ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2003/301 (Withdrawn)

Income Tax

Commercial debt forgiveness - non-debtor company(s) in group have deductible revenue losses
FOI status: may be released
  • This ATO ID is withdrawn from the database as it is a simple restatement of the law and does not contain an interpretative decision.
    This document incorporates revisions made since original publication. View its history and amending notices, if applicable.

CAUTION: This is an edited and summarised record of a Tax Office decision. This record is not published as a form of advice. It is being made available for your inspection to meet FOI requirements, because it may be used by an officer in making another decision.

This ATOID provides you with the following level of protection:

If you reasonably apply this decision in good faith to your own circumstances (which are not materially different from those described in the decision), and the decision is later found to be incorrect you will not be liable to pay any penalty or interest. However, you will be required to pay any underpaid tax (or repay any over-claimed credit, grant or benefit), provided the time limits under the law allow it. If you do intend to apply this decision to your own circumstances, you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed. You may wish to obtain further advice from the Tax Office or from a professional adviser.

Issue

Where a debt incurred by a debtor company is forgiven whilst it is a member of a group of related companies and at least one of the non-debtor related companies has deductible revenue losses on hand in the forgiveness year, will the debtor company's net forgiven amount be apportioned amongst companies in the group with deductible revenue losses?

Decision

Yes. The net forgiven amount is apportioned amongst the company(s) in the group that have deductible revenue losses in accordance with section 245-230 of Schedule 2C to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

Facts

After 27 June 1996, Debtor was forgiven a debt.

The debt was a commercial debt for the purposes of section 245-25 of Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936.

The net forgiven amount of the debt was $800 000.

For the purposes of subsection 245-225(2) of Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936 Debtor was a member of a group of related companies.

Debtor and some other members of the group of related companies had the following deductible revenue losses as defined in section 245-110 of Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936:

Debtor $200 000

Company B $50 000

Company C $150 000

Reasons for Decision

Section 245-10 of Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936 provides that Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936 applies where the forgiveness of a commercial debt occurs after 27 June 1996.

Pursuant to section 245-230 of Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936 Debtor, Company B and Company C are taken to have net forgiven amounts calculated according to the following formula in subsection 245-230(3) of Schedule 2C to the ITAA 1936:

'Company's deductible revenue losses / Total deductible revenue losses' * disregarded net forgiven amount.

Based upon the relevant facts this formula deems the companies to have the following net forgiven amounts:-

Debtor: $200 000/$400 000 x $800 000 = $400 000

Company B: $ 50 000/$400 000 x $800 000 = $100 000

Company C: $150 000/$400 000 x $800 000 = $300 000.

Date of decision:  19 March 2003

Year of income:  Year ended 30 June 2003

Legislative References:
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
   Schedule 2C
   Schedule 2C, section 245-10
   Schedule 2C, section 245-25
   Schedule 2C, section 245-110
   Schedule 2C, subsection 245-225(2)
   Schedule 2C, section 245-230
   Schedule 2C, subsection 245-230(3)

Keywords
Debt forgiveness

Business Line:  Losses and CGT Centre of Expertise

Date of publication:  16 May 2003

ISSN: 1445-2782

history
  Date: Version:
  19 March 2003 Original statement
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