Are you a charity or PBI? Received a letter from the ATO? The ATO is recognising that a number of not-for-profit organisations have an ABN, are registered for GST, are paying GST and claiming GST input tax credits, yet the organisation has not lodged an income tax return. Because income Read more…
Many private companies make loans to their shareholders for a variety of reasons. Such loans made to shareholders may be deemed to be dividends to those shareholders under Division 7A of the Australian tax law unless certain criteria are met. Where the criteria are met, the loan amounts will continue Read more…
In today’s world people are travelling, working and living more and more outside their country of birth. Sometimes when the needs of your business or personal life change, you can find yourself spending a lot of time overseas. Many people are unaware of the tax implications of doing so. This article looks at some of the things that you might need to think about if you are travelling abroad frequently.
You may have recently read or heard about a little Canberra café – Patissez – sending the internet into a frenzy over its scarily named ‘Freakshow’ shakes. Well, this mini phenomenon came up in conversation today, and led to a discussion around what the fringe benefits tax (FBT) consequences might Read more…
The ATO’s Tax Alert TA 2015/1 states that the Commissioner may apply the dividend stripping provisions in Part IVA to an arrangement where an individual transfers private company shares to a self-managed superannuation fund of which they are a member. But the ATO has ignored a critical provision in the superannuation law. continue reading
In a previous article we discussed the caps or maximums that apply to contributions that may be made to superannuation funds. This article explains the consequences of exceeding these contributions caps. continue reading
On 3 December 2014 the High Court handed down its decision of Commissioner of Taxation v MBI Properties.
The earlier decision of the Full Federal Court had created significant confusion within the property industry. Pleasingly however, the High Court’s decision has removed this confusion and resulted in a return to the generally accepted GST consequences for sellers and purchasers of properties sold subject to a lease (known as a reversionary interest). continue reading
One area of superannuation law that regularly causes consternation is the limit on amounts that can be contributed to superannuation funds without losing concessional tax treatment. These limits are known as the contributions caps. continue reading
This article provides a brief overview of GST and how the different types of supply are treated for GST purposes. Individuals, property developers and entities operating in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector will find this article useful as an overview of how GST may affect your business. continue reading
Partnerships are an unusual animal under the tax law. Under that law, a partnership includes not only an association of people who carry on a business as partners (the general law partnership) but also includes persons in receipt of income jointly (a tax law partnership). This means that owning a rental property or shares jointly causes a partnership to exist.
In the event that an arrangement gives rise to general law or a tax law partnerships, what tax obligations arise as a result? continue reading