Our latest insights

It has been a busy month for State Taxes around the country. This month we saw the validity of foreign surcharges in question, proposed changes to NSW stamp duty in the lead up to the State election, Victoria’s recent inquiry into stamp duty and windfall gains tax changes.

Following the Government’s announcement on 28 February 2023 regarding a reduction in tax concessions for superannuation balances over $3 million, we discuss what has changed in the past 12 months and what the future may hold.

After a long period of consultation, the Federal Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No.1) Bill 2023 into parliament on Thursday 16 February 2023.

Today, Austrade announced the opening of the next round of the EMDG program.

The 30 April 2023 deadline is fast approaching for companies looking to lodge a R&D claim for the 30 June 2022 financial year.

If you are an Australian professional services firm with clients who are residents in Singapore and are not registered for GST in Singapore, you must be aware of a potential requirement to register and pay GST in Singapore under its new Overseas Vendor Registration (OVR) regime.

The Australian Federal Government has passed major changes to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) in the form of the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022. These changes signal a call to action for organisations to review their privacy, security, and information handling practices.

On 31 August 2022, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) finalised its Taxation Determinations TD 2022/12 and TD 2022/13 to reflect the Full Federal Court decision in Peter Greensill Family Co Pty Ltd (Trustee) v Commissioner of Taxation [2021] FCAFC 99 that Australian Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will apply in respect of net capital gain distributions by Australian discretionary trustees to foreign beneficiaries.

From 19 May 2022, substantial amendments were made to the Duties Act 1997 (NSW) (Duties Act), including the introduction of a new category of dutiable transaction which imposes duty on a change in beneficial ownership of dutiable property.

New legal precedent (Federal and State case law), data matching initiatives and a trend towards a hybrid working arrangement influenced by the gig economy, have led to an increase in ATO and State Revenue Office scrutiny around the engagement with contractors by employers.

As part of the Government’s October 2022 Federal Budget, Labor have recently announced changes to the thin capitalisation rules which will apply to income years commencing on or after 1 July 2023.

Legislation for the long awaited FBT exemption for electric vehicles has finally passed through the Senate. A few amendments moved by the Greens were agreed to by the Government in order to get the legislation through. Here is a summary of the new rules.