Legislation
Amending Bills reintroduced
29.09.2010
Several amending Bills, including the Tax Laws Amendment (2010 Measures No 4) Bill 2010, were reintroduced into Federal Parliament on 29 September 2010.
Among the measures in the No 4 amending Bill are:
Third party GST adjustments: the GST Act is being amended with effect from 1 July 2010 to ensure the third party payment adjustment provisions operate appropriately where there are third party payments relating to a supply by the payer that is not taxable or a supply to the payee that is GST-free, not connected with Australia or subject to a refund under the Tourist Refund Scheme.
Water entitlements and termination fees: the CGT provisions are being amended to provide a roll-over for taxpayers who replace an entitlement to water with one or more different entitlements. Also taxpayers will be allowed to include any termination fees they incur in relation to an asset in the asset’s cost base. Subject to transitional provisions, the water entitlement roll-over is to apply to CGT events that happen in the 2005-06 and later income years and the termination fee cost base changes apply to CGT events happening on or after 1 July 2008.
Foreign currency gains and losses: the foreign currency gains and losses provisions of the ITAA 1997 are being amended retrospectively from 17 December 2003 to extend the scope of a number of compliance cost saving measures, and to make technical amendments to ensure that the provisions operate as intended.
Scrip for scrip alignment: amendments are being made to the ITAA 1997 to make it easier for takeovers and mergers regulated by the Corporations Act 2001 to qualify for the CGT scrip for scrip roll-over. The amendments are to apply to CGT events that happen on or after 6 January 2010.
Medical expenses tax offset: the threshold above which a taxpayer may claim the medical expenses tax offset is being increased to $2,000 from 1 July 2010 and is to be indexed annually.
For the text of the Tax Laws Amendment (2010 Measures No 4) Bill 2010 and the explanatory memorandum click here.
Confidentiality of information
The Tax Laws Amendment (Confidentiality of Taxpayer Information) Bill 2010 was also reintroduced into Parliament on 29 September 2010. The Bill amends the secrecy and disclosure provisions applying to taxation information that are currently spread over many taxation law Acts. The amendments are to apply to disclosures of protected information made on or after the day of royal assent to the amending Bill. For the text of the amending Bill and the explanatory memorandum click here.
Other reintroduced legislation
The Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010 and the International Tax Agreements Amendment Bill (No 2) 2010 were reintroduced into Parliament on 29 September 2010 and 30 September 2010, respectively.
The Research and Development Bill (which contains changes from its predecessor Bill) and a supporting Rating Bill, are implementing the Government’s new tax incentive for research and development which is to replace the existing R&D tax concession for all income years starting on or after 1 July 2010. For the test of the Bills and the explanatory memorandum click here.
The International Tax Agreements Bill is implementing a protocol to the Singapore agreement which will enhance the exchange of information article in the agreement. For the text of the Bill and the explanatory memorandum click here.
