INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT ACT 1936 (ARCHIVE)

This Subdivision has rules that make it easier for a public company or the trustee of a publicly traded unit trust to determine, as at a test time or the base time, the holders of majority underlying interests in its assets.

All holdings of shares or units of less than 1% in the company or trust are treated as if they were held by a single notional natural person. This means that the company or trustee does not have to trace through to the actual natural persons who beneficially hold underlying interests in the assets of the company or trust.

A similar rule applies if another public company or publicly traded unit trust is interposed between the company or trust and those persons. All holdings of less than 1% in the interposed company or interposed trust are treated as if they were held by a different single notional natural person. This means that the company or trustee does not have to trace through the interposed company or interposed trust to the actual natural persons who beneficially hold underlying interests in the assets of the head company or the head trust.