TAX DEDUCTIONS – AUSTRALIA

Work-from-home tax shortcut extended

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 19-Oct-21

Michael Croker from Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand says it might be time to make the working from home ‘coronavirus shortcut’ a permanent feature of the tax system. The shortcut allows people to claim $0.80 for each hour they work from home rather than itemising individual work-related expenses, and Croker was commenting on a decision that has seen its use extended to June 2022. He notes that the percentage of people working from home has risen from less than eight per cent to 40 per cent in just two years, and he says it is likely that people will continue to work from home at least part of the week for the foreseeable future.

CORPORATES
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

More big firms to get capex break

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 23-Nov-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is to expand the federal government’s business expense tax break so that more large companies can access it, with legislation to enact the changes to be introduced. Large companies that will now be able to access the scheme will include Coca-Cola Amatil and Boral, while large companies that will remain excluded include Wesfarmers, BHP, Telstra and Rio Tinto. Frydenberg says around 50 companies employing over 150,000 people are expected to benefit from the scheme’s expansion

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG

Asset write-off extension to aid business

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jun-20

The federal government will extend its $150,000 instant asset write-off scheme for another six months. It will be accessible to companies with annual turnover of less than $500 million, which covers more than 3.5 million businesses employing over 9.7 million people. Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong says the government has done the right thing by the small business sector in extending the scheme.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Business cash flow tax would lift investment

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 3-Sep-19

Economist Ross Garnaut has called on the federal government to adopt a business cash flow tax that would incorporate a full deduction for corporate expenditure. He says a full tax write-off for business expenditure provides a significant incentive for investment, and is in line with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s recent call for companies to boost productivity by increasing capital investment in preference to share buybacks and special dividends. Garnaut and former federal Labor minister Craig Emerson have undertaken economic modelling on a possible switch from the traditional profit-based company tax to a tax based on cash flow.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Labor tax breaks not enough

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 18-Mar-19

Canadian economist Jack Mintz has produced a report on behalf of the Minerals Council of Australia. He concludes that reducing the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent would do more to ensure that the nation remains internationally competitive than Labor’s proposal to provide businesses with a 20 per cent tax write-off for capital expenditure exceeding $20,000. The report also argues that the manufacturing sector would gain more benefit from Labor’s policy than industries such as mining.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Tax over-claimers gouge $8.7bn

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Jul-18

The Australian Taxation Office will seek to recover more than $A1bn worth of tax liabilities over the next four years, according to second commissioner Neil Olesen. Analysis shows that the Federal Government lost $8.7bn in tax revenue in 2014-15 as a result of individuals failing to comply with their tax obligations. In contrast, it is estimated that forgone tax revenue from companies was just $2.5bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, THE TAX INSTITUTE, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Small business in line for big win

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Original article by David Crowe, Emily Ritchie
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-May-17

A tax deduction that is popular with small business owners is due to expire on 30 June 2017. The "instant" deduction is able to be claimed against capital costs of up to $A20,000, and was first introduced by the Australian Labor Party in 2012. Peter Strong from the Council of Small Business Australia says he is hopeful that Treasurer Scott Morrison will announce an extension to the tax deduction in the May 2017 Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

$238bn tax shield cushions oil giants

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 13-Apr-17

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that Petroleum Resource Rent Tax revenue from oil and gas companies fell to just $A845m in 2015-16, compared with $A1.79bn in 2013-14. Meanwhile, the industry claimed a total of $A238bn in tax deductions for exploration expenditure under carry-forward regulations in 2015-16, compared with just $A970 million in 2003-04. The PRRT is currently the subject of two separate reviews, although oil and gas producers have warned that changes to the tax may deter future investment in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Another big miner in $1.2b ATO dispute

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 30-Aug-16

An Australian subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi claimed a $A1.22bn income tax deduction in 2009, which related to its acquisition of a coal tenement by the company’s joint venture with BHP Billiton in 2008. The Australian Taxation Office subsequently served Mitsubishi with a notice of amended assessment regarding the tax deduction. The tax dispute has yet to be resolved, although the ATO recently offered a settlement to Mitsubishi.

CORPORATES
MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC

Double-dippers stand by rules

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Original article by Jared Owens, Rebecca Puddy, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-May-16

Some 52 past and current MPs have declared a financial interest in residential properties in Canberra since the 2013 federal election. While the majority have not replied to enquiries as to whether they had claimed a travel allowance for staying in their Canberra home, Australian Labor Party MP Brendan O’Connor is the only one to have stated that he did not make such a claim. Five MPs have acknowledged that they have claimed both the travel allowance and a tax deduction associated with their Canberra home.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS