read the PDF version Here: The Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s first budget has lots of goodies with few “baddies”. This was to be expected with the next federal election only weeks away and the Coalition Government trying to make up ground in the polls. The Treasurer’s “wow” factor was a return to a budget surplus of $7.1...

The GST Act contains anti-avoidance provisions that are similar to those available for income tax purposes. The rules (known as Division 165) are designed to deter schemes that would produce benefits by reducing GST payable, increasing refunds, or altering the timing of payment of GST or refunds, and are aimed directly at artificial and contrived...

Companies are not entitled to a refund of franking tax offsets, however they may be able to convert them to carried forward losses in subsequent years. Companies are able to choose the amount of prior year losses they wish to deduct, after first having offset losses against net exempt income. There are however the following...

There are times when getting a valuation becomes necessary, especially to estimate the cost of transactions that are not arm’s-length or when no actual cash changes hands. A common example of this is in respect of property, and especially for transactions when a valuation is necessary for tax purposes. For example, let’s say that Humbert...

The ATO recently highlighted significant non-compliance with the rules prohibiting taxpayers claiming travel expenses related to residential rental properties. Late last calendar year, the ATO revealed that it had identified 26,000 taxpayers who had incorrectly claimed deductions for travel to rental properties during tax time 2018, despite recent changes to the law in this area....

Australians have been taking full advantage of the offerings on the digital marketplace with gusto for years now, but it has only been relatively recently that the rules for goods and services tax (GST) have caught up. With the purchase of digital products such as the streaming or downloading of movies, apps, and e-books and...

From 1 July 2019, businesses will only be able to claim deductions for payments that are made to workers (employees or contractors) when the employer has complied with the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding and other tax reporting obligations for that payment. If the PAYG withholding rules require a business to withhold an amount from a payment that...

Among the first batch of tax legislation the government dealt with in the new year was a bill that contained changes to the “same business” test. The same business test is relevant in a number of contexts, but most particularly in determining if a company is eligible to claim deductions for past year losses, current...

For more than two years now (from 1 July 2016) two key tax incentives have been available for investors considering putting their money behind qualifying start-up businesses — or as the ATO has dubbed them, early stage innovation companies (ESICs). The incentives provide eligible taxpayers who invest in new shares in an ESIC with: a non-refundable carry...

The ATO has announced that it is reviewing arrangements where members of an SMSF (typically at, or approaching, retirement age) purport to divert income earned from their personal services to their fund, which results in minimising or even avoiding tax altogether on that income. The ATO says these arrangements typically display all or most of...