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
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
Commissioner of Taxation v Qantas Airways Ltd
For many people, making a reservation for air travel is as simple as logging in to an airline’s website and choosing the flight that suits their needs. But how many people actually understand (or, for that matter, read) the terms and conditions associated with their reservation; does the average person know what they are buying when they enter their credit card details at the end of the transaction? One might assume that the airline, in accepting a booking, is making a promise to carry the passenger and baggage on a particular flight.
However, the High Court, in delivering its recent decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Qantas Airways Limited, determined that Qantas’s terms and conditions actually promised something less. continue reading
The sale of a business may be a supply of a going concern and therefore GST-free. The concession can assist in providing cash-flow and stamp duty savings to purchasers of businesses.
The cash-flow benefit is the saving to the purchaser in not having to fund the GST payable on the purchase price of the business (although in most cases this GST would be recoverable as a GST input tax credit in a subsequent BAS). The stamp duty benefit of the concession is that duty is calculated on the sale price without GST. continue reading