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An important message for investors

Last updated 12 February 2019

Dear Investor

I am writing to tell you about a new type of refund available from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as part of the Government's tax reforms.

If you receive dividends from shares or managed funds you may now be entitled to a new refund, even if you don't normally fill out a tax return. You would not need to lodge a tax return if, for example, you were on a maximum rate Australian government pension or earned less than $6,000.

When you own shares in a company or invest in a managed fund you may get an amount of money-usually once or twice a year. These amounts are known as dividends or distributions and are paid from a company's profits. Tax paid by the company on its profits was then credited against any tax you had to pay. Until now, if the credit for the tax paid by the company exceeded your tax liability, you could not get a refund of that excess. Now, you are able to claim this difference back in full as a tax refund. This is what is known as the refund of excess imputation credits.

The refund is paid by the ATO and applies to these credits on dividends that you received or distributions you were entitled to relating to the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001.The refund, in most cases, will not affect your pension entitlement if you receive a pension. If, however, you are in receipt of a distribution from a private company or trust, your pension entitlement could be affected.

This guide and form are for use by people who are not required to fill out a tax return and who may be entitled to claim an excess imputation credit refund. In this booklet you will find simple, step-by-step instructions to help you fill in your 2001 application for refund of imputation credits. You should be able to fill in this form yourself, or with help from our free services. If you are not familiar with some of the terms used in this guide there is a list of common terms.

Michael Carmody
Commissioner of Taxation

QC16274