessable Income - Government Grant
ATO ID 2002/927: Exemption from income tax and lodgment of returns
ATO ID 2003/35: PELS - deductibility of course fees
ATO ID 2004/692: GST and date of effect of revocation of GST group membership approval when member sold one minute before midnight on the last day of a tax period applying to all group members
ATO ID 2006/257: Deductions and Expenses: boat charter business - part year use of boat
ATO ID 2008/138: Capital Gains Tax: small business concessions - control of discretionary trust income paid or applied

Luxottica Retail Australia Pty Limited and Commissioner of Taxation [2010] AATA 22: The Commissioner has appealed to the Federal Court in relation to one aspect of the decision of the AAT. The Tribunal had agreed with the Commissioner that the supply of spectacles comprising prescription lenses fitted into frames constituted a single supply (albeit comprising two components – the taxable frame and the GST-free lenses). The taxpayer had contended that it made two separate supplies - one of taxable frames (which were offered at a discount) and one of GST-free lenses. However, the Commissioner went further and argued that because access to the discount on the frames was conditional upon the purchase of a complete pair of spectacles, the taxable proportion of the supply should be determined having regard to the undiscounted price of the frames. The Tribunal rejected this submission and found that the taxable proportion was to be calculated by reference to the discounted frame price. It is this aspect of the decision that the Commissioner has appealed.

A Federal Election has been called for 21 August 2010. Those Bills which had not passed through both Houses of Parliament as at 17 July have now lapsed. The lapsed Bills are noted in the table below.

As At 6.8.10