Many homeowners are currently feeling the sting of the bearish turn the property market has taken, and the Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO) are rubbing salt in the wounds as they issue significantly increased land tax assessments.

Marriage can be a beautiful bond between two people. A promise between the two to join their lives. Their souls….

…and all of their tax debts!

On 6 February 2019, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) withdrew Interpretative Decision 2003/589 (decision) which provided that a company can forgive a debt owed by a natural person for reasons of “natural love and affection” without consequence.

The closing date of the Australian Government’s consultation process regarding the making of an initial coin offering (ICO) provides us with an opportunity to take a breath and review the current regulatory state of the crypto world, in preparation for the regulations that may be on the horizon.

New data has shown how businesses across regional Victoria have taken advantage of the Victorian Government’s regional payroll tax cuts.  The number show businesses have saved more than $31 million in the first financial year it was introduced.

The activities that accountants without an AFSL provide to self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have been clarified by a recent Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) guidance note.

As payroll tax provisions come under increased scrutiny by Revenue Offices, another case has provided clarity on how they should be interpreted.

The long awaited extension of the Corporations Act Crowd-sourced Equity Funding (CSF) regime to private companies is now in place. 

Last month, France claimed its second World Cup since its inception by defeating the fairytale story of the tournament, Croatia, 4-2 in an action-packed final. The match was filled with drama, with an own-goal, pitch invaders and heavy rain, but the outstanding display of sporting brilliance shone through.

In light of the ATO’s current position that income from cryptocurrency sales will generally be taxed under capital gains tax (CGT) provisions and increased scrutiny on cryptocurrency transactions, taxpayers should ensure they keep accurate records of cryptocurrency transactions.

Did you or do you currently hold cryptocurrencies? Did you sell any cryptocurrencies before finding out that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) would vigilantly tax cryptocurrency sales? Are you left scratching your head after reading the ATO’s guidance? If so, you are one of many Australians currently finding themselves in an uncertain tax situation.

This week Cruisin Motorhomes paid a $12,600 penalty following an infringement notice from the ACCC alleging a breach of the excessive payment surcharge laws as outlined in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The ban on excessive surcharge payments has been in place since September 2017.

LeBron to LABron – in the biggest off-season news in the NBA, the league’s pre-eminent player, ‘King James’, last week announced that he had agreed to a lucrative deal to play for its most famous franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Foreign companies that may be controlled by an Australian entity should review their decision-making based on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Taxation Ruling, TR 2018/5 (TR 2018/5).  It is timely for Australian groups with foreign-incorporated subsidiaries to consider whether they are appropriately managing tax residency risk by re-visiting and/or implementing tax residency protocols and ensuring that they can be applied practically.

The Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) has power pursuant to section 255-15(1) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA) to permit a taxpayer to pay off its tax debts by instalments in accordance with a payment arrangement. The recent Federal Court decision of Stojic v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCA 483 (Stojic), which dismissed an application by the sole director and shareholder of the taxpayer company to review a decision by the Commissioner to decline to exercise that power, provides two important lessons.   

On 29 March 2018 the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 1) Act amending the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (the Act) received Royal Assent.

A key focus of the Federal Budget was on personal income tax cuts, and measures aimed at large companies and the black economy.

Notable global intellects Elon Musk and the late Stephen Hawking both openly cautioned about the risks to humanity posed by AI technologies.

On 8 February 2018, the Government released for public consultation exposure draft legislation to implement the 2017 Budget announcement to improve the  integrity of the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions.

I was intrigued by the high level numbers coming out of the Australian Corporate Counsel report '2017 Benchmarks and Leading Practices' on what in-house teams were spending their money on.