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This edited version has been archived due to the length of time since original publication. It should not be regarded as indicative of the ATO's current views. The law may have changed since original publication, and views in the edited version may also be affected by subsequent precedents and new approaches to the application of the law.

You cannot rely on this record in your tax affairs. It is not binding and provides you with no protection (including from any underpaid tax, penalty or interest). In addition, this record is not an authority for the purposes of establishing a reasonably arguable position for you to apply to your own circumstances. For more information on the status of edited versions of private advice and reasons we publish them, see PS LA 2008/4.

Edited version of your private ruling

Authorisation Number: 1012566055369

Ruling

Subject: Employment termination payment - payment for personal injury

Questions:

1. Is any part of the payment received in settlement of a dispute lodged under the Fair Work Act 2009 included in your assessable income as the taxable component of an employment termination payment?

2. Is any part of the payment excluded from being an employment termination payment under paragraph 82-135(i) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)?

3. Is any part of the payment excluded from being a capital gain under section 118-37 of the ITAA 1997?

Advice/Answers:

1. Yes.

2. No.

3. No.

This ruling applies for the following period:

1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013

The scheme commenced on:

1 July 2012

Relevant facts:

1. You are under 55 years of age.

2. You commenced employment with an employer (the employer) on a casual basis for a period of months.

3. Later you were offered a two day a week contracted position.

4. Your position with the employer was made permanent on a number of days per week.

5. You state that you were subjected to a period of sustained bullying, discrimination and unfair treatment at work.

6. You commenced an internal discrimination, harassment and bullying complaint against the CEO of the employer.

7. Your employment terminated due to redundancy while your complaint was still under investigation.

8. A letter from the employer advised that you would receive a redundancy payment plus a payment in lieu of notice.

9. Your union filed a complaint on your behalf for breach of the general protections provisions of a particular Act at the government body dealing with discrimination.

10. Your claim was settled by agreement between you and the employer under a Deed of Release.

11. Under the terms of settlement you were to receive an amount (the settlement payment) for pain and suffering. This payment is the subject of the ruling request.

12. The terms of settlement states that you release the employer from all claims actions or proceedings from the employment and its cessation excluding claims for personal injury under a state and federal legislation.

13. A PAYG payment summary shows that you received a payment in June 2013. This amount includes the settlement payment.

14. You have lodged your income tax return for the 2012-13 income year.

Relevant legislative provisions:

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 1-3.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 82-130.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 82-130(1).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(1)(a).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(1)(b).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(1)(c).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(2).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-130(4)(a).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 82-130(5).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 82-130(7).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 82-135.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Paragraph 82-135(i).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 118-20.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 118-22.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 118-37

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 995-1.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 27A(1).

Reasons for decision

Summary

The settlement payment is an employment termination payment (ETP) as:

The payment is not exempt from being an ETP as a payment for personal injury.

The payment is not subject to capital gains tax.

Detailed reasoning

Is the payment an employment termination payment?

Though Jacobs J. speaks in different terms, his meaning may not be significantly different from the meaning of Gibbs J... His Honour denies the necessity to show that retirement is the dominant cause, but he does not allow a temporal sequence alone to suffice as the nexus. Though the language of causation often contains the seeds of confusion, I apprehend his Honour to hold the required nexus to be (at least) that the payment would not have been made but for the retirement.

I am satisfied that the payment was an effect or result of that termination in that there were a sequence of events following the termination of the employment which had a relationship and connection which ultimately led to the payment. True it is that the payment was made not only to settle the applicant's claim for common law damages for breach of the employment agreement but also for statutory damages...

The payment is received no later than 12 months after termination

Exclusions under section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997

26. Certain payments made on termination of employment are excluded from being an employment termination payment under section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997. These payments, among others, include:

27. The payment does not fall within the various exclusions under section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997 except possibly a payment for personal injury. We will now consider whether the payment is a capital payment for personal injury.

28. Paragraph 82-135(i) of the ITAA 1997 specifically excludes from being an employment termination payment:

29. This exclusion is for a payment or benefit that compensates or reimburses you for, or in respect of, the particular injury.

30. You have stated that you lodged a complaint against the CEO of the workplace on account of being subjected to bullying, discrimination and unfair treatment in the workplace. Further, you state that because of the above treatment, you became anxious and depressed, requiring you to seek support from psychologists and your GP. Consequently, the possible personal injury you could have had is 'anxiety and depression'.

31. The principal question for determination therefore is whether the payment can be characterised as 'a capital payment for, or in respect of, a 'personal injury'. The words require a relationship between the injury and payment.

32. The Explanatory Memorandum (EM) to the Tax Laws Amendment (Simplified Superannuation) Bill 2006 stated, in relation to section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997, that:

33. In accordance with section 1-3 of the ITAA 1997, provisions in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) which have been rewritten in the ITAA 1997 will have the same meaning where they express the same idea, even if the words used are different. It is therefore appropriate to cite cases that refer to the previous legislation.

36. In your case, you do not have a physical injury or a mental illness.

37. In Commissioner of Taxation v. Scully (2000) 201 CLR 148; [2000] HCA 6; 2000 ATC 4111; (2000) 169 ALR 459; (2000) 74 ALJR 504; (2000) 43 ATR 718 (Scully) the High Court, in considering former paragraph 27A(1)(n), held that compensation must be calculated by reference to the nature and extent of the injury or likely loss to the taxpayer.

38. The payment in Scully was held not to be in respect of personal injury. Acting Chief Justice Gaudron and Justices McHugh, Gummow and Callinan stated in their joint decision:

    In our opinion, the payment in this case cannot be characterised as consideration... in respect of, personal injury. The fact that the payment is not calculated by reference to the nature and extent of the injury or likely loss to the respondent and the fact that the other benefits are similar to that for total and permanent disablement point inevitably to the conclusion that the payment was consideration... for, or in respect of the respondent's termination of employment and her rights under the Trust Deed and was not consideration... for, or in respect of her injury.

39. Therefore for an amount to meet the requirements of paragraph 82-135(i) of the ITAA 1997, the payment must be for, or in respect of, personal injury and be calculated by reference to the nature and extent of the injury or likely loss to the taxpayer.

40. In Purvis and Ors v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation (2013) 2013 ATC 10-296; (2013) AATA 58 (Purvis) the Administrative Appeals Tribunal held that the payment was not compensation for personal injury as the injury was not a factor in determining the amount of the payment.

41. In your case, the payment will be made in accordance the Deed. The Deed states that the payment is for 'pain and suffering' and does not specify any personal injury. In fact it excludes a claim for personal injury. There is no correspondence between the amount of the payment and the likely effect of any personal injury on your capacity to derive income from personal exertion.

42. Further, based on Graham v Robinson, as you do not have a physical injury or mental illness the payment is not for a personal injury and therefore is not excluded from being an employment termination payment.

43. Accordingly, it is considered that paragraph 82-135(i) of the ITAA 1997 does not exclude the lump sum payment from being an employment termination payment. As the payment is not a payment mentioned in section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997, paragraph 82-130(1)(c) of the ITAA 1997 is satisfied.

44. As discussed above, the payment is considered to be a payment received in consequence of the termination of employment and is not a payment mentioned in section 82-135 of the ITAA 1997; and is paid within 12 months of termination, all the conditions of subsection 82-130(1) of the ITAA 1997 will be met. Therefore, the payment is considered to be an employment termination payment.

Tax Treatment of the employment termination payment

Capital gains tax (CGT)

57. The general CGT exemptions provisions are found in subdivision 118-A of the ITAA 1997. Included amongst them is an anti-overlap provision, section 118-20, which ensures that an amount cannot be assessable under both the CGT provisions and non CGT provisions. The effect of the anti-overlap provision is to reduce the amount of any assessable capital gain by any amount which is also assessable under non CGT provisions and by amounts which are exempt income.

58. In your ruling application you stated that section 118-37 of the ITAA 1997 makes it clear that compensation for pain and suffering is characterised, not as income but as a capital gain. Further, you have also referred to a previously issued private ruling where a payment for pain and suffering due to bullying and harassment was considered a capital gain.

59. However, the facts in that case are not the same as in yours and therefore that result will not apply in your case.

60. The settlement payment is assessable under section 82-130 of the ITAA 1997 as explained above. The combined effect of section 118-20 and section 82-130 is that where a capital payment is assessable under a non-CGT provision, then it is treated as being assessable under that non-CGT provision.

61. In this regard, it is relevant to note the following comment made by Senior Member Dwyer of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in AAT Case 11,722 (1997) 35 ATR 1114; (1997) 97 ATC 258 at paragraph 31:

62. The above was in respect of the eligible termination payment provisions which, prior to 1 July 2007, were contained in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). The term 'eligible termination payment' was defined in former subsection 27A(1) in the ITAA 1936 and included any payments made in consequence of the termination of employment. Subsection 160ZB(1) of the ITAA 1936 was replaced by section 118-37 of the ITAA 1997 for the 1998-99 and later income years.

63. Section 118-37 of the ITAA 1997 deals with exemptions from capital gains of compensation or damages for wrong or injury suffered by a taxpayer.

64. However, as the settlement sum is to be included as assessable income under section 82-130 of the ITAA 1997 (the non CGT provision) any capital gain made is to be reduced under section 118-20 of the ITAA 1997 by the amount assessable under section 83-130. The fact that the payment may also be assessable as a capital gain does not change the fact that it is assessable under another provision of the ITAA 1997.

65. Accordingly, the settlement payment is excluded from the CGT provisions. Consequently, as explained above, the payment is assessable as an employment termination payment and taxed as explained above.

Further issues for you to consider:

Genuine redundancy payment

66. A payment made to an employee is a genuine redundancy payment (GRP) if it satisfies all criteria set out in section 83-175 of the ITAA 1997.

67. The first criteria to be satisfied (subsection 83-175(1) of the ITAA 1997) is:

69. Subsection 83-175(3) of the ITAA 1997 imposes a further condition that the payment does not include any part of a payment that was received by the employee in lieu of superannuation benefits to which the employee may have become entitled at the time of the payment or at a later time.

70. From the information provided, you were dismissed from employment and clearly the redundancy payment and the payment in lieu of notice would not have been paid if you had resigned voluntarily.

71. Consequently, these amounts are in excess of what you could have received on voluntary termination of employment and the first condition is satisfied.

72. The other conditions have also been satisfied as there is no evidence to the contrary. Consequently, you have received a GRP.

Tax-free treatment of a genuine redundancy payment

73. Section 83-165 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) states that any part of a genuine redundancy payment (GRP) that is not tax free under Subdivision 83 will normally be an employment termination payment.

74. Section 83-170 applies to determine the tax free treatment of the GRP. This section places a limit on the amount of a GRP that is eligible for concessional tax treatment and states:

Tax free amount

81. The GRP you have received is as calculated by the above formula.

82. However, as this amount calculated was below the threshold for the 2012-13 income year, the whole payment would be tax-free. The employer has treated only the redundancy payment as the tax free amount.

83. Consequently, you should request an amendment to your income tax return for the year 2012-13 income year to include the settlement sum as an ETP and to exclude the payment in lieu of notice as an ETP. Further this will require the tax deducted on these payments to be included and to be excluded respectively.

84. Please note that the amount paid under the Deed of Release does not form part of the GRP.


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