The Best of 22 So Far... Corporate

Included sessions

Employees are now working remotely around the world - The tax issues you need to be aware of - Tim Cooper, ATI, PwC Natasha Wegener, PwC

Session 5B from the SA Tax Forum

Managing people remotely and globally in the wake of COVID-19 presents some challenges but also great opportunities. Organisations need to navigate these complexities and make the right decisions to secure and retain the right talent. Compliance is key and, in this session, we consider the issues arising from various components of the Australian employment tax rules to assist you to navigate these complexities, including:

• Australian tax residency
• Key elements of Double Tax Agreements
• Contractual obligations
• Corporate tax exposure
• Employer obligations (home & host)
• Work rights and other regulatory considerations and
• The pitfalls and the opportunities.

The Clough case - impact on taxpayer and where to from here - Fiona Beckett Cooper, EY, Mathew Chamberlain, CTA, EY

Session 11B from the WA Tax Forum

In this Q&A session, instructing solicitor for Clough, Fiona Beckett-Cooper of EY, is interviewed by Mathew Chamberlain on the Clough case and its impact on taxpayers, including her thoughts on:

• The impact of the case on concepts of nexus and purpose
• Whether there is a trend of the courts narrowing the scope of section 8-1? Or is the decision of narrow application based on its facts?
• What the decision means for taxpayers seeking to evidence a material deduction under section 8-1
• Whether it could be assumed that a deduction over 5 years under section 40-880 would be available, given this wasn’t considered by the Court?

The future of BEPS - Pillars One and Two - Amelia Teng, Deloitte, Jasmine Leonard, ATI, Rio Tinto

Session 2B from the QLD Tax Forum

This session will provide an update on the progress of the OECD/G20 Pillars 1 and 2. With the rules and further guidance expected in early 2022, this session will provide the latest update on Pillar 1 and 2 and offer insights into the practical impacts and implementation issues for multinationals. The session explores the practical impact of the global minimum tax for both multinationals operating in and headquartered in Australia, and with the Pillar 2 model rules targeted for commencement in 2023, the session will explain what multinationals need to be thinking about now, and how to start preparing for implementation. 

M&A and ESG - Taxation considerations in relation to ESG trends and M&A activity - Brendon Lamers, ATI, Clayton Utz, Peter Nearhos, CTA, QIC

Session 3B from the QLD Tax Forum

ESG considerations are of increasing importance in M&A activity and ESG trends continue to present opportunities for business to commercialise emerging asset classes and enable novel uses for conventional assets. This session discusses the tax issues associated with these ESG trends and operations including carbon and bio-diversity credit generation and trading, nonconventional solar arrangements, and qualitative tax related ESG priorities for business in an M&A context. 

Capital expenditure - seeking simplicity in a complicated concept - Paul Mills, PBM Tax Pty Limited

Session 12B from the QLD Tax Forum

The phrase, “an outgoing of capital, or of a capital nature” is, on its face, uncomplicated and of few words. Voluminous transcripts from tax cases attempting to rule on the matter, both recent and historic, demonstrate the complexity of this seemingly simple matter. With the many recent cases dealing with capital expenditure in the context of the general deduction provisions in the tax law, it is worth revisiting these cases to search for consistent themes in the rulings.

Voluntary disclosures and penalties 101 - Angelina Lagana, CTA, KPMG Law

Session 4B from the NSW Tax Forum

Voluntary disclosures are an important risk mitigation process that taxpayers can deploy in order to reduce the potential amount of tax penalties and interest arising from tax short shortfalls. In the world of “double penalties” within which SGE’s (including their subsidiaries) and other large taxpayer groups now operate, understanding the strategic importance of voluntary disclosures for all taxpayers is critical, particularly the points in time when making a voluntary disclosure is most effective. This session covers:

• the basic mechanics involved in making a voluntary disclosure and requests for remission
• some of the drivers and matters to consider in advance of making a voluntarily disclosure to the Commissioner
• the timing of a voluntary disclosure and whether any other options are available.

eCommerce and internet taxation - what are the top five tax issues associated with online shopping? - Prashanth Kainthaje, ATI, Johnson Winter & Slattery, Annemarie Wilmore, Johnson Winter & Slattery

Session 6B from the NSW Tax Forum

eCommerce has touched all aspects of business: technology infrastructure, business-to-business commerce and business-to-consumer commerce, and has opened up a raft of opportunities for advertising and marketing strategies and business models. This session explores current ATO focus areas relating to ecommerce and internet taxation, including:

• Transfer pricing issues relating to the Development, Enhancement, Maintenance, Protection and Exploitation (DEMPE) of intangible assets
• GST on sales of goods and imported services and digital products
• Business structuring, changes in mode of operation and implications such as Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL) and Diverted Profits Tax (DPT)
• Customs and R&D.

An Update on Legal Professional Privilege, Catherine Dean, CTA, BDO, Jeremy Geale, CTA, MinterEllison

Session 8B from the NSW Tax Forum

With a number of recent Federal Court decisions and the release of draft protocols by the Australian Taxation Office, the past 12 months have seen significant developments in the area of legal professional privilege (LPP) impacting upon the rights of taxpayers to claim LPP over tax advice and communications with their advisers. Taxpayers are at risk of having to disclose confidential advice and communications that they may have thought to be protected by LPP or concede claims due to the costs involved in defending those claims.

This session will examine:

• • The back story and history of LPP in tax
• • The recent Federal Court decisions and implications going forward
• • The ATO LPP protocols and interplay with the recent decisions
• • Practical steps that can be followed to preserve LPP and avoid costly disputes with the ATO.

Tax cases round-up - Chris Peadon, FTI, New Chambers

Session 14B from the NSW Tax Forum

This session covers the key tax cases in the last 12 months relevant to corporate taxpayers. It outlines both the nature of the decision, and what impact it might have on a corporate taxpayer’s tax risk. Cases include the:

• Revenue capital distinction
• Capital allowance provisions
• Tax administration matters.

Why corporates should engage with tax governance - Megan Bishop, Holding Redlich, Sue Williamson, CTA (Life), Holding Redlich

Session 9B from the VIC Tax Forum

The tax landscape is changing toward an increasingly pre-emptive rather than reactive approach to compliance. In the new environment tax corporate governance is a focus area for the ATO and should be for taxpayers too. In this session we speak to:

• Tax gap and tax landscape – how the tax compliance landscape is changing to prevention rather than correction and where tax corporate governance sits in that landscape
• How having a tax corporate governance framework can assist in internal and external stakeholder management
• What the ATO’s expectations are including analysing justified trust review outcomes and updated guidance for policies and controls testing
• Tips for designing an effective tax corporate governance framework and
• Living tax corporate governance – implementation and controls testing.