Advice under development – income tax issues
We are developing advice and guidance on the following income tax issues.
[3599] Employee remuneration trust arrangements
Title
Final Taxation Ruling
Income tax: employee remuneration trust arrangements
Registered
14 November 2012
Purpose
To provide advice on how the taxation laws apply to an employee remuneration trust arrangement.
Expected completion
October 2017
Comments
Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2017/D5 published on 8 June 2017, and replaces TR 2014/D1. We invite comments on the views expressed in TR 2017/D5 by 21 July 2017.
[3688] Promoter penalty laws
Title
Law administration practice statement
Administration of the promoter penalty laws (Division 290 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953)
Registered
24 July 2014
Purpose
To provide guidance to staff on the relevant administrative processes when applying the promoter penalty laws.
Expected completion
October 2017
[3702] Capital allowances – composite items
Title
Final Taxation Ruling
Income tax: composite items and identifying the depreciating asset for the purposes of working out capital allowances
Registered
17 November 2014
Purpose
To consolidate current ATO views into a taxation ruling.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
TR 2017/D1 published on 18 January 2017. The publication of this ruling is delayed due to ongoing internal review processes and the consideration of comments received.
[3712] Environmental protection activities
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: environmental protection activities
Registered
2 April 2015
Purpose
To clarify if a taxpayer is able to deduct expenditure incurred in an income year for the sole or dominant purpose of carrying on environmental protection activities.
Expected completion
September 2017
Comments
The publication of this ruling is delayed due to ongoing internal review processes.
[3718] Corporate limited partnership ‘credits’
Title
Final Taxation Ruling
Income tax: when does a corporate limited partnership ‘credit’ an amount to a partner in that partnership?
Registered
23 April 2015
Purpose
To clarify when an amount is credited within the meaning of section 94M.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
TR 2017/D4 published on 17 May 2017.
[3734] Deductibility of legal expenses
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: deductibility of legal expenses under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
Registered
14 December 2015
Purpose
To consolidate current ATO views into one product using a principles-based approach to assist taxpayers to determine the deductibility of their legal expenses.
Expected completion
August 2017
Comments
The publication of this ruling is delayed due to ongoing internal review processes. See also finalised consultation matter [201569].
[3755] Withholding provisions relating to natural resource income
Title
Final Taxation Ruling
Income tax: application of section 6CA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and Australia’s tax treaties and the payer’s withholding obligations
Registered
8 April 2016
Purpose
To provide certainty as to the application of section 6CA of the ITAA 1936, section 12-325 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and their interactions with Australia’s tax treaties.
Expected completion
29 September 2017
Comments
TR 2016/D3 was published on 14 December 2016.
[3756] Deduction for work related travel expenses
Title
Final Taxation Ruling
Income tax and fringe benefits tax: when are deductions allowed for employees' travel expenses?
Registered
14 April 2016
Purpose
To clarify whether deductions are available for work-related travel expenses.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
TR 2017/D6 was published on 28 June 2017. Comments period closes on 11 August 2017.
[3767] Personal services income – meaning of personal services business
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: the meaning of personal services income and what is a personal services business
Registered
22 July 2016
Purpose
To consolidate TR 2001/7 Income tax: the meaning of personal services income and TR 2001/8 Income tax: what is a personal services business
Expected completion
15 September 2017
[3768] Personal services income – attribution and deductions
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: attribution of personal services income and deductions relating to that income
Registered
22 July 2016
Purpose
To consolidate TR 2003/6 Income tax: deductions that relate to personal services and TR 2003/10 Income tax: attribution of personal services income
Expected completion
29 November 2017
[3777] Receiver’s obligation to retain money in respect of post-appointment tax liabilities
Title
Draft Taxation Determination
Income tax: what is a receiver’s obligation to retain money in respect of post-appointment tax liabilities under section 254 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936?
Registered
11 August 2016
Purpose
To provide certainty on a receiver's obligation to retain money in respect of post-appointment tax liabilities.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
When finalised, this ruling will replace TD 2012/D7.
[3780] Trust vesting
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: trust vesting
Registered
August 2016
Purpose
To give our view of the trust law and tax law consequences of various issues concerning the vesting of a trust.
Expected completion
August 2017
Comments
A consultation paper on this topic issued on 2 November 2016.
See also finalised consultation matter [201657]
[3796] Consolidation – tax offsets
Issue
How does the head company of a consolidated group (or MEC group) satisfy the requirements of section 65-40 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 when it seeks to apply a carried forward tax offset:
- that remained unused by an entity at the time it joins the head company’s consolidated group, or
- that remained unused by an entity, including the head company, where the consolidated group was formed.
Registered
27 May 2016
Purpose
To replace ATO ID 2015/6 and provide guidance more generally on how a joining entity's non-refundable carried forward tax offsets may be accessed and utilised by the head company of the joined consolidated group.
Expected completion
To be advised
[3799] Family trust distribution tax – meaning of 'distributes'
Title
Final Taxation Determination
Income tax: is a person who is not a beneficiary of the trust capable of having a distribution made to them for the purposes of section 272-60 of Schedule 2F to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
Registered
27 October 2016
Purpose
To clarify the operation of the family trust distribution tax rules where distributions, within the meaning of sections 272-45 and 272-60 of Schedule 2F to the ITAA 1936, are made to persons other than a beneficiary.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
TD 2017/D1 published on 8 June 2017.
[3812] Fixed trusts
Title
Final Practical Compliance Guideline
Income tax: fixed trusts
Registered
30 March 2016
Purpose
Outlines the factors the Commissioner will consider when deciding whether to exercise the discretion in subsection 272-5(3) of Schedule 2F to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to treat an entitlement as being a fixed entitlement, which results in a trust being treated as a fixed trust under the trust loss provisions.
Expected completion
July 2017
Comments
PCG 2016/D16 published on 26 October 2016.
See also consultation matter [201747]
[3814] Meaning of ‘alteration, extension or improvement’ in Division 43 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: the meaning of the phrase ‘alteration, extension or improvement’ as it appears in Division 43 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Registered
6 September 2016
Purpose
To assist taxpayers in determining whether there is an extension, alteration or improvement for the purposes of the capital works deductions. This in turn may have implications for the deductibility of those expenses under another provision of the ITAA 1997.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
Follow-up consultation was undertaken in December 2016 with stakeholders in response to comments that were provided during the initial consultation.
See also finalised consultation matter [201603].
[3830] Commercial transactions - payments or loans made by private companies to an interposed entity
Title
Final Taxation Determination
Income Tax: Division 7A: can section 109T of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 apply to a payment or loan made by a private company to another entity (the ‘first interposed entity’) where that payment or loan is an ordinary commercial transaction?
Registered
April 2017
Purpose
To reflect the views in ATO ID 2011/104.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
TD 2017/D3 published on 28 June 2017. Comments period closes on 26 July 2017.
[3836] Employee share scheme arrangements – tax treatment of dividend equivalent payments
Title
Final Taxation Determination
Income tax: when will a dividend equivalent payment, made by a trustee under an employee share scheme that delivers ESS interests taxed by Subdivision 83A-B or 83A-C of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 be assessable as remuneration under section 6-5?
Title
Final Practical Compliance Guideline
Dividend equivalent payments made by a trustee under an employee share scheme
Registered
8 June 2017
Purpose
To provide advice on how the law applies to certain cash payments (‘dividend equivalent payments’) made by a trustee to an employee who is participating in an employee share scheme.
Expected completion
September 2017
Comments
TD 2017/D2 and PCG 2017/D9 were published on 8 June 2017. We invite comments on the drafts by 7 July 2017.
See also finalised consultation matter [201738]
[3840] Deductibility of seismic data under section 40-25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)
Title
Draft Taxation Determination
Income tax: will expenditure incurred by service providers in collecting and processing seismic data which is then licensed on a non-exclusive basis to multiple clients in the mining, oil and gas industries be deductible under section 40 25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)?
Registered
18 January 2017
Purpose
To clarify deductions for mining industry service providers who license on seismic data on a non-exclusive basis.
Expected completion
To be advised
[3849] Deductibility of interest expenses incurred – beneficiaries of discretionary trusts
Title
Draft Taxation Ruling
Income tax: Deductibility of interest expenses incurred by beneficiaries of discretionary trusts.
Registered
March 2017
Purpose
To confirm our view about when the beneficiary of a discretionary trust can deduct interest expenses incurred in relation to amounts borrowed and on-lent to the trustee
Expected completion
August 2017
[3857] Treatment of payments for use of an individual's 'public fame' or 'image'
Title
Draft Practical Compliance Guideline
Taxation treatment of payments for use of an individual's 'public fame' or 'image'
Registered
18 April 2016
Purpose
To set out a ‘Safe Harbour’ for apportioning single payments for, in combination, the provision of a professional sportsperson’s services and the use or exploitation of their ‘public fame’ or ‘image’ under licence.
Expected completion
19 July 2017
[3865] MAAL – directly in connection with supply
Title
Draft Taxation Determination
Income tax: what does ‘directly in connection with the supply’ mean in sub-paragraph 177DA(1)(a)(ii) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936?
Registered
May 2017
Purpose
To provide guidance on when activities undertaken in Australia will be directly in connection with a supply by a foreign entity under the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law.
Expected completion
29 September 2017
[3873] Division 7A - Unpaid entitlements under sub-trust arrangements
Title
Final Practical Compliance Guideline
Income tax: Division 7A – Unpaid present entitlements under sub-trust arrangements maturing in the 2017 or 2018 income years
Registered
14 June 2017
Purpose
To provide greater certainty on the consequences where a UPE held on sub trust solely for the benefit of a private company beneficiary and is invested in accordance with Option 1 of the safe harbours in PSLA 2010/4, and that investment is not repaid at the end of the investment term.
Expected completion
19 July 2017
Comments
The ATO has undertaken targeted consultation with members of industry associations and key advisors on a draft PCG in relation to PSLA 2010/4. We are considering the comments and issues raised in finalising this PCG.
See also finalised consultation matter [201702]
[3875] Deceased estates
Title
Final Practical Compliance Guideline
Income tax: liability of a legal personal representative of a deceased person
Registered
28 June 2017
Purpose
To assist in providing certainty to Legal Personal Representatives (LPR) of smaller deceased estates when making distributions to beneficiaries as regards to later tax claims on the estate that could make them personally liable. The Guidance is intended to give the LPR’s an understanding of what they can do to ensure that the Commissioner of Taxation will not seek to obtain estate taxation liability amounts of the estate from the LPR after they have distributed estate assets.
Expected completion
To be advised
Comments
PCG 2017/D12 published on 5 July 2017. Comments period closes on 2 August 2017.
[3876] Nexus for determining whether a depreciating asset is first used for exploration or prospecting
Title
Draft Taxation Determination
Income tax: what is the relevant nexus for determining whether a depreciating asset is first used for exploration or prospecting for the purposes of section 40-80 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997?
Registered
13 June 2017
Purpose
To outline the relevant nexus for determining a depreciating asset is first used for exploration or prospecting for the purposes of section 40-80 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Expected completion
To be advised
[3877] What constitutes ‘use’ for the purposes of section 40-80 of the ITAA 1997?
Title
Draft Taxation Determination
Income tax: what constitutes ‘use’ (and potentially first use) of a mining, quarrying or prospecting right, that is a depreciating asset, for the purposes of subsection 40-80(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997?
Registered
13 June 2017
Purpose
To outline what constitutes ‘use’ (and potentially first use) of a mining quarrying and prospecting right for the purposes of section 40-80 of the ITAA 1997.
Expected completion
To be advised
We are developing advice and guidance on the following income tax issues.