Amend the 'in Australia' requirements in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

In the 2009-10 Federal Budget, the government announced its interim response to the High Court of Australia's decision in Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Word Investments.

Legislation was introduced into parliament on 23 August 2012 and will:

• Amend the 'in Australia' requirements in Division 50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to ensure that parliament retains the ability to fully scrutinise those organisations seeking to pass money to overseas charities and other entities, and reinstate the principles underlying the current integrity rules.
• Restate the 'in Australia' provisions in Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) to ensure that not-for-profit entities with deductible gift recipient status use donations for the broad benefit of the Australian community.

The amendments listed above will apply from the income year starting on or after the date of royal assent of the amending legislation.

A further amendment will standardise the definition of 'not-for-profit' to replace 'non-profit' within Australian tax law and will apply from the end of the income year starting on or after the date of royal assent of the amending legislation.

Media release

For more information see:

• joint media release no. 092/2012 issued on 23 August 2012 by the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Social Inclusion
• former Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs Chris Bowen media release no.043.

Legislation and supporting material

Tax Laws Amendment (Special Conditions for Not-for-profit Concessions) Bill 2012 and Explanatory Memorandum were introduced into parliament on 23 August 2012.

More information For more information about related measures, refer to the following consultation papers: Better targeting of not-for-profit tax concessions Scoping study for a national not-for-profit (NFP) regulator.