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Edited version of your private ruling

Authorisation Number: 1012399535338

Ruling

Subject: Fringe Benefits Tax: Living Away From Home Allowance -Transitional Rules

Question 1

For the period 01 October 2012 to 31 March 2014 (transitional period) can the employer continue to reduce the taxable value of the living away from home allowance (LAFHA) fringe benefits by any exempt food component under section 31 of Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 (FBTAA) in respect of employee A?

Answer

No

Question 2

For the period 01 October 2012 to 31 March 2014 (transitional period) can the employer continue to reduce the taxable value of the LAFHA fringe benefits by any exempt food component under section 31 FBTAA in respect of employee B?

Answer

No

Question 3

For the period 01 October 2012 to 31 March 2014 (transitional period) do the reimbursements to the employee of the accommodation expenses continue to constitute exempt benefits under section 21 FBTAA in relation employee A?

Answer

No

Question 4

For the period 01 October 2012 to 31 March 2014 (transitional period) do the reimbursements to the employee of the accommodation expenses continue to constitute exempt benefits under section 21 FBTAA in relation to employee B?

Answer

No

Question 5

For the period 01 October 2012 to 31 March 2014 (transitional period) can the employer continue to reduce the taxable value of the LAFHA fringe benefits by any exempt food component under section 31 FBTAA in respect of employee C?

Answer

Yes

Question 6

For the period 01 October 2012 to 31 March 2014 (transitional period) do the reimbursements to the employee of the accommodation expenses continue to constitute exempt benefits under section 21 FBTAA in relation to employee C?

Answer

Yes

This ruling applies for the following period

1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014

The scheme commenced in

2010

Relevant facts and circumstances

The employer is a member of a Group of companies operating in a corporate environment with the parent company headquartered overseas.

The Group is one of the largest conglomerates in the world. It currently employs employees who are working in Australia on temporary assignments. The employees are key personnel of the Group in Australia.

The employer provides benefits to 3 employees in Australia.

Employees A and B are on temporary 457 Visas and will be expected to return to country X at the end of their term of employment.

Employee C applied for and was granted permanent residency in 2011. This employee was sponsored for permanent residency in order to secure leadership of the group for a longer period but is also expected to return to country X when the employee's assignment is completed.

Each of the above three employees maintains a principal residence in country X that they are living away from because of their employment duties in Australia. They are working in Australia on temporary assignment for a few years.

Under employment arrangements in place prior to 7.30 p.m. 08 May the employer has been providing the employees with a Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) to cover extra food expenses and reimbursements of the employee's accommodation expenses incurred by them in Australia.

To date, there has been no material change to these employment arrangements.

The employees' accommodation in Australia is required solely in order to enable them to perform their employment duties.

Employees C and A are accompanied by their spouses.

Each of the employees will provide a declaration by the declaration date setting out their usual place of residence and their actual place of residence for the period the LAFHA and benefits are provided.

Assumptions

There will be no material change to the employment arrangements under which the benefits are being provided prior to 1 April 2014.

The employees will provide a declaration in accordance with section 31F of the FBTAA.

Relevant legislative provisions

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 20

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 21

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012 Sch 1 Subsection 27(2)

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 30

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 31

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 31C

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 31C(a)

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Section 31D

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Subsection 31D(1)

Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 Subsection 31F

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 6(1)A

Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012 Part 3 Sched 1 Section 27

Reasons for decision

The Relevant Law - Living Away From Home Allowance

Subsection 30(1) FBTAA sets out the circumstances in which a living-away-from-home allowance benefit will be taken to exist for fringe benefits tax purposes.

As applicable to the relevant situation, the taxable value of a LAFHA fringe benefit is determined under:

SECTION 31 TAXABLE VALUE - EMPLOYEE MAINTAINS A HOME IN AUSTRALIA

SECTION 31A TAXABLE VALUE - FLY-IN FLY-OUT AND DRIVE-IN DRIVE-OUT EMPLOYEES

SECTION 31B TAXABLE VALUE - ANY OTHER CASE

Section 31 FBTAA states:

Section 31C FBTAA is satisfied if:

According to subsection 31D(1) FBTAA, the employee satisfies section 31D if:

SECTION 31F DECLARATIONS

Exempt accommodation component

The exempt accommodation component of an LAFHA is the amount the employer pays to the employee for additional accommodation expenses the employee could reasonably be expected to incur at the alternate location.

Where the allowance paid includes an amount for accommodation which is not reasonable, that part of the allowance will be included in the taxable value of the LAFHA.

Exempt food component

Exempt food component is defined in section 136 FBTAA.

In brief, the exempt food component of a LAFHA is the amount the employer pays to the employee for additional food costs because they are required to live away from their normal residence in Australia in order to perform their employment duties.

The Relevant Law - Exempt Accommodation Expense Payment Benefits

Section 20 FBTAA provides that an expense payment fringe benefit arises when an employer pays for or reimburses expenses incurred by an employee or an associate of an employee.

The general effect of section 21 FBTAA is that an expense payment benefit that relates to the payment or reimbursement of expenditure incurred by an employee on accommodation, in circumstances where the employee is required to live away from his normal residence to carry out his employment duties is an exempt benefit.

Section 21 of the FBTAA states:

Transitional rules

The laws referred to above include recent reforms that have tightened the concessional tax treatment of fringe benefits tax (FBT) for living-away-from-home allowances and benefits.

The reformed rules apply generally to employees who are living away from their normal residence on or after 1 October 2012 in respect of all allowances and benefits provided in relation to the periods commencing on or after 1 October 2012.

However, there are transitional rules that may apply to employment arrangements for living-away-from-home allowances and benefits in place prior to Budget time at 7.30pm (AEST) on 8 May 2012.

Paragraph 1.62 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012 (EM) states that the transitional rules apply to:

The legislation for the transitional arrangements is in Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012. Specifically, subsection 27(1) of that Part states that:

The transitional period means the period:

Further, in accordance with subsection 27(2) in Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012, an employer may not disregard paragraph 31C(a) FBTAA during the transitional period if the employee is either a 'temporary resident' or 'foreign resident'. Both of these terms are defined in the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012.

The EM uses the terminology 'permanent resident' but the amending legislation does not.

'Temporary resident' and 'foreign resident' have the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997).

As defined in section 995-1 ITAA 1997 you are a temporary resident if:

An "Australian resident" for the purposes of the Social Security Act 1991 is defined in section 7(2) of that Act. Section 7(2) states that a person will be an Australian resident if he or she resides in Australia and is:

Reasons of decision - Questions 1 and 2

Summary

The transitional rules will not apply in respect of the provision of LAFHA fringe benefits to employees A and B because they are temporary residents and do not maintain a normal residence in Australia that they are required to live away from to carry out employment duties.

Detailed reasoning

In order for an employer to apply the concessional taxable value rules under section 31 FBTAA, Paragraph 31(1)(a) FBTAA requires amongst other things, that the employee satisfies section 31C (about maintaining an Australian home). Specifically, subparagraphs 31C(a)(i) and (ii).

Section 31C FBTAA is satisfied if:

The laws referred to above include recent reforms that have tightened the concessional tax treatment of fringe benefits tax (FBT) for living-away-from-home allowances and benefits.

The reformed rules apply generally to employees who are living away from their normal residence on or after 1 October 2012 in respect of all allowances and benefits provided in relation to the periods commencing on or after 1 October 2012.

However, there are transitional rules that may apply to employment arrangements for living-away-from-home allowances and benefits in place prior to Budget time at 7.30pm (AEST) on 8 May 2012.

Transitional rules apply to both permanent and temporary residents. However, an employer may not disregard paragraph 31C(a) of the FBTAA during the transitional period if the employee is either a temporary resident or a foreign resident.

The legislation for the transitional arrangements is in Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 4) Act 2012. Specifically, subsection 27(1) of that Part states that:

The transitional period is the period:

Paragraphs 1.64 and 1.65 of the EM state:

The amendments have effect from 01 October 2012 even for employment arrangements in place prior to budget time unless the transitional rules state that that a specified amendment measure can be disregarded during the transitional period.

The meaning of the term 'maintaining a home in Australia' is as defined in section 31C FBTAA.

The relevant facts in this ruling indicate that:

Further, in accordance with the assumption made, there will be no material change to the employment arrangements prior to 1 April 2014.

However, notwithstanding the above, as mentioned previously, an employer may not disregard paragraph 31C(a) FBTAA during the transitional period if the employee is either a 'temporary resident' or a 'foreign resident'. As such, each employee's residency status is a relevant consideration to determine whether the employer can disregard paragraph 31C(a). If it is concluded that an employee is either a temporary resident or a foreign resident as defined, the employer may not disregard paragraph 31C(a). This effectively means that the employee must maintain a home at all times for the employer is to apply the concessional valuation rules under section 31 during the transitional period.

Are the employees temporary or foreign residents as defined?

Employees A and B meet paragraphs a), b) and c) in the definition of temporary resident in section 995-1 ITAA 1997 as stated above because:

The definition of temporary resident in section 995-1 ITAA 1997 does provide for a person to be excluded from the definition if the person has been an Australian resident (within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991), and any of paragraphs a), b) and c) above are not satisfied, at any time after the commencement of this definition.

The employees A and B do not satisfy the definition of 'Australian resident" within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991 as neither is

Since the employees A and B are temporary residents as defined in section 995-1 ITAA 1997 then during the transitional period the employer may not disregard paragraph 31C(a) FBTAA about maintaining a home in Australia.

As neither of the employees maintain a normal residence in Australia that they are required to live away from (emphasis added), the taxable value of the LAFHA fringe benefits from 01/10/2012 cannot be calculated under section 31 FBTAA but will be calculated using section 31B FBTAA. The taxable value of the fringe benefits being the amount of the LAFHA in accordance with subsection 31B(2) FBTAA.

In respect of LAFHA fringe benefits provided to A and B from 1/10/2012, the employer will not be able to reduce the taxable value of these LAFHA fringe benefits by any exempt food component under section 31 FBTAA.

Reasons for decision - Question 3 and 4

Summary

The transitional rules will not apply in respect of the provision of the reimbursements of accommodation expenses because the employees A and B are temporary residents and do not maintain a normal residence in Australia that they are required to live away from to carry out employment duties.

Detailed reasoning

Under the reformed rules, the reimbursement of the accommodation expenses will continue to be exempt under section 21 FBTAA where the employee satisfies paragraphs 21(d) and 21(e) FBTAA. Subparagraph 21(d)(i) in turn requires the employee to satisfy sections 31C (about maintaining a home in Australia) and 31D (about the first 12 months). Paragraph 21(e) is about providing the Commissioner a declaration before the declaration date.

For similar reasons as outlined in the reasons for decision for questions 1 and 2, during the transitional period the employer may not disregard paragraph 31C(a) FBTAA and therefore the reimbursements of the accommodation expenses to employees A and B from 01/10/2012 will not constitute exempt accommodation expense payment benefits under section 21 FBTAA.

Reasons for decision - Question 5

Summary

The transitional rules will apply in respect of the provision of LAFHA because employee C is a permanent resident and therefore paragraph 31C(a) FBTAA about maintaining a home in Australia and section 31(D) FBTAA may be disregarded during the transitional period.

Detailed reasoning:

Applying the laws referred to in the reasons for decision for questions 1 and 2 above, we have concluded that C is not a temporary resident as defined because he holds a permanent resident visa.

A foreign resident is defined as:

In relation to an individual, the ITAA 1936 defines a resident as:

Taxation Ruling TR 98/17 provides guidance on the residency status of individuals entering Australia. Referring to the definition in subsection 6(1) ITAA 1986 paragraph 32 states that:

Paragraph 33 goes on to say that:

There are various indicators to be considered when determining whether an individual resides in Australia under ordinary concepts. Paragraph 43 notes that:

Further, paragraphs 44 to 46 go on to say:

Indicators that should be considered are:

Time is not necessarily determinative of residency but it is an important factor when considering whether an individual resides here.

Therefore if a person is a resident of Australia in accordance with the definition in subsection 6(1) ITAA 1936, that person is not a foreign resident.

Having regard to the above discussions and applying the provisions referred to in this ruling to the relevant facts for this ruling we have determined that:

There will be no material change to the employment arrangements under which the benefits are being provided prior to 1 April 2014.

In respect of the LAFHA fringe benefits provided to employee C during the transitional period, the employer may disregard section 31C FBTAA and section 31D FBTAA for the purposes of paragraphs 31(1) (a) and (b). As all of the requirements of section 31 are satisfied, the employer will be able to calculate the taxable value of these fringe benefits under section 31 FBTAA and therefore reduce the taxable value by any exempt food component.

Reasons for decision - Question 6

Summary

The transitional rules will apply in respect of the provision of the reimbursements of accommodation expenses because employee C is a permanent resident and therefore paragraph 31C(a) FBTAA about maintaining a home in Australia and section 31(D) FBTAA may be disregarded for the purposes of section 21 FBTAA.

Detailed reasoning

Some of the reasons for decision provided in relation to question 5 above also apply here.

In respect of the expense payment benefits (accommodation expenses) provided to employee C during the transitional period, the employer may disregard section 31C FBTAA and section 31D FBTAA for the purposes of paragraph 21(d)(i) FBTAA.

As all of the requirements of section 21 are satisfied, these benefits will constitute exempt accommodation expense payment benefits under section 21 FBTAA and will not be subject to FBT.


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