Greenwoods and Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 22.8.08
ATO Documents
Released 20.8.08
Class Ruling
CR 2008/54: Income tax: Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health: postgraduate scholarships and assistance payments
Product Ruling
PR 2008/61: Income tax: GlenKara Estate Vineyard Project - Stage 2A
Erratum
Fuel Tax Ruling
FTR 2008/1: Fuel tax: vehicle's travel on a public road that is incidental to the vehicle's main use and the road user charge
Notices of Withdrawal
Class Ruling
CR 2005/89: Fringe benefits tax: employer clients of Remunerator (Aust) Pty Ltd that make use of a Salary Packaging Dining Card facility
CR 2006/81: Fringe benefits tax and income tax: employer clients of Sodexho Australia Pty Ltd or Universal Sodexho Pty Ltd that make use of the Sodexho 'SmartPay' card facility
CR 2008/23: Fringe benefits tax: employer clients of Super Group International (Australia) Pty Limited or SMB Fleet Management Pty Limited who make use of the SMB Cafe Card facility
Released 19.8.08
Interpretative Decision
ATO ID 2008/114: GST and change in extent of creditable purpose where new residential premises are constructed for sale but subsequently rented
Decision Impact Statement: Zolsan Pty Ltd
Released 22.8.08
Zolsan Pty Limited v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation : The ATO has said it would continue to use statutory demands to recover debt pending the outcome of the appeal to the High Court in the Neutral Bay case. In the Zolsan decision, the NSW Supreme Court found, that as a genuine dispute over the taxpayer's liability to the ATO existed, it was inappropriate for the ATO to recover debt through the use of statutory demands.
Report: Better Tax Design and Implementation
Released 22.8.08
The Tax Design Review Panel has released a report which recommends changes to the process of tax design. The Panel was instituted by the Assistant Treasurer to facilitate a decrease in the length of time between taxation law announcements and the introduction of the relevant legislation into Parliament. The Assistant Treasurer has indicated that the Government has accepted all recommendations within the report in principle.
Tax Cases
FCT v Spriggs and Riddell [2008] FCAFC 150, 22 August 2008: The Full Federal Court has found that management fees incurred by two professional footballers were for the negotiation of new employment contracts and were therefore not deductible expenses. The Federal Court had previously found that the players were carrying on a business by exploiting their sporting talent and were therefore entitled to a deduction.
Progress of Legislation
As at 22.8.08
|
Bill |
Explanatory Memorandum |
Intro House |
Passed House |
Intro Senate |
Passed Senate |
Date of Royal assent / Act Number |
Description |
|
27.5.08 |
28.5.08 |
16.6.08 |
25.6.08 |
30.6.08/59 |
FBT, Employee Share Schemes, Software Depreciation | ||
|
Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy Surcharge Thresholds) Bill 2008 |
27.5.08 |
28.5.08 |
16.6.08 |
|
|
Medicare Levy Thresholds | |
|
29.3.08 |
5.6.08 |
16.6.08 |
|
|
Rights issues, GST Refunds, | ||
|
26.6.08 |
|
|
|
|
Capital Gains Tax, Family Trust Changes |