Australian Tax Forum

Articles from the current issue:

• Tear down and rebuild, or retrofit?— A critical review of Sijbren Cnossen’s Modernizing VATs in Africa

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  It is unusual for ATF to publish book reviews, but we have done so occasionally in the past and will do so again from time to time. The review in this issue is particularly apt for Australia in 2020. Although usually a political “no-go area” the GST is one of the taxes that some would like to see changed and suggestions for reform have already been made in 2020.

• Voluntary tax disclosures and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from Australia

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  This study explores voluntary disclosures made by firms operating in Australia pursuant to the Voluntary Tax Transparency Code (VTTC) developed by the Board of Taxation (BOT) in 2015-2016. Specifically, the determinants of the choice to disclose are examined along with the behavioural response in terms of firms’ level of corporate tax avoidance.

• Getting the priorities right: ATO garnishee notices in times of corporate distress

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  One of the most effective debt collection powers within Australia’s current tax regime is the Commissioner’s power to issue a notice to a third party that owes money to, or holds money for, a tax debtor under section 260-5 of Schedule 1 to the TAA (garnishee power). This article will discuss how an insolvent corporate tax debtor is likely to be impacted as a result of the use of this power by the Commissioner.

• The single entity rule: The need to clarify the effect and limits of the cornerstone of Australia’s tax consolidation regime

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  The single entity rule (‘SER’) is the cornerstone of Australia’s consolidation regime, which was introduced almost 20 years ago. However, significant uncertainty remains regarding the role and scope of the SER. There are numerous gaps in legislative and administrative guidance as to how the SER interacts with other provisions in the tax acts.

• The taxation of capital gains in trusts after Bamford: A critical evaluation of the streaming regime in subdivision 115-C ITAA97

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  The streaming regime in Subdivision 115-C ITAA97, which was enacted after the High Court’s decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Bamford (2010) 240 CLR 481 (‘Bamford’), is an integral component of the taxation of trusts in Australia. The main
  purpose of the 2011 measures was to ensure that the streaming of capital gains (as well as franked distributions) to specific beneficiaries would be effective for tax purposes as the Government had assumed that the ‘proportionate approach’, which
  was confirmed in Bamford, necessarily implied an inability to stream particular categories of income.

• Solving subdiv 360-A’s ‘affiliate’ problem

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  Subdivision 360-A provides investors in ‘early stage innovation companies’ with tax incentives in the form of a non-refundable tax offset equal to 20% of the value of their investments and a ‘modified CGT treatment’ for any gains or losses they ultimately realise on those investments.

• Regulating a new phenomenon: Examining the legal nature and taxation of cryptocurrencies in Australia and Singapore

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  This article discusses the legal nature and taxation of cryptocurrencies in Australia and compares it with Singapore. Singapore as well as Australia is a developed country in relation to the digital economy and e-commerce and one of the leaders in global digital transformation.