Newsletter: December

Parliamentary update

Editor: The ongoing citizenship saga in Parliament has resulted in the Government losing its one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, thanks to the resignations of Barnaby Joyce and John Alexander.

By-elections have been scheduled in the relevant electorates and, in the meantime, some of the cross-benchers have guaranteed the Government's (current) survival by committing to vote with it on motions of no-confidence and supply.

Tax legislation passed

In other news, the Government has passed changes to the tax legislation that will limit, or deny, deductions for travel expenses and depreciation claims for certain residential premises.

Legislation to impose vacancy fees on foreign acquisitions of residential land has also been passed.

ATO relief for SMSFs reporting 'transfer balance account' events

The ATO has announced that, from 1 July 2018, SMSF event-based reporting regarding events impacting a member’s transfer balance account (i.e., via a Transfer Balance Account Report) will be limited to SMSFs with members with total superannuation balances of $1 million or more.

Editor: This new reporting is only required if an event that impacts a member’s transfer balance account actually occurs (e.g., such as starting an account based pension, or commuting such a pension). 

This effectively means that up to 85% of the SMSF population will not be required to undertake any additional reporting with respect to a member’s transfer balance cap, outside of current time frames (as SMSFs with members with account balances below $1 million can choose to simply report events which impact their members’ transfer balances when the fund lodges its SMSF annual return).

However, from 1 July 2018, SMSFs that have members with total superannuation account balances of $1 million or more will be required to report any events impacting members’ transfer balance accounts within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the event occurs. 

Editor: Whilst SMSFs are not required to report anything to the ATO until 1 July 2018, SMSF trustees should be mindful that, where the $1.6 million transfer balance cap has been breached in respect of a member from 1 July 2017, any resulting tax liability will continue to accrue until the excess amount is commuted (i.e., irrespective of when reporting that breach is required).

ATO's annual closure

This year, the ATO's annual office closure is between noon Friday 22 December and 8.00am Tuesday 2 January 2018.

Also, the ATO may have systems maintenance on some weekends, so they recommend that lodgments be made as early as possible, as even returns or activity statements lodged in early December may not be finalised until after 2 January 2018.

Truck drivers' reasonable amounts for travel updated

Following detailed consultation with the transport industry, the ATO has amended their determination for travel expenses for truck drivers to provide separate reasonable travel allowance expense amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner for employee truck drivers for the 2017/18 income year.

The reasonable amount for travel expenses (excluding accommodation) of employee truck drivers who have received a travel allowance and who are required to sleep away from home was originally reduced for 2017/18 to a total of $55.30 per day, but this daily rate has now been replaced with the following amounts for all domestic travel destinations for the 2017/18 income year:

            Breakfast         $24.25

            Lunch              $27.65

            Dinner              $47.70

The amounts for each of these meal breaks are separate and cannot be aggregated into a single daily amount, and amounts cannot be moved from one meal to another (e.g., if the full amount for breakfast is not expended, it cannot be carried over to lunch or dinner).

A driver's work diary (as maintained for fatigue management purposes) can be used to demonstrate when meal breaks were taken.

Tool for applying the margin scheme to a property sale

The ATO is recommending that taxpayers use their recently updated GST property decision tool to work out if GST applies to their property sales.

The tool can be used to determine GST on the sale, lease or purchase of real property, and was recently updated for easier use on mobile devices.

In particular, after providing the relevant information, the tool will generate a GST decision that:

•   advises whether GST is payable on a sale;
•   estimates the amount of GST payable when applying the margin scheme; and
•   advises whether the taxpayer is eligible to claim input tax credits.

Note that the ATO does not record any personal information and users will remain anonymous.

Other GST News

The Government has released draft legislation on "improving the integrity of GST on property transactions", as announced in the 2017/18 Federal Budget.

They intend to amend the GST law so that, from 1 July 2018, purchasers will withhold the GST on the purchase price of new residential premises and new residential subdivisions, and remit the GST directly to the ATO as part of settlement.

This is to address tax evasion through "phoenixing arrangements", where developers collect GST from their customers but dissolve their company to avoid paying it to the ATO.

To provide certainty for contracts that have already been entered into, the draft legislation provides a two-year transitional arrangement – contracts entered into before 1 July 2018 will not be affected as long as the transaction settles before 1 July 2020.

Editor: In addition, the GST Act has been amended to ensure that supplies of digital currency receive equivalent GST treatment to supplies of money (particularly foreign currency).

Numerous work-related expense claims disallowed

The AAT has denied a taxpayer’s deductions for work-related travel, clothing, self-education and rental property expenses (totalling $116,068 and $140,581 for the 2013 and 2014 income year respectively), and upheld the ATO’s 50% administrative penalty on the tax shortfall for recklessness.

Apart from being unable to prove (or 'substantiate') some claims due to lack of receipts, and documents being in the wrong name, the AAT also criticised the taxpayer for:

•   claiming work-related travel expenses on the basis of the 'gap' between travel expenses reimbursed by her employer and the ATO’s reasonable rates (which "was clearly not permissible under any taxation law"); and
•   claiming clothing expenses for "formal clothes of high class”, despite her clothing not being distinctive or unique to her employment at the Department of Finance, and was instead rather conventional in nature (and so was not deductible).

Newsletter: October

No small business tax rate for passive investment companies

The Government has released draft tax legislation to clarify that passive investment companies cannot access the lower company tax rate for small businesses of 27.5%, but will still pay tax at 30%.

The amendment to the tax law will ensure that a company will not qualify for the lower company tax rate if 80% or more of its income is of a passive nature (such as dividends and interest).

The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services said the policy decision made by the Government to cut the tax rate for small companies was meant to lower taxes on business, and was not meant to apply to passive investment companies.

ATO to be provided with more super guarantee information

The Government has announced a package of reforms to give the ATO near real-time visibility over superannuation guarantee (SG) compliance by employers. 

The Government will also provide the ATO with additional funding for a SG Taskforce to crackdown on employer non-compliance.

The package includes measures to:

u      require superannuation funds to report contributions received more frequently (at least monthly) to the ATO, enabling the ATO to identify non-compliance and take prompt action;

u      require employers with 19 or fewer employees to transition to single touch payroll (‘STP’) reporting from 1 July 2019;

u      improve the effectiveness of the ATO’s recovery powers, including strengthening director penalty notices and use of security bonds for high-risk employers, to ensure that unpaid superannuation is better collected by the ATO and paid to employees’ super accounts; and

u      give the ATO the ability to seek court-ordered penalties in the most egregious cases of non-payment, including employers who are repeatedly caught but fail to pay SG liabilities.

Editor: Following extensive consultation when STP was originally announced, it was decided that employers with 19 or fewer employees would not be required to comply. 

Given the backflip here, the business community will be hoping the Government does not introduce compulsory real-time payments of SG and PAYG withholding, as well as real-time reporting.

ATO: Combatting the cash economy

The ATO has reminded taxpayers that it uses a range of tools to identify and take action against people and businesses that may not be correctly meeting their obligations.  Through 'data matching', it can identify businesses that do not have electronic payment facilities. 

These businesses often advertise as 'cash only' or mainly deal in cash transactions.  When businesses do this, they are more likely to make mistakes or do not keep thorough records. 

The ATO’s ability to match and use data is very sophisticated.  It collects information from a number of sources (including banks, other government agencies and industry suppliers), and also obtains information about purchases of major items, such as cars and real property, and then compares this information against income and expenditure reported by businesses and individuals to the ATO.

Example: Unrealistic personal income leads to unreported millions

The income reported on their personal income tax returns indicated that a couple operating a property development company didn’t seem to have sufficient income to cover their living expenses.

The ATO found their company had failed to report millions of dollars from the sale of properties over a number of years.

They had to pay the correct amount of tax (of more than $4.5 million) based on their income and all their related companies, and also incurred a variety of penalties.

Example: Failing to report online sales

A Nowra court convicted the owner of a computer sales and repair business on eight charges of understating the business’s GST and income tax liabilities.

The ATO investigated discrepancies between income reported by the business and amounts deposited in the business owner’s bank accounts, and found that the business had failed to report income from online sales.

The business owner was ordered to pay over $36,000 in unreported tax and more than $18,400 in penalties, and also fined $4,000 (and now has a criminal conviction).

Get it in writing and get a receipt

The ATO also notes that requesting a written contract or tax invoice and getting a receipt for payment may protect a consumer's rights and obligations relating to insurance, warranties, consumer rights and government regulations.

Consumers who support the cash economy, by paying cash and not getting a receipt, risk having no evidence to claim a refund if the goods or services purchased are faulty, or prove who was responsible in case of poor work quality

Higher risk trust arrangements targeted

The ATO’s 'Tax Avoidance Taskforce – Trusts' continues the work of the Trusts Taskforce, by targeting higher risk trust arrangements in privately owned and wealthy groups.

The Taskforce will focus on the lodgment of trust tax returns, accurate completion of return labels, present entitlement of exempt entities, distributions to superannuation funds, and inappropriate claiming of CGT concessions by trusts.

Arrangements that attract the attention of the Taskforce include those where:

q      trusts or their beneficiaries who have received substantial income are not registered, or have not lodged tax returns or activity statements;

q      there are offshore dealings involving secrecy or low tax jurisdictions;

q      there are agreements with no apparent commercial basis that direct income entitlements to a low-tax beneficiary while the benefits are enjoyed by others;

q      changes have been made to trust deeds or other constituent documents to achieve a tax planning benefit, with such changes not credibly explicable for other reasons;

q      there are artificial adjustments to trust income, so that tax outcomes do not reflect the economic substance (e.g., where someone receives substantial benefits from a trust but the tax liability on those benefits is attributed elsewhere, or where the full tax liability is passed to entities with no capacity/intention to pay);

q      transactions have excessively complex features or sham characteristics (e.g., round robin circulation of income among trusts);

q      revenue activities are mischaracterised to achieve concessional CGT treatment (e.g., by using special purpose trusts in an attempt to re-characterise mining or property development income as discountable capital gains); and

q      new trust arrangements have materialised that involve taxpayers or promoters linked to previous non-compliance (e.g., people connected to liquidated entities that had unpaid tax debts).

Newsletter: August

ATO warning regarding work-related expense claims for 2017

The ATO is increasing attention, scrutiny and education on work-related expenses (WREs) this tax time.

Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said: “We have seen claims for clothing and laundry expenses increase around 20% over the last five years.  While this increase isn’t a sign that all of these taxpayers are doing the wrong thing, it is giving us a reason to pay extra attention.”

Ms Anderson said common mistakes the ATO has seen include people claiming ineligible clothing, claiming for something without having spent the money, and not being able to explain the basis for how the claim was calculated.

“I heard a story recently about a taxpayer purchasing everyday clothes who was told by the sales assistant that they could claim a deduction for the clothing if they also wore them to work,” Ms Anderson said.

“This is not the case.  You can’t claim a deduction for everyday clothing you bought to wear to work, even if your employer tells you to wear a certain colour or you have a dress code.”

Ms Anderson said it is a myth that taxpayers can claim a standard deduction of $150 without spending money on appropriate clothing or laundry.  While record keeping requirements for laundry expenses are "relaxed" for claims up to this threshold, taxpayers do need to be able to show how they calculated their deduction.

The main message from the ATO was for taxpayers to remember to:

n          Declare all income;

n          Do not claim a deduction unless the money has actually been spent;

n          Do not claim a deduction for private expenses; and

n          Make sure that the appropriate records are kept to prove any claims.

GST applies to services or digital products bought from overseas

From 1 July 2017, GST applies to imported services and digital products from overseas, including:

u         digital products such as streaming or downloading of movies, music, apps, games and e-books; and

u         services such as architectural, educational and legal.

Australian GST registered businesses will not be charged GST on their purchases from a non-resident supplier if they:

q         provide their ABN to the non-resident supplier; and

q         state they are registered for GST.

However, if Australians purchase imported services and digital products only for personal use, they should not provide their ABN.

Imposition of GST on 'low-value' foreign supplies

Parliament has passed legislation which applies GST to goods costing $1,000 or less supplied from offshore to Australian consumers from 1 July 2018.

Using a 'vendor collection model', the law will require overseas suppliers and online marketplaces (such as Amazon and eBay) with an Australian GST turnover of $75,000 or more to account for GST on sales of low value goods to consumers in Australia.

The deferred start date gives industry participants additional time to make system changes to implement the measure.

Editor: It should be noted that this is a separate measure to that which applies GST to digital goods and services purchased from offshore websites, as outlined above.

New threshold for capital gains withholding

From 1 July 2017, where a foreign resident disposes of Australian real property with a market value of $750,000 or above, the purchaser will be required to withhold 12.5% of the purchase price and pay it to the ATO unless the seller provides a variation (this is referred to as 'foreign resident capital gains withholding').

However, Australian resident vendors who dispose of Australian real property with a market value of $750,000 or above will need to apply for a clearance certificate from the ATO to ensure amounts are not withheld from their sale proceeds.

Therefore, all transactions involving real property with a market value of $750,000 or above will need the vendor and purchaser to consider if a clearance certificate is required.

Action to address super guarantee non-compliance

The Government will seek to legislate to close a loophole that could be used by unscrupulous employers to short‑change employees who choose to make salary sacrificed contributions into their superannuation accounts.

The Government will introduce a Bill into Parliament this year that will ensure an individual’s salary sacrificed contributions do not reduce their employer’s superannuation guarantee obligation.

Change to travel expenses for truck drivers

Editor: The ATO has released its latest taxation determination on reasonable travel expenses, and it includes a big change for employee truck drivers.

For the 2017/18 income year, the reasonable amount for travel expenses (excluding accommodation expenses, which must be substantiated with written evidence) of employee truck drivers who have received a travel allowance and who are required to sleep away from home is $55.30 per day (formerly a total of $97.40 per day for the 2016/17 year).

If an employee truck driver wants to claim more than the reasonable amount, the whole claim must be substantiated with written evidence, not just the amount in excess of the reasonable amount.

Editor: The determination includes an example of a truck driver who receives a travel allowance of $40 per day in 2017/18 ($8,000 over the full year for 100 2-day trips), but who spent $14,000 on meals on these trips.

In terms of claiming deductions for these expenses, he can either claim $14,000 as a travel expense (if he kept all of his receipts for the food and drink he purchased and consumed when travelling), or just rely on the reasonable amount and claim $11,060 ($55.30 x 200 days) as a travel expense (in which case he will need to be able to show (amongst other things) that he typically spent $55 or more a day on food and drink when making a trip (for example, by reference to diary entries, bank records and receipts that he kept for some of the trips)).

Car depreciation limit for 2017/18

The car limit for the 2017/18 income year is $57,581 (the same as the previous year).  This amount limits depreciation deductions and GST input tax credits.

Example

In July 2017, Laura buys a car to which the car limit applies for $60,000 to use in carrying on her business.    As Laura started to hold the car in the 2017/18 financial year, in working out the car’s depreciation for the 2017/18 income year, the cost of the car is reduced to $57,581.

Div.7A benchmark interest rate

The benchmark interest rate for 2017/18, for the purposes of the deemed dividend provisions of Div.7A, is 5.30% (down from 5.40% for 2016/17).

Newsletter: July

Removal of the Temporary Budget Repair Levy from the 2017/18 income year

The 2% Temporary Budget Repair Levy (or ‘TBRL’), which has applied to individuals with a taxable income exceeding $180,000 since 1 July 2014, is repealed with effect from 1 July 2017. 

Up until 30 June 2017, including the TBRL and the Medicare Levy, individuals earning more than $180,000 faced a marginal tax rate of 49%.

With the benefit of the removal of the 2% TBRL, from 1 July 2017, individuals with a taxable income exceeding $180,000 face a marginal tax rate of 47% (including the Medicare Levy). 

Editor: Don’t forget to add another 1.5% for the Medicare Levy Surcharge for certain individuals that don’t have Private Health Insurance.

Simpler BAS is coming soon

The ATO is reducing the amount of information needed to be included in the business activity statement (or ‘BAS’) to simplify GST reporting.

From 1 July 2017, Simpler BAS will be the default GST reporting method for small businesses with a GST turnover of less than $10 million.

In relation to GST, small businesses will only need to report:

G1 - Total sales

1A - GST on sales

1B - GST on purchases.

This will not change a business’ reporting cycle, record keeping requirements, or the way a business reports other taxes on its BAS.

Simpler BAS is intended to make it easier for businesses to lodge their BAS.  It should also reduce the time spent on form-filling and making changes that don't impact the final GST amount.

The ATO will automatically transition eligible small business' GST reporting methods to Simpler BAS from 1 July 2017.

Small businesses can choose whether to change their GST accounting software settings to reduce the number of GST tax classification codes.

Editor:  Call our office if you need help with the transition to Simpler BAS or to decide whether your business will use reduced or detailed GST tax code settings in its GST accounting software.

Changes to the foreign resident withholding regime for sales of Australian real estate

Since 1 July 2016, where a foreign resident has disposed of real estate located in Australia, the purchaser has had to withhold 10% of the purchase price upon settlement and remit this amount to the ATO, where the market value of the property was $2,000,000 or greater. 

As a result of another 2017/18 Budget Night announcement becoming law, in relation to acquisitions of real estate that occur on or after 1 July 2017, the withholding rate has increased to 12.5% and the market value of the real estate, below which there is no need to withhold, has been reduced to $750,000. 

Editor:  Unfortunately, even if a sale of real estate with a market value of $750,000 was to take place between two siblings on or after 1 July 2017 (both of whom have been Australian residents for 50 plus years), withholding must occur unless the vendor obtains a ‘clearance certificate’ from the ATO – despite the two siblings clearly knowing the residency status of each other!

These changes highlight the need to obtain clearance certificates where the vendor is an Australian resident and the real estate is worth $750,000 or more - not a high exemption threshold given the sky-rocketing values of Australian real estate!  If you are buying or selling real estate worth $750,000 or more (including a residential property, i.e., home) please call our office to see if a clearance certificate is needed.

Change to deductions for personal super contributions

Up until 30 June 2017, an individual (mainly those who are self-employed) could claim a deduction for personal super contributions where they meet certain conditions. One of these conditions is that less than 10% of their income is from salary and wages.  This was known as the “10% test”.

From 1 July 2017, the 10% test has been removed.  This means most people under 75 years old will be able to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions (including those aged 65 to 74 who meet the work test).

Editor: Call our office if you need assistance in relation to the application of the work test for a client that is aged 65 to 74.

Eligibility rules

An individual can claim a deduction for personal super contributions made on or after 1 July 2017 if:

•          A contribution is made to a complying super fund or a retirement savings account that is not a Commonwealth public sector superannuation scheme in which an individual has a defined benefit interest or a Constitutionally Protected Fund;
•          The age restrictions are met;
•          The fund member notifies their fund in writing of the amount they intend to claim as a deduction; and
•          The fund acknowledges the notice of intent to claim a deduction in writing.

Concessional contributions cap

Broadly speaking, contributions to super that are deductible to an employer or an individual, count towards an individual’s 'concessional contributions cap'. 

The contributions claimed by an individual as a deduction will count towards their concessional contributions cap, which for the year commencing 1 July 2017 is $25,000, regardless of age.  If an individual’s cap is exceeded, they will have to pay extra tax.

Editor:  Call our office to discuss the eligibility criteria and tax consequences of claiming a tax deduction for a personal contribution to super for the year commencing 1 July 2017.

Newsletter: May

Company tax cuts pass the Senate with amendments

Editor: After a marathon few days of extended sittings (the last before the Federal Budget in May), the Government finally managed to get its company tax cuts through the Senate, but it was not without compromise.

The following outlines the final changes to the law, as passed by the Senate, including a recap of which of the original proposals remained intact and also which ones were changed.

Changes to the franking of dividends

Prior to this income year, companies that paid tax on their taxable income at 28.5% could still pass on franking credits to their shareholders at a rate of 30%, subject to there being available franking credits.

However, with effect from 1 July 2016 (i.e., this income year), the maximum franking credit that can be allocated to a frankable distribution paid by a company will be based on the tax rate that is applicable to the company. 

Editor: Please contact this office if you would like to know how these changes will affect your business specifically.

Costs of travelling in relation to the preparation of tax returns

The ATO has released a Taxation Determination confirming that the costs of travelling to have a tax return prepared by a “recognised tax adviser” are deductible. 

In particular, a taxpayer can claim a deduction for the cost of managing their tax affairs. 

However, apportionment may be required to the extent that the travel relates to another non-incidental purpose.

Example – Full travel expenses deductible

Maisie and John, who are partners in a sheep station business located near Broken Hill, travel to Adelaide for the sole purpose of meeting with their tax agent to finalise the preparation of their partnership tax return. 

They stay overnight at a hotel, meet with their tax agent the next day and fly back to Broken Hill that night. 

The full cost of the trip, including taxi fares, meals and accommodation, is deductible.

Example – Apportionment required

Julian is a sole trader who carries on an art gallery business in Oatlands.

He travels to Hobart for two days to attend a friend's birthday party and to meet his tax agent to prepare his tax return, staying one night at a hotel.

Because the travel was undertaken equally for the preparation of his tax return and a private purpose, Julian must reasonably apportion these costs.

In the circumstances, it is reasonable that half of the total costs of travelling to Hobart, accommodation, meals, and any other incidental costs are deductible.

Editor: Although the ATO's Determination directly considers the treatment of travel costs associated with the preparation of an income tax return, the analysis should also apply where a taxpayer is travelling to see their tax agent in relation to the preparation of a BAS, or another tax related matter.

Newsletter: April

Reduction in FBT rate from 1 April 2017

In conjunction with the introduction of the temporary budget repair levy (of 2%, payable by high income earners), the FBT rate was also increased from 47% to 49% for the 2016 and 2017 FBT years.

However, the FBT rate will revert back to 47% from 1 April 2017.

Editor: This means there will be a discrepancy between the FBT rate and the effective income tax rate for high income earners from 1 April 2017 until 30 June 2017.

This means that any such high-income earners that genuinely and effectively salary sacrifice relevant fringe benefits (e.g., expense payment fringe benefits, such as school fees or residential rent) during that period, so long as their employer is happy to assist, could basically reduce the tax payable on that income by 2%.

Lump sum payments received by healthcare practitioners

The ATO must be concerned about healthcare practitioners receiving lump sums and treating them as capital payments, as they have released a detailed fact sheet setting out what they expect to see in such situations.

If a healthcare practitioner (such as a doctor, dentist, physical therapist, radiologist or pharmacist) gets a lump sum payment from a healthcare centre operator, according to the ATO "it's probably not a capital gain.  It's more likely to be ordinary income".

Specifically, the lump sum will typically be ordinary income of the practitioner for providing services to their patients from the healthcare centre.

Importantly, the mere fact the payment is a one-off lump sum, or expressed to be principally consideration for the restraint imposed, for the goodwill or for the other terms or conditions, does not define it as having the character of a capital receipt.

Editor: If you think this may affect you, we can help you work out what you need to do.

Tax officers "hit the streets" to "help small businesses"

The ATO is visiting more than 400 businesses across Perth and Canberra this month as part of a campaign to "help small businesses stay on top of their tax affairs".

Assistant Commissioner Tom Wheeler said: “Our officers will be visiting restaurants and cafés, hair and beauty and other small businesses in Perth and Canberra to make sure their registration details are up to date.  These industries are on our radar because they have ready access to cash, and this is a major risk indicator.”

“We then work to protect honest businesses from unfair competition by taking action against those who do the wrong thing.”

The industries they are visiting have some of the highest rates of concerns reported to the ATO from across the country.

Planned changes to GST on low value imported goods

From 1 July 2017, overseas clients with an Australian turnover of $75,000 or more will need to register for, collect and pay GST on goods up to $1,000 that they sell to consumers in Australia.

If Australian clients are registered for GST and buy low value imported goods for their business from overseas, they will need to supply their ABN at the time of purchase so they won't be charged GST.

If the Australian business is not registered for GST, they will be treated as a consumer and unable to recover the GST charged by the overseas business.

Company disallowed $25 million of carried forward tax losses

A lack of supporting evidence has led to a company failing to prove it was entitled to claim deductions for tax losses (totalling $25 million) the company incurred for a property development, most notably during the 1990 to 1995 income years. 

The company then claimed these tax losses as deductions on its income tax returns for the 1996 to 2003 income years.

The ATO disallowed the deductions because the company was unable to satisfy either of the tests that companies must satisfy to successfully claim losses incurred in prior years (being the 'Continuity of Ownership Test' and the 'Same Business Test’), and the AAT agreed with the ATO. 

This was basically because the shares in the company could not be traced to the same shareholders that owned shares in some of the loss years.  Further, there were periods of uncertain ownership positions during the relevant timeframe, which meant the AAT could not conclude a 'continuity of ownership' had been established in some cases.  Also, the business has changed in the 1996 income year from property development to investing in units in a trust. 

Editor: It is important to remember that the burden of proving an ATO assessment is excessive rests with the taxpayer. 

Although this burden may prove difficult in cases such as this (i.e., the first claimed loss year was 1990), the AAT noted that a taxpayer has the obligation to make good its case on some “satisfactory basis other than speculation, guesswork or corner-cutting”.

Super changes may require action by 30 June 2017!

Due to the introduction of the new 'transfer balance cap' from 1 July 2017, super fund members with pension balances (in 'retirement phase') exceeding $1.6 million will need to partially commute one or more of their pensions to avoid the imposition of excess transfer balance tax. 

In addition, members in receipt of a transition to retirement income stream ('TRIS') will lose the pension exemption from 1 July 2017.

This means that the future disposal of any assets currently supporting such pensions will potentially generate a higher taxable capital gain (even though the disposal of the asset prior to 1 July 2017 could be fully or partially tax-free, depending on whether the asset is a segregated or unsegregated asset).

Fortunately, to avoid funds selling off assets before 1 July 2017, transitional provisions have been introduced to allow super funds to apply CGT relief in certain situations. 

Although the choice to apply the CGT relief can be made up until the day the super fund is required to lodge its 2017 tax return, in many cases, action must be taken on or before 30 June 2017 for the fund to even be eligible to make that choice. 

In particular, funds calculating exempt pension income using the segregated assets method will generally need at least a partial commutation of the pension.

Editor: Please contact our office if you need any information regarding the super reforms, including what needs to be done to obtain CGT relief (if necessary), whether a TRIS should be commuted to accumulation phase or continued into the 2018 year, and how the new contribution rules will affect contributions in both the current and future years.

Working holiday makers – 2017 early lodgers

The ATO has advised that the recent change to tax for working holiday makers means there are extra steps tax agents need to take when preparing an early 2017 income tax return for these clients.

Editor: We will obviously be able to help you this.  Basically, we will need to provide the ATO with a schedule separately identifying income earned up to 31 December, and then from 1 January onwards, to ensure the correct tax rates are applied (along with any deductions associated with the income period).

Newsletter: February

Changes to the ‘backpacker tax’

From 1 January 2017, tax rates changed for working holiday makers who are in Australia on a 417 or 462 visa (these rates are known as ‘working holiday maker tax rates').

If a business employs a working holiday maker in Australia on a 417 or 462 visa, from 1 January 2017, they should withhold 15% from every dollar earned up to $37,000, with foreign resident tax rates applying from $37,001.

Businesses must register with the ATO by 31 January 2017 to withhold at the working holiday maker tax rate.

If they don’t register, they will need to withhold at the foreign resident tax rate of 32.5% (and penalties may apply to businesses employing holiday makers that don't register).

ATO data matching programs

Editor:  The ATO has announced that it will be undertaking the following two data matching programs.

Ride Sourcing data matching program

The Ride Sourcing data matching program has been developed to address the compliance risk of the registration, lodgement and reporting of businesses offering ride sourcing services as a driver.

Editor: 'Ride sourcing' = Uber (basically).

It is estimated that up to 74,000 individuals ('ride sourcing drivers') offer, or have offered, this service.

The ATO will request details of all payments made to ride sourcing providers from accounts held by a ride sourcing facilitator's financial institution for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years, and match the data provided against their records.

This will identify ride sourcing drivers that may not be meeting their registration, reporting, lodgement and/or payment obligations.

Where the ATO is unable to match a driver's details against ATO records, it will obtain further information from the financial institution where the driver's account is held.

Credit and debit card and online selling data matching program

The ATO is collecting new data from financial institutions and online selling sites as part of its credit and debit cards and online selling data-matching programs, specifically:

n  the total credit and debit card payments received by businesses; and

n  information on online sellers who have sold at least $12,000 worth of goods or          services.

The ATO will be matching this data with information it has from income tax returns, activity statements and other ATO records to identify businesses that may not be reporting all their income or meeting their registration, lodgement or payment obligations.

Can a UPE be written off and claimed as a bad debt?

Editor: A 'UPE' (or 'unpaid present entitlement') arises where a trust makes a beneficiary entitled to an amount of the trust's income (and therefore the beneficiary may have to pay tax on their share of the trust's taxable income that year), but that amount has not been physically paid to the beneficiary.

If the beneficiary never receives payment from the trust, they may want to write their entitlement off as a bad debt, and claim a tax deduction.

The ATO has released a Taxation Determination explaining their view that there is no ability to claim a ‘bad debt’ deduction where a beneficiary of a trust writes off as a bad debt an amount of a UPE.

This is because of the technical wording of the tax legislation regarding claiming deductions for 'bad debts', which requires the debt (e.g., the UPE) to have been previously included in the beneficiary's taxable income – however, a beneficiary is not taxed on the UPE itself.  Instead, the amount of the UPE is used to calculate the amount to include in their assessable income (and this may be different to the actual amount of the UPE).

Example

Archie Pty Ltd (‘Archie’) is a beneficiary of the Linus Family Trust (‘Linus’), which rents out a property. 

In the 2014 income year, Linus’s trust income (made up of net rent) was $25,000, but its net (taxable) income was actually $20,000 (thanks to a 'capital works deduction' of $5,000).

Archie was made presently entitled to 100% of the trust income (i.e., $25,000).  As a result, it was also assessed on 100% of the net (taxable) income of the trust (i.e., $20,000).

The $25,000 was not paid to Archie (i.e., it was recorded as a UPE) and was invested by Linus in a related entity, but during the 2017 income year it was clear the investment had failed and was now worthless. 

Archie was now well aware that Linus was no longer in a position to satisfy the UPE and wrote the $25,000 off as a bad debt.

Can Archie claim a deduction for the bad debt?

No.  While the debt is clearly bad and has been written off as such, no part of Archie’s UPE (of $25,000) was included in its assessable income.  Rather, Archie included its share of Linus’s net (taxable) income of the trust (i.e., the $20,000) in its assessable income.

Deductibility of expenditure on a commercial website

The ATO has released a public taxation ruling covering the ATO’s views on the deductibility of expenditure incurred in acquiring, developing, maintaining or modifying a website for use in the carrying on of a business.

Importantly, if the expenditure is incurred in maintaining a website, it would be considered 'revenue' in nature, and therefore generally deductible upfront. 

This would be the case where the expenditure relates to the preservation of the website, and does not:

n  alter the functionality of the website;

n  improve the efficiency or function of the website; or

n  extend the useful life of the website.

However, if the expenditure is incurred in acquiring or developing a commercial website for a new or existing business, or even in modifying an existing website, it would generally be considered capital in nature (in which case an outright deduction cannot be claimed).

Editor: Please contact us if you want any guidance about the ATO's latest views on this important issue.

Easier GST reporting for new small businesses

The ATO has notified taxpayers that, from 19 January 2017, newly registered small businesses have the option to report less GST information on their business activity statement (BAS).

Therefore, if you plan to register for GST after receiving this Update, we can help you access the reporting benefits of the simpler BAS early.

Editor: From 1 July 2017, small businesses generally will only need to report GST on sales, GST on purchases, and Total sales on their BAS.

Newsletter: November

Survey for SMSFs using LRBAs

The ATO has announced that it will be contacting some SMSF trustees in November 2016 to participate in a survey about the use of 'limited recourse borrowing arrangements' ('LRBAs') to acquire assets for their SMSF.

The ATO will email a sample of SMSFs that reported LRBA assets on their 2015 SMSF annual return to invite them to participate in the survey.

Participation is voluntary, and they assure trustees that responses will remain anonymous and the information gathered from the survey will not be used for compliance purposes.

The ATO encourages any trustees contacted to participate (the survey should only take five to seven minutes), as their feedback will help it to gain a better understanding about the SMSF community’s use of LRBAs.

Editor: The ATO has also issued a new Practical Compliance Guideline and a new Taxation Determination regarding SMSFs that enter into non-commercial LRBAs with related parties (e.g., where a member lends money to their SMSF but does not charge interest).

If you would like to discuss any of these SMSF issues, please contact our office.

ATO warning for the building and construction industry

The ATO has reported that the building and construction industry represents a disproportionate amount of its debt book, and has identified worrying trends that affect the industry.

Clients in the industry are encouraged to contact their tax agents regarding outstanding debts, as the ATO may be able to offer a range of payment options to help them get back on track sooner and reduce any interest they may be liable for.

Clients that fail to pay, or make arrangements to pay, may have their outstanding tax debts recovered through a garnishee notice.

Renting out a room is rental income

The ATO has issued an information sheet to let taxpayers know that money earned from renting out a room in a house is rental income.

This applies to rooms rented by traditional means or through a sharing economy website or app.

Also, taxpayers can only claim expenses related to the part of the house they rent out (so expenses will need to be apportioned accordingly).

The following example illustrates how the ATO would expect rental deductions to be calculated.

Example: renting out part of a unit or house

Jane has a two-bedroom unit with two bathrooms.  She lives alone and only uses her spare room as an occasional home office, for storage and when she has guests. 

Jane mainly uses the ensuite bathroom.  The second bathroom is accessible from the main areas and mainly used by visitors. 

Jane decides to rent out the spare room on a sharing economy website to earn extra income.

When paying guests come to stay, Jane removes all excess items from the room and does not access the area.

She also gives paying guests access to common areas including the second bathroom, kitchen, living area and balcony, and to her wi-fi.  For the period guests are staying and have access to these, Jane can claim 50% of associated costs.

Jane had the room available and occupied 150 days in the year.  When she is not renting out the room she uses it as storage and a home office.

Claiming Rental Deductions

Jane calculates what she can claim based on the following additional factors:

u      The room is 10 square metres

u      The house is 80 square metres

u      The common areas are 50 square metres

She works out she can claim 17.97% of her general expenses (such as electricity, interest on her mortgage, internet expenses, rates and body corporate fees) after adding the following two calculations together:

n       room occupancy:

–     (10/80 x 150/365) x 100 = 5.13%

n       common areas:

–     ((50/80 x 150/365) x 50%) x 100 = 12.84%.

She can claim 100% of the expenses associated solely with renting out the room, such as the facilitator’s commission or administration fee.

Editor: Note that CGT may also apply if a property used to generate rental income is sold.

Living overseas but still taxable here

In a recent case, the AAT confirmed that a taxpayer was a resident of Australia for taxation purposes while he was living in Oman.

The taxpayer had left Australia in January 2008 to work in Oman, and he ended up working 21 months in Oman before returning to Australia permanently in September 2009.

Before leaving Australia, the taxpayer sold an investment property in Queensland, cancelled his Medicare card, cancelled his Australian private health insurance, and had his name removed from the electoral roll.

When he left Australia in January 2008, he completed an outgoing passenger card indicating that he was permanently departing Australia.

However, the ATO was of the view that the taxpayer remained a resident of Australia.  In particular, his wife remained in Australia at a jointly-owned dwelling in Mt Martha, he had returned to Australia for three holidays where he stayed at the Mt Martha home with his wife, he maintained an Australian bank account, and sent money to Australia to help pay his wife’s living expenses and to assist with repaying the mortgage on the home.

The AAT concluded the taxpayer had not severed his connections with Australia and had not established enduring and lasting ties in Oman (and so was still a resident of, and his income was taxable in, Australia).

Crucial issue to consider when buying a company

Where a buyer commences to hold all of the shares in a company (including a company acting as trustee of a trust), they are highly likely to be appointed as a director of that company.

Although being a director in itself does not make the director personally liable for the debts of the company, there are two types of tax debts that are major exceptions to this rule, being PAYG withholding (‘PAYGW’) and compulsory employee superannuation guarantee (‘SG’).

That is, directors can be made personally liable for any outstanding PAYGW or SG, even if they were not a director at the time the debt was incurred.

Therefore, a key component of the due diligence process undertaken by a potential purchaser should be an assessment of whether the company is up-to-date with its PAYGW and SG obligations (as part of this, a potential buyer should also consider whether any ‘contractors’ to whom payments were made would be seen as 'employees' in the eyes of the ATO).

The buyer will also ordinarily want the vendor to provide some kind of indemnity in relation to the buyer’s PAYGW and SG exposure. 

Note also, however, that the ‘old’ directors do not cease to have exposure to unpaid PAYGW and SG.  That is, both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ directors are all jointly and severally liable for these debts.  This position does not alter even if a director resigns before the due date for payment of a relevant amount to the ATO.

Newsletter: October

Government 'backflip' on superannuation changes
Following further consultation, the government has announced the following 'improvements' to the superannuation changes announced in the 2016/17 Budget:

•  the $500,000 lifetime non-concessional cap will be replaced by a new measure to reduce the existing annual non-concessional contributions cap from $180,000 per year to $100,000 per year;
•  individuals with a superannuation balance of more than $1.6 million will no longer be eligible to make non-concessional contributions from 1 July 2017; and
•  the commencement date of the proposed 'catch-up' for concessional superannuation contributions will be deferred by 12 months to 1 July 2018.

Also, the government will now not change the contribution rules for those aged 65 to 74. 

Fallout from 'Panama Papers' spreads
Editor:  Earlier in the year, we reported that an unknown source had leaked 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm of Mossack Fonseca – these are now referred to as the 'Panama Papers'.
Basically, the documents illustrated how many wealthy individuals are hiding their money and income from tax authorities around the world.
The Commissioner of Taxation, Chris Jordan, has announced that the ATO has made significant progress in dealing with those exposed in the Panama Papers who have tried to avoid their tax obligations.
He went on to say that, having commenced the assessment of the data, the ATO believes that some  overseas structures and trusts are being used to:

• evade tax;
• avoid corporate responsibility;
• disguise and hide unexplained wealth; and
• facilitate criminal activity and launder the proceeds of crime.

The ATO has obtained information on offshore service providers who have established entities for Australians in secrecy jurisdictions to conceal their interests and wealth.
"Importantly, the sheer size of the information available to us for analysis should send a clear message to those who believe that their data is secure, hidden and beyond the reach of law enforcement and tax authorities – it is not."

GST on low-value imports
Goods imported into Australia – often by consumers using the internet – which cost less than $1,000 are currently GST-free.
On May 3 2016, as part of its package of Budget Night announcements, the Federal government proposed that, as of 1 July 2017, this low-value threshold (‘LVT’) of $1,000 will be abolished.
The removal of the LVT will see many purchases made by individuals and businesses over the internet from an overseas vendor being subject to GST from 1 July 2017.
It is proposed that, as of 1 July 2017, overseas businesses with an Australian annual turnover of greater than $75,000 will be required to register for GST and collect GST on sales made to Australian customers.
Editor: It has been reported that the Federal government could use powers it has under the Telecommunications Act to force internet service providers to block websites of overseas businesses that do not meet their Australian GST obligations (although it remains to be seen if they would go that far . . . )

Record keeping is always key to taking on the ATO
In a recent case before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), amended assessments issued to a taxpayer by the ATO, which were based on the amounts of unexplained deposits to the taxpayer's bank accounts (in some years, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, in others, millions), have been largely upheld. 
The total further tax claimed by the ATO was almost $4 million, and, on top of that, they imposed an administrative penalty of almost $2 million (imposed at the rate of 50% for recklessness).

The taxpayer was partially successful in proving that some of the amounts deposited into bank accounts held in his name were not assessable income.
In particular, the taxpayer was able to demonstrate that some of the deposits were reimbursements of amounts he paid in relation to a group of companies of which he was an investor, and some were transfers from one of his bank accounts to another. 
However, in relation to many of the deposits to his bank accounts, he had no corroborative evidence as to what they represented. 
Therefore, he failed to discharge his onus to prove the amounts should not have been included in his assessable income.

Editor:  Yet again the AAT has provided taxpayers with another reminder as to the importance of documentation and good record-keeping.

DHS – Data matching project
The Department of Human Services (DHS) (which operates Centrelink) has launched its 'Non Employment Income Data Matching project', matching income data it collects from "customers" with tax return related data reported to the ATO.

This project will assist the DHS to identify social welfare recipients who may not have disclosed income and assets to the Department, including welfare recipients who have lodged a Tax Return with the ATO during 2011 to 2014. 

16 forced sales of properties illegally held by foreigners
The Treasurer has ordered the sale of a further 16 Australian residential properties that have been held by foreign nationals in breach of the foreign investment framework.

“The 16 properties were purchased in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, with prices ranging from approximately $200,000 to $2 million. 

"The individuals involved come from a range of countries including the United Kingdom, Malaysia, China and Canada.

“Illegal real estate purchases by foreign citizens attract criminal penalties of up to $135,000 or three years' imprisonment, or both for individuals; and up to $675,000 for companies.  The new rules also allow capital gains made on illegal investments to be forfeited."

Singapore and ATO to share data to reduce tax evasion
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the ATO have entered into an agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information (based on the 'Common Reporting Standard').

This automatic exchange of financial information will commence by September 2018.

Newsletter: September 2016

Pre-retirees: Avoid 'too good to be true' tax schemes

The ATO has launched a new project called 'Super Scheme Smart', an initiative aimed at educating individuals about the potential pitfalls of 'retirement planning schemes', to keep them safe from risking their retirement nest egg.

According to the ATO, individuals most at risk are those approaching retirement, including anyone aged 50 or over, looking to put significant amounts of money into retirement, particularly SMSF trustees, self-funded retirees, small business owners, company directors, and individuals involved in property investment.
While retirement planning schemes can vary, there are some common features that people should be aware of. 

Usually these schemes:
    are artificially contrived and complex, usually connected with a SMSF;
    involve a lot of paper shuffling;
    are designed to leave the taxpayer with minimal or zero tax, or even a tax refund; and/or
    aim to give a present day tax benefit by adopting the arrangement.

Individuals caught using an illegal scheme identified by the ATO may incur severe penalties under tax laws, which includes risking the loss of their retirement nest egg and also their rights as a trustee to manage and operate a SMSF:

"Retirement planning makes good sense provided it is carried out within the tax and superannuation laws.  Make sure you are receiving ethical professional advice when undertaking retirement planning, and if in doubt, seek a second opinion from an independent, trusted and reputable expert".
For more information about the specific schemes, they can visit their website at www.ato.gov.au/superschemesmart.

ATO assistance with the pending $500,000 lifetime super cap

In the 2016/2017 Federal Budget, it was announced that, from 7:30pm (AEST) on 3 May 2016, there will be a lifetime cap of $500,000 on non-concessional (i.e., non-deductible) superannuation contributions.  

This new lifetime cap is proposed to take into account all non-concessional contributions an individual has made on or after 1 July 2007. 

Therefore, taxpayers currently planning to make non-concessional contributions may need to check their historical non-concessional contributions, back to 1 July 2007.  Fortunately, the ATO has stated that, where individuals and funds have met their lodgement obligations, the ATO will be able to calculate and report these amounts for the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2015.

Deductibility of gifts provided to clients

The ATO has confirmed that a taxpayer carrying on business is generally entitled to a deduction for expenses incurred on a gift made to a former or current client, if the gift is characterised as being made for the purpose of producing future assessable income.

However, the expense may not always be deductible (e.g., if the gift constitutes the provision of entertainment that is not deductible).

The ATO’s recent determination also highlights that a deduction will be denied where expenditure on gifts is more accurately described as being 'private' in nature (for example, where a gift is provided to a relative outside a business’ usual practice of providing client gifts).

Deductibility of airport lounge memberships

The ATO has also confirmed that the cost to a business taxpayer of a yearly airport lounge membership (e.g., Qantas Club, Virgin Lounge) that will be used by its employees is ordinarily deductible, and should not give rise to any FBT liability for the employer (even if the majority of (or indeed only) use of the airport lounge membership is for private purposes). 

ATO exposes dodgy deductions

With over eight million Australians claiming work-related expenses each year, the ATO is reminding people to make sure they get their deductions right this tax time.
Assistant Commissioner Graham Whyte said that, in 2014/15, the ATO conducted around 450,000 reviews and audits of individual taxpayers, leading to revenue adjustments of over $1.1 billion in income tax.

“Every tax return is scrutinised using increasingly sophisticated tools and data analytics developed (by) the ATO.  This means we can identify and review income tax returns that may omit information or contain unreasonable deductions," Mr Whyte said.

The ATO also set out some case studies, which provide a fascinating insight into the ATO's methods, including:

    A medical professional who made a claim for attending a conference in America, and provided an invoice for the expense, but when the ATO checked, it found that the taxpayer was still in Australia at the time of the conference (the claims were disallowed and the taxpayer received a substantial penalty); and
    A taxpayer who claimed deductions for car expenses, but the ATO found they had recorded kilometres in their log book on days where there was no record of the car travelling on the toll roads, and further inquiries identified that the taxpayer was out of the country.  Their claims were also disallowed.