A recent draft tax ruling may make it more difficult for employers to claim tax deductions for contributions made to employee remuneration trusts However the ruling is expected to have limited practical application to listed companies making non-refundable contributions to traditional employee share ...

After two years three rounds of public consultation and one aborted attempt Federal Parliament looks likely to pass legislation amending the rules governing when the Australian Taxation Office is required to refund excess GST to a taxpayer ...

In Lend Lease Development Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue, the Victorian Court of Appeal decided that certain 'development contributions' made by a purchaser to a vendor did not form part of the consideration that 'moved' the transfer of land to the purchaser. ...

The Federal Court has recently ruled that there is no requirement for a public benevolent institution to provide direct relief to people in need Its interpretation of the expression public benevolent institution theoretically has the potential to expand eligibility well beyond traditionally accepted ...

The Full Federal Court has held that a liquidator has no obligation to retain monies on account of tax until a notice of assessment has been issued While the decision is a win for taxpayers and creditors of insolvent entities it remains to be seen how the Commissioner of Taxation will respond ...

In an important ruling the High Court has decided that a purchaser of leased premises will make a supply of the leased premises when after completion the purchaser observes its express obligations under the lease The decision provides much-needed certainty for vendors and purchasers of leased ...

A recent Federal Court decision means 'fly-in fly-out' workers cannot claim tax deductions for the cost of transport to and from work. ...

The Federal Governments Tax Discussion Paper presents a mix of new and old themes for debate about the taxation of Australian business and begins a new stage in tax reform Partner Martin Fry and Senior Associate Jennifer Richards comment on some of the key issues for corporate taxpayers in ...

Corporate mergers and acquisitions commonly involve changes to entities that comprise a corporate group the holding of property within that group and the ultimate beneficial ownership of that group Even if those changes occur entirely outside Australia Australian landholder duty may be payable and ...

The Supreme Court of Queensland has concluded that landlords of pre-30 June 2009 commercial leases in Queensland are entitled to recover land tax from tenants from 30 June 2010, despite earlier legislation which purported to restrict such recovery. ...