Banter Blog.

  On 5 July 2019, the ATO published a Gazette Notice titled Notice of a Data Matching Program advising that the ATO will acquire overseas movement data from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) for individuals with an existing Higher Education Loan...

On Friday 5 July 2019, the Government’s key component of its election platform, the Personal Income Tax Plan, became law providing further personal tax cuts from 2019.
This article examines the hip pocket impact of the tax cuts on individual taxpayers at different income levels.

On Friday 5 July 2019, the Government’s key component of its election platform, the Personal Income Tax Plan, became law providing further personal tax cuts from 2019.
This article examines the hip pocket impact of the tax cuts on individual taxpayers at different income levels.

On 17 December 2018, the Government released the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2018–19 (MYEFO). The MYEFO provides updated information on the Government’s fiscal position and includes policy decisions taken since the 2018–19 Federal Budget was handed...

That's a wrap! Now that the Federal Parliament has risen for the summer break, this is an opportune time to take stock of the key outstanding tax and superannuation measures. According to the draft Parliamentary sittings for 2019, Parliament is scheduled to...

On 25 October 2018, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Lower Taxes for Small and Medium Businesses) Act 2018 (the Act) received Royal Assent as Act No. 134 of 2018. The Act amends various taxation Acts to accelerate: the reduction of the corporate tax rate for corporate tax...

After a long period of uncertainty, and in the midst of the recent Liberal Party leadership spill, the Senate on 23 August 2018 unexpectedly passed without amendment the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enterprise Tax Plan Base Rate Entities) Bill 2018 (‘the BRE...

The Government’s Fair and Sustainable Superannuation Reforms have now been in place for over a year and the measures announced in this year's Federal Budget continue to make changes to the superannuation environment. It is with some challenge that we...

On 12 July 2018, the ATO published the income tax gap for ‘individuals not in business’, comprising around 9.6 million individuals who are not in business and earn income from salary and wages and investments. The estimated net tax gap for these individuals...

On 1 July 2017, changes were made to the tax law in relation to the claiming of depreciation on certain assets used in residential rental properties. Since then, investors in residential rental properties have not been able to claim decline in value...

Background Since 2015, there have been many changes to the tax laws, both enacted and proposed, which set out the eligibility for the lower corporate tax rate. Since 2017, there have also been legislative changes, both enacted and proposed, to the rate at...

NOTE: In this article, all section references are to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. On 8 February 2018, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Reducing Pressure on Housing Affordability No. 2) Bill 2018 was introduced into Parliament. Schedule 1 to the Bill...

  The recent news cycle has extensively followed the astronomical growth — and the odd sharp dip — in the value of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency phenomenon. With an unprecedented level of public interest in Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency, it...

There are significant changes to the rate at which a company franks its distributions from 1 July 2016 … do you know the rate at which a dormant company should be franking its distributions? A company may be dormant because it previously carried on a business and...

  The highly anticipated measures that will prevent passive investment companies from accessing the lower corporate tax rate from 2017–18 were introduced into Parliament on 18 October 2017. The Bill proposes to improve the current law by setting a...

  An ATO crackdown on work-related expense claims has been a regular feature of Tax Time for the past few years. For 2017 tax returns, the ATO will be focusing on clothing-related expenses and car expenses. Our article, The ATO has an eye on every 2017...

  The ATO has an eye on every 2017 work-related expense claim As soon as Tax Time 2017 began, the ATO activated its version of a warning system via the Australian media to caution individual taxpayers and their advisers against over-claiming...

The ‘foreign resident’ capital gains withholding rules apply to Australian residents too The misnamed ‘foreign resident capital gains withholding’ (FRCGW) regime not only affects Australian residents but requires them to comply with legal obligations, and...

  The misleadingly-named Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding rules now apply to transfers of Australian real property valued at $750,000 or more. This reduced threshold took effect on 1 July 2017 (previously it was $2 million). Who do these...

  UPDATE: On 18 October 2017, the Government tabled in Parliament draft legislation to introduce an 80 per cent passive income eligibility test for the lower corporate tax rate from 2017–18. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enterprise Tax Plan Base Rate...

  This infographic shows how the company tax and dividend imputation systems have evolved over the decades. Change is ongoing, and in mid-May 2017 — a mere six weeks before the end of 2016–17 — company tax cuts and changes to the calculation of maximum...

  Corporate clients are in the midst of finalising their 2016–17 financial statements, calculating tax liabilities and deciding how much of the year’s profits to pay out as dividends. This same process occurs each year … but it will not be business as...