Taxation Ruling
IT 123
Drought bonds
-
Please note that the PDF version is the authorised consolidated version of this ruling and amending notices.This document is no longer current as has been Archived.View the Archival notice for this document.This document has been Withdrawn.View the Withdrawal notice for this document.
FOI status:
may be releasedFOI number: I 1102676Facts
As a result of representations being received, consideration has been given to two aspects of the drought bond scheme.
2. The first matter concerns the effective date of declaration and revocation of a drought area. Section 18 of the Loan (Drought Bonds) Act 1969 provides for the Minister for Primary Industry to make these declarations and for the declarations to be published in the Gazette.
3. The second matter concerns the date of redemption of bonds where a request is lodged for redemption on account of drought, fire or flood, i.e. those cases where the proceeds of redemption are to be included in assessable income in accordance with section 159B(2) of the income tax law. Representations have been made seeking the back-dating of redemption declarations on account of drought, fire or flood in those cases where requests for redemption are lodged in one income year and are not dealt with by the Taxation Office until the following income year. The most obvious case is where a request is lodged with a Taxation Office in the last week of June and the declaration is not made until July. What is being sought, of course, is that the proceeds of redemption become assessable income of the income year in which the request is made rather than the following year.
Ruling
4. In relation to the first matter, it has been decided that neither the declaration nor the revocation is an effective instrument until it is gazetted. Consequently, the declaration and revocation have effect on and from their respective gazettal dates and not before.
5. As to the second matter, it has been decided to accede to the request but it is stressed that the date of declaration of redemption cannot be a date earlier than the date of lodgment of the request at a Taxation Office.
Commissioner of Taxation
8 July 1971