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Last updated 18 July 2023

Find out what's new or any changes in legislation that need to be taken into consideration when lodging the tax return.

Corporate collective investment vehicles

The Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle Framework and Other Measures Act 2022 establishes the regulatory and tax frameworks for corporate collective investment vehicles (CCIVs).

The CCIV tax framework leverages the existing trust taxation framework and the existing attribution flow-through regime (that is, the Attribution managed investment trust (AMIT) regime), rather than by creating a new bespoke tax regime.

A CCIV sub-fund trust that satisfies the applicable AMIT eligibility requirements in Division 276 of the ITAA 1997 for an income year will be treated as an AMIT for that year. Such a CCIV sub-fund trust must lodge an Attribution CCIV sub-fund tax return for that income year.

If a CCIV sub-fund trust fails to meet the modified AMIT eligibility criteria in Division 276 of the ITAA 1997, it will be taxed in accordance with the general trust provisions including where the trust is taxed as a public trading trust under Division 6C of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). This type of CCIV sub-fund trust must lodge a Trust tax return for that income year, or if Division 6C applies to the trust, a Company tax return.

Small business skills and training boost

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Act 2023 provides for a temporary skills and training boost for small businesses in the form of a bonus deduction. Small businesses (with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million) are able to claim the bonus deduction as an additional 20% deduction, on top of their ordinary deduction, for expenditure incurred for the provision of eligible external training courses to employees by eligible registered training providers in Australia.

It applies to eligible expenditure incurred from 7:30 pm (AEDT) on 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2024. Special rules provide for the income year in which the bonus deduction can be claimed.

Small business technology investment boost

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Act 2023 provides for a temporary technology investment boost for small businesses in the form of a bonus deduction. Small businesses (with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million) are able to claim the bonus deduction as an additional 20% deduction, on top of their ordinary deduction, for eligible expenditure incurred and depreciating assets acquired, for the purposes of their digital operations or digitising their operations. The maximum additional deduction is $20,000 per income year.

It applies to eligible expenditure of up to $100,000 per income year incurred from 7:30 pm (AEDT) on 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2023. Special rules also apply if claiming the bonus deduction for eligible expenditure on a depreciating asset.

Interest on early payment

Item 7 – Credit for interest on early payments – amount of interest will be removed from the trust tax return from the 2022–23 income year onwards.

Interest on early payments (IEP) has now been automated for eligible early payments made from 1 July 2021. As a result, there is no longer a requirement to complete item 7 – label W.

Australian carbon credit units – primary producers

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 2) Act 2023 allows eligible individual primary producers to treat certain income they receive from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units that they start to hold on or after 1 July 2022, as primary production income for the purposes of the farm management deposit scheme and tax averaging arrangements.

In addition, eligible individual primary producers who receive registered Australian Carbon Credit Units on or after 1 July 2022 as a result of their carbon abatement activities may in some circumstances only be taxed on the disposal of those units, and do not have to account for their change in value at the end of each income year they are held.

Trusts that carry on a primary production business and hold Australian Carbon Credit Units are not eligible for concessional tax treatment and must still account for any change in value at the end of each income year. However individual beneficiaries of a trust that carries on a primary production business, may be eligible to treat that part of their share of the net income of the trust attributable to the disposal of eligible ACCUs as primary production income.

If a trust carries on a business of primary production, and it also derives income from carbon abatement activities – income from carbon abatement activities is treated as non-primary production income in its return.

For individual beneficiaries who are eligible to treat that part of their share of the net income of the trust attributable to the disposal of eligible ACCUs as primary production income:

  • Include at item 58 Statement of Distribution – Share of income, label A Primary production the beneficiary's share of the net income of the trust attributable to the trust's disposal of eligible ACCUs.
  • Do not include these amounts at item 58 Statement of Distribution –Share of income, label B Non-primary production.

For more information including eligibility, see Taxation of Australian carbon credit units for primary producers.

Continue to: Instructions to complete the trust tax return

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