Newsletter

Commissioner allowed 4 years to issue amended assessment! Not sure if taxpayer would be allowed 4 years to lodge his returns though

In a recent decision, the AAT found a taxpayer was at all relevant times a beneficiary of a trust estate and that an amended assessment issued in April 2010 for the 2005 tax year was issued within time – that is, the Commissioner was allowed, in this instance, up to four years to issue an amended assessment.

Illegal early super release promoters to face penalties

The Government has announced that it will introduce penalties to deter promoters of illegal early release superannuation schemes. These schemes usually involve a promoter offering to assist individuals to gain early access to their super before they retire.

ATO alert on 'dividend access share arrangements'

The ATO gets smarter and small business gets poorer!

The ATO has been publishing small business benchmarks since 2009 as part of its strategy to help small businesses to compare their performances against similar businesses. The benchmarks are also used by the ATO to identify taxpayers who may be under-declaring income.

Company Tax Rate Cuts - Just robbing Peter to pay Paul

The Government’s Business Tax Working Group has recently released a discussion paper highlighting a number of possible ways in which a company tax rate cut could be funded from within the business tax system.

Who's been a naughty boy then - Builders, Plumbers & Defence Force Personnel, obviously!

The ATO has highlighted a number of areas that it will focus on in its compliance activities this year.

Taxpayer fails to prove bank deposits were loans - Ouch

The Commissioner has been successful before the Federal Court in overturning an earlier decision that had held that around $4.7 million deposited into a taxpayer’s bank account from an overseas bank were loans and that payments made in respect of the loans were deductible interest.