Newsletter
December 2017 Newsletter
Foreign equity distributions to corporate entities

Two recent taxation determinations from the ATO deal with how the foreign equity distribution rules in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 apply where the distribution recipient is a corporate partner in a partnership or a corporate beneficiary of a trust.
Under the rules, a foreign equity distribution is treated as non-assessable, non-exempt income if the recipient is an Australian corporate tax entity that holds a participation interest of at least 10% in the foreign company making the distribution.
The ATO’s view is that a partnership or trust can hold a direct control interest in a foreign company for the purposes of the rules, so that an Australian corporate tax entity can have an indirect participation interest in the foreign company via the partnership or trust.