Reforming the Taxation of Offshore Income

4 August 2009

As part of the May 2009 Budget, the Government released the final report of the Board of Taxation’s project on reforming Australia’s “anti-tax-deferral” measures – that is, principally the rules concerning controlled foreign companies, foreign investment funds and transferor trusts. The Government also announced that it was accepting all but one of the Board’s recommendations. On 12 May, Treasury released a Discussion Paper seeking submissions on various options for implementing the Board’s recommendations. This Tax Brief examines the Board of Taxation’s proposals, the Budget announcement and Treasury’s first steps in what will be a major overhaul of one of the most significant elements in Australia’s foreign source income regime. We also examine some of the preliminary reactions from industry in the months since the release of Treasury’s paper. For our full Tax Brief - click here

These notes are in summary form designed to alert clients to tax developments of general interest. They are not comprehensive , they are not offered as advice and should not be used to formulate business or other fiscal decisions.

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