Greenwoods & Freehills Weekly Tax Highlights - Week Ended 28.5.10

ATO documents

Released 26.5.10

Class Ruling
CR 2010/19: Income tax: scrip for scrip: exchange of Seven Network Limited shares for equivalent Seven Group Holdings Limited shares
Erratum
CR 2010/14: Income tax: Seven Group Holdings Limited - Issue of Transferable Extendable Listed Yield Shares 4 

Released 27.5.10

Legislative Determination
Effective Life 2010/1: Income Tax (Effective Life of Depreciating Assets) Amendment Determination 2010 (No 1) 

Released 28.5.10

Withdrawn Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2002/600: Income - Defence Force personnel in the Australian Training Support Team in East Timor
ATO ID 2002/897: Exempt foreign employment income - Korea

Released 26.5.10

The Government has introduced the Tax Laws Amendment (2010 Measures No. 3) Bill 2010 (and explanatory memorandum) into Parliament. The Bill amends the definition of a managed investment trust, or MIT, to align the definition for withholding tax and CGT election purpses and extends the MIT definition to cover certain wholesale managed investment schemes and government-owned managed investment schemes, commonly referred to as wholesale funds. The Bill also amends the operation of the thin capitalisation rules for authorised deposit-taking institutions to take into account the January 2005 adoption of the Australian equivalent to International Financial Reporting Standards. Other measures in the Bill include the implementation of the government’s 2010-11 budget changes to the superannuation co-contribution rules, amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 which remove the possibility of conflicts arising between Australia’s national security interests and obligations imposed by Commonwealth tax laws and changes to the treatment of Special Disability Trusts.

Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2010] FCA 508 (25 May 2010): The Federal Court has found the taxpayer to be exempt from income tax under s.50-40 of the ITAA 1997. The taxpayer was appealing against a private ruling issued by the Commissioner of Taxation. The court found that the Commissioner had erred and the taxpayer was not an association carried on for the individual profit or gain of its members.

Commissioner of Taxation v Gloxinia Investments (Trustee) [2010] FCAFC 46 (24 May 2010):  The Full Federal Court has dismissed the Commissioner's appeal and found that a taxpayer's proposed assignation of leases of units would constitute input taxed supplies under Subdivison 40-C of the GST Act.