In the first week of December 2019, the government reintroduced legislation to reform the R&D Tax Incentive (the Treasury Laws Amendment (Research and Development Tax Incentive) Bill 2019, which can be found here along with its Explanatory Memorandum). A previous attempt to reform...

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The ATO, after consultation and collaboration with business taxpayers and industry representatives, has developed what it calls a “safe harbour” mechanism for calculating car fringe benefits under the operating cost method. In ATO parlance, a safe harbour is a guideline...

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From 1 January 2020, primary producers can claim a refund of luxury car tax (LCT) they have paid on one eligible vehicle per financial year, up to a maximum of $10,000 (it used to be $3,000), for vehicles delivered to them...

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Treasury has released a consultation paper on the retirement income review (or click here for a PDF version). The independent review, recommended by the Productivity Commission, established a panel that has been tasked with establishing a fact base — that is, it will not...

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New tax rules will operate from 1 July 2019 to prevent certain taxpayers from claiming tax deductions in relation to vacant land. If the rules apply, you will not be entitled to claim deductions such as bank interest, land taxes,...

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What the ATO’s ASFP means for tax professionals How the new whistleblower laws operate, according to the TPB De-registration on basis of not being “fit and proper person” Additional conditions to be met for some small business CGT concessions Transfer...

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In the Federal Budget last April, the Government announced it would make changes to the tax treatment of testamentary trusts, and an exposure draft of amendments was released by Treasury at the start of the current quarter. The assessable income of a...

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To make it easier to finalise deceased estates, there have been some improvements in the ATO’s guidance for managing the tax affairs of deceased estates. First of all, there is now a telephone option to notify the ATO that a...

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Part of a range of measures announced in the 2018-19 Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook was a “small business package” that was designed to make it easier for small businesses to operate. A part of this package was an undertaking...

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Readers will recall that the ATO has reminded trustees of closely held trusts that they must comply (our emphasis) with the TFN reporting requirements. Recently, a diligent member of Tax & Super Australia decided that she would ensure that this was undertaken...

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