Extending Part IVA anti-avoidance rules
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From |
1 July 2024 |
Part IVA is the general anti-avoidance provision that the ATO can use to attack arrangements that are entered into in order to obtain tax benefits.
The scope of Part IVA will be extended so that it can apply to:
- Schemes that reduce tax paid in Australia by accessing a lower withholding tax rate on income paid to foreign residents
- Schemes that achieve an Australian income tax benefit, even where the dominant purpose was to reduce foreign income tax.
This measure will apply to income years commencing on or after 1 July 2024, regardless of whether the scheme was entered into before that date.
AAT to be replaced
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal will be replaced by a new federal administrative review body. Funding has been provided to appoint new members to the AAT to address the backlog, to manage the transition, and to develop a modern case management system for the new body.
Small business ATO compliance
Among the programs to reduce the compliance burden on small business is a series of initiatives to cut paperwork. These include:
- From 1 July 2024, small businesses will be permitted to authorise their tax agent to lodge multiple Single Touch Payroll forms on their behalf.
- From 1 July 2024, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will reduce the use of cheques for income tax refunds.
- From 1 July 2025, small businesses will be permitted up to 4 years to amend their income tax returns (generally 2 years).
Personal income tax compliance and rental property owners under scrutiny
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From |
1 July 2025 |
The ATO will receive $89.6m and Treasury $1.2m over two years to extend the personal income tax compliance program for two years and to expand it to target emerging issues such as deductions relating to short-term rental properties to ensure they are genuinely available to rent.
Lowering tax and super liabilities
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From |
1 July 2023 |
The ATO and Treasury will be funded to address the growth in tax and superannuation liabilities. The focus is on:
- High-value debts over $100,000
- Aged debts older than two years where those taxpayers are either:
- Public and multinational groups with an aggregated turnover of greater than $10 million, or
- Privately owned groups or individuals controlling over $5 million of net wealth.
Small business lodgment penalty amnesty
Small businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $10m, will be able to access a lodgment penalty amnesty program. The amnesty will remit failure-to-lodge penalties for outstanding tax statements lodged in the period from 1 June 2023 to 31 December 2023 that were originally due during the period from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2022.
GST compliance program extended
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From |
1 July 2023 |
The ATO will receive over $588m over 4 years to continue its work to improve GST compliance. The funding is also intended to help the ATO develop more sophisticated analytical tools to combat emerging risks.
The measure is estimated to increase receipts by $7.6bn and increase payments by $3.8bn over the 5 years from 2022-23.
Serious Financial Crime Taskforce and Serious Organised Crime program extended and merged
| From | 1 July 2023 |
The Government will extend funding for the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) and Serious Organised Crime program (SOC) over 4 years to 30 June 2027 and merge the programs, with a merged SFCT to commence from 1 July 2023.
Anti-slavery Commissioner
An Anti-Slavery Commissioner will be established to work across Government, industry and society, to support compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2018, improving transparency of supply chains.
