Life insurance companies
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End of attentionThe core rules for the foreign income tax offset apply to life insurance companies. However, as the income of a life insurance company is taxed at two different rates (ordinary class, taxed at 30%, and complying superannuation/FHSA class, taxed at 15%), it is necessary to determine the amount of assessable income in each class on which foreign income tax has been paid at step 2 of the foreign income tax offset limit calculation.
Example
Life Insurance Co derives the following assessable income in each class of income:
Income Class
|
Assessable Income (includes income subject to Foreign Income Tax)
|
Assessable Income subject to Foreign Income tax
|
Foreign Income Tax Paid
|
Ordinary
|
$5 million
|
$1 million
|
$200,000
|
Complying superannuation/FHSA
|
$5 million
|
$2 million
|
$400,000
|
Assuming there are no allowable deductions in relation to the classes of assessable income, the foreign income tax offset limit is worked out as follows:
Step 1: Work out the tax payable on Life Insurance Co's taxable income
Tax on assessable income in the:
- Ordinary Class: $5 million x 30% = $1.5 million
- Complying superannuation/FHSA Class: $5 million x 15% = $750,000
Total tax payable for step 1 is $2.25 million.
Step 2:Work out the tax that would be payable if the income of the two classes on which foreign income tax has been paid is not included in Life Insurance Co's assessable income
There are two income amounts on which foreign income tax has been paid that need to be excluded from assessable income for the purposes of this step:
- $1 million that belongs to the assessable income in the ordinary class; and
- $2 million that belongs to the assessable income in the complying superannuation/FHSA class.
In working out the tax that would have been payable had these amounts not been included in assessable income, it is necessary to identify the relevant class to which such amounts belong as follows:
Tax on assessable income excluding the income amount on which foreign income tax has been paid:
- Ordinary class: ($5 million - $1 million) x 30% = $1.2 million
- Complying superannuation/FHSA class: ($5 million - $2 million) x 15% = $450,000
Total tax that would be payable for step 2 is $1.65 million.
Step 3:Determine the foreign income tax offset limit
Step 1 less step 2: $2.25 million - $1.65 million = $600,000
This is the foreign income tax offset limit.
As the actual foreign income tax paid on the two income amounts is also $600,000, the foreign income tax offset of Life Insurance Co is $600,000.
Foreign income tax paid on non-assessable non-exempt income derived from segregated exempt assets does not count towards a tax offset.