Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

CHAPTER 3 - SPECIALIST LIABILITY RULES  

PART 3-5 - CORPORATE TAXPAYERS AND CORPORATE DISTRIBUTIONS  

Division 165 - Income tax consequences of changing ownership or control of a company  

Subdivision 165-CD - Reductions after alterations in ownership or control of loss company  

Operative provisions

SECTION 165-115Z   What constitutes a controlling stake in a company  

165-115Z(1)    
An entity has a controlling stake in a company at a particular time if the entity, or the entity and the entity ' s * associates between them:

(a) are able at that time to exercise, or control the exercise of, more than 50 % of the voting power in the company (either directly, or indirectly through one or more interposed entities); or

(b) have at that time the right to receive (either directly, or indirectly through one or more interposed entities) more than 50 % of any dividends that the company may pay; or

(c) have at that time the right to receive (either directly, or indirectly through one or more interposed entities) more than 50 % of any distribution of capital of the company.

Note 1:

The effect of subsection (1) is that, if an entity has a controlling stake in a company, each associate of the entity also has a controlling stake in the company.

Note 2:

Division 167 has special rules for working out rights to voting power, dividends and capital distributions in a company whose shares do not all carry the same rights to those matters.

165-115Z(2)    
If:

(a) apart from this subsection, an interest that gives an entity and its * associates (if any):

(i) the ability to exercise, or control the exercise of, any of the voting power in a company; or

(ii) the right to receive dividends that a company may pay; or

(iii) the right to receive a distribution of capital of a company;

would, in the application of paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c), be counted more than once; and

(b) the interest is both direct and indirect;

only the direct interest is to be counted.