Greenwoods and Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 18.7.08

ATO Documents

Released 16.7.08

Taxation Determination
TD 2008/20: Income tax: where a taxpayer has supplied or acquired property under an international agreement and that gives rise to a debt interest or an equity interest as defined for the purposes of Division 974 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, does Division 974 bear upon the characterisation to be adopted for the purposes of the application of Division 13 of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to the transactions?
Class Ruling
CR 2008/47: Income tax: early retirement scheme - Charles Sturt University 
CR 2008/48: Income tax: Scrip for scrip roll-over: merger of Centro Shopping America Trust with Centro Retail Trust
Self Managed Superannuation Fund Ruling
SMSFR 2008/1: Self Managed Superannuation Funds: giving financial assistance using the resources of a self managed superannuation fund to a member or relative of a member that is prohibited for the purposes of paragraph 65(1)(b) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
SMSFR 2008/2: Self Managed Superannuation Funds: the application of the sole purpose test in section 62 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to the provision of benefits other than retirement, employment termination or death benefits
Notices of Withdrawal
Taxation Determination
TD 93/192: Income tax: does employment, for the purposes of subsection 27A(1), include time spent as a partner for the purpose of calculation of the eligible service period in relation to an eligible termination payment made in consequence of the termination of a person's employment?
TD 94/35: Income tax: during the course of a year of income, may the Commissioner of Taxation refund to an employer excess tax instalment deductions (TIDs) paid by the employer under the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) arrangements, where the excess TIDs, mistakenly, were not made in accordance with the rates prescribed?

Released 18.7.08

Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2008/107: Capital allowances: business related costs - business proposed to be carried on
ATO ID 2008/108: Capital allowances: business related costs - business not proposed to be carried on
Withdrawn Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2002/54: Repairs - Replacement of petrol storage (bowser) tank 
ATO ID 2004/248: Investment in art by a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF)
ATO ID 2004/249: Investment in art by a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) and its display
ATO ID 2004/250: Investment in art by a Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) - in-house asset.

Bonnell v DCT (No 5) [2008] FCA 991: The taxpayer has appealed to the Full Federal Court. The Federal Court had dismissed the taxpayer's application for a judicial review. The taxpayer had claimed that there was an abuse of process with regard to the non remittance of penalty tax.

Southwell-Keely and FCT, AAT Case [2008] AATA 606, 3 July 2008: The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has found that a taxpayer's deductions for self-education expenses should be disallowed, as they were concerned with future employment and not relevant to progression within his current job. The taxpayer was taking a course in Hotel Management and the Tribunal determined that the taxpayer's current job within a hotel was not dependent on the completion of the course.

Pier Loren ATF The Loren Family Discretionary Trust and FCT, AAT Case [2008] AATA 631, 9 July 2008: The AAT has upheld the Commissioner's decision to impose a penalty, dismissing the taxpayer's argument that the imposition of the penalty would have a negative effect on the taxpayer's reputation. The matter concerned the taxpayer's incorrect claim for GST input tax credits on a number of units the taxpayer had purchased. The Tribunal judged that the size of the penalty imposed by the Commissioner was an indication that the Commissioner did not see the taxpayer's actions as deliberate. It would therefore follow that the taxpayer's reputation would not suffer unduly.

Progress of Legislation