SME Communicator - July 2012

Retaining refunds - recent changes to law

The Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA 1953) has recently been amended to provide us with the discretion to retain certain refunds while we undertake integrity checks on claims.

The amendment is outlined in section 8AAZLGA which received royal assent on Wednesday 27 June 2012 and came into effect on that date.

The amendment applies to:

• refunds claimed in a BAS
• refunds claimed by full self-assessment taxpayers for income tax purposes (mainly companies and super funds).

This amendment does not apply to individuals for income tax purposes. The current processes still apply.

Various threshold tests must be met before we can exercise this discretion to retain certain refunds.

We continue to focus on the integrity of the tax and super system. These changes are designed to support those doing the right thing and strengthen our ability to identify possible fraudulent activity.

For more information, refer to: new legislation web page, Refund integrity - discretion to retain refunds tax practitioners broadcast, Recent changes to the law - Our discretion to retain refunds.