From 1 October 2016 a stamp duty surcharge of an additional 3 per cent will apply when a foreign person acquires residential land in Queensland Affected taxpayers should therefore urgently consider whether contracts relating to potentially affected transactions can be exchanged in the next few days ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Government has announced that it will proceed with only one of the backlog of announced but unlegislated reforms to the taxation of charities and other not-for-profit entities proposed by previous governments Special Counsel Glenys Hodges and Lawyer Scott Lang report on the fate of the ...

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 ...

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 Australian Government has announced that from 1 March 2015 acquisitions of agricultural land worth more than A15 million and any additional acquisitions over and above that amount will require government approval It will also establish a foreign ownership register of agricultural land ...

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