DECEMBER 2009

Limited Amnesty for undeclared foreign income

On 30 November 2009, the Commissioner of Taxation, Michael D'Ascenzo, announced an opportunity for people with undeclared income from offshore activities to sort out their affairs. The offer is open until 30 June 2010. click here for more details

ATO Capital Gains Tax (CGT) data matching program

The ATO has announced that between December 2009 and February 2010, they will trial a new method of verifying property and share transactions that involve CGT assets. They claim that this new approach will help them sort out possible problems with a single phone call rather than applying the traditional review process.

We understand that this trial is in addition to data matching of bank interest and dividend earnings, property sales, share disposals occurring on the Australian Stock Exchange and more.

First elections due for TOFA in January

The final tranche of the taxation of financial arrangements (TOFA) regime has been legislated and affected taxpayers will soon need to make decisions in relation to available elections that deal with the transition to TOFA. This first decision, for those who elect to enter the TOFA arrangements early, has to be made by 15 January 2010 for taxpayers with a 30 June year end.

NZ accountant caught with his pants down

A New Zealand accountant, working in Australia through a New Zealand resident company, has been taxed personally on the income earned in Australia while in New Zealand, the company was taxed on the same income.  As the taxpayers assessed were different entities, there was no allowance for foreign tax paid. click here for more details

Superannuation 'clearing house' service

The Government has announced a new measure to cut red tape for many businesses which have to make superannuation contributions to numerous super funds for their employees. click here for more details

ATO looks closely at employers employing 'contractors'

In a recent speech, a senior tax officer indicated that the ATO was now taking a good hard look at employers’ arrangements with 'contractors', to ensure that they are, in fact, genuine contractors and not just employees being treated as contractors to cut costs.
click here for more details

ATO has extended its trial of payment by credit card

The Tax Office is extended its trial of allowing payment by credit card for all taxation liabilities. Currently, payments of between $10 and $10,000 are accepted.

To make a credit card payment, taxpayers will need:

• a current Visa, MasterCard or American Express card;
• their ATO electronic funds transfer EFT code; and
• to use the Government EasyPay website or telephone service.

Taxpayers will be informed of the bank fee amount on the transaction before they are asked to confirm payment.

 Self-education deductible against Youth Allowance

In a recent case before the Full Federal Court, a taxpayer who was studying to obtain a teaching degree has successfully argued that she was entitled to claim expenses of self-education which qualified her to receive the Youth Allowance.

ESV Office Closure 2009/10 Christmas and New Year

Our office will be closed from 5.15 pm on Tuesday, 22 December 2009 and will re-open at 8.30 am on Monday, 4 January 2010.

The partners and staff of ESV wish you and your family season’s greetings and best wishes for 2010.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

The information in this newsletter is quite general in nature and anyone intending to apply it practically to their own circumstances should seek professional advice to verify it’s individual applicability. 

If you have any queries regarding the information contained in this
update please do not hesitate to contact us.

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