Industry News

From 1 July 2016, Australian residents who are selling taxable Australian property with a market value of $2 million or more need to obtain a clearance certificate from the ATO, to ensure that CGT foreign resident withholding of 10 per cent does not need to be withheld from the transaction. The form is available to…

The ATO has issued the application form for use by Australian resident property vendors to obtain a capital gains withholding clearance certificate. Under new rules that apply from Friday 1 July, purchasers of taxable Australian real property from foreign resident vendors will be required to pay 10 per cent of the purchase price to the…

A Bill proposing a new roll-over for small business restructures has been introduced into parliament. The Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Restructure Roll-over) Bill 2016 introduces a roll-over to make it easier for small business owners to restructure by allowing them to defer gains or losses that would otherwise be made from transferring business assets…

The government has announced a number of tax incentives as part of its National Innovation and Science Agenda to encourage innovation, risk taking and to build an entrepreneurial culture in Australia. The incentives are: concessional tax treatment for early stage investors in innovative start-ups including a 20 per cent non-refundable tax offset capped at $200,000…

The Supreme Court of NSW has handed down final orders further to the judgment delivered against Park Trent Properties Group Pty Ltd on 15 October 2015. The court made the following orders against Park Trent: declarations that Park Trent had unlawfully carried on an unlicensed financial services business for over 5 years by providing advice…

The ATO says it has undertaken its first ever automatic sharing of bank information with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Details of over 30,000 financial accounts worth over $5 billion are being provided to the US under the new powers of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). According to the ATO, the…

The Treasurer Joe Hockey has outlined the case for change in Australia’s tax system, particularly personal income tax rates, in a recent speech. Mr Hockey said the starting point for tax reform must be bracket creep, when people are pushed up into higher tax brackets as a result of inflation and rising wages. Mr Hockey…

ASIC has released two information sheets to improve the quality of advice provided by advisers on self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs):  Information Sheet 205 Advice on self managed superannuation funds: Disclosure of risks. It explains the relevant conduct and disclosure obligations, the risks that should be considered by the adviser and disclosed to the client…

The ATO has released guidelines on how it will assess the risk of Pt IVA of ITAA 1936 applying to the allocation of profits from a professional firm carried on through a partnership, trust or company, where the income of the firm is not personal services income. The guidelines apply to relevant arrangements within professional…

The Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No 1) Bill 2015 and the Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No 2) Bill 2015 were passed by the Senate without amendments and received royal assent as Acts No 66 and 67 of 2015, respectively. Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No 1) Act 2015 reduces the…