Australian master tax guide : tax year-end 2019.

5459 Pages·2019·21.157 MB·English

by  CCH Australia Limited,

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© 2019 CCH Australia Limited
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright may be
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publisher.
ISBN 978-1-925894-26-4
ISSN 0810-5596
Foreword
We are pleased to bring you the 65th Edition of the Australian Master
Tax Guide.
The Guide was first published in 1970 as a practical reference guide
to assist in the preparation of tax returns, and to provide information
relevant to the tax implications of decisions and transactions that
taxpayers may face in the current financial year.
Over the course of 45+ years, we have seen the Guide become
Australia’s best selling and most authoritative tax guide. Used widely
by tax agents, accountants, lawyers, financial advisers, lecturers,
students and ATO officers alike, it is often the first port of call for those
dealing with tax issues because of its clear and concise approach.
During this period, we have also seen the Guide grow to many times
its original size, reflecting both the increasing complexity of the tax
laws and the sheer volume of legislation, explanatory material, case
law, rulings and guidelines. The Guide now contains 45 chapters,
including a chapter of detailed tax checklists and a chapter on fuel tax
credits. It also contains additional features such as an individual tax
return preparation guide, tax calculators and a tax calendar. The most
commonly used chapters (ie the income, deductions and depreciation
effective life chapters) have had the edges of their pages shaded to
make them easier to locate.
The online Premium Master Tax Guide is available as a subscription
product, fully updated several times a year, with all changes integrated
into the relevant chapters. The online version of the Guide, in addition
to having a superior search capability via Wolters Kluwer’s
Intelliconnect® platform, also provides useful links to the rulings,
cases and legislation discussed in the commentary. In keeping with its
role as the first point of reference in researching tax issues, the Guide
also contains extensive cross-references to more detailed
commentary in Wolters Kluwer’s Australian Federal Tax Reporter,
Australian Federal Income Tax Reporter, Australian Superannuation
Law & Practice, and Australian GST Guide.
The Guide is also available as an eBook — providing a more portable
and accessible electronic option.
The production of this Guide would not be possible without the work of
a team of dedicated tax writers, subeditors, production editors and
indexers — our grateful thanks go to them all.
Wolters Kluwer
July 2019
Wolters Kluwer Acknowledgments
Wolters Kluwer wishes to thank the following team members who
contributed to this publication:
Regional Commercial Director
Lauren Ma
Head of Content APAC — Research and Learning
Diana Winfield
Content Coordinator
Nathan Grice
Writers
Karen Bang BCom, LLB has written for Wolters Kluwer’s accounting
and GST services. She has also worked as an auditor and GST
consultant at a major international accounting firm.
Alan Burn BA, LLB contributes to a number of Wolters Kluwer tax
publications, including the Australian Federal Tax Reporter and the
NSW Land Tax services. His background covers IT, publishing and
telecommunications, with technical roles at the ATO and in online tax
software services.
Edwin Carr BA, LLM has worked for the ATO, and as a tax adviser in
large accounting firms and financial institutions. Since then he has
been a writer and editor on Australian taxation for more than 20 years,
including for Wolters Kluwer.
Cindy Chan BCom, LLB, MTax is a senior content specialist at
Wolters Kluwer. She also writes for Wolters Kluwer’s Australian
Federal Tax Reporter, Australian Capital Gains Tax Planner and
Australian Tax Week.
Gaibrielle Cleary BEc, LLM is the Director of Taxation at Mazars.
Gaibrielle practises in all areas of direct and indirect taxation.
Previously, she was the in-house counsel for an ASX listed company
and has practised at leading international law and accounting firms.
She is one of the authors of Wolters Kluwer’s Small Business Tax
Concessions Guide, and has also written for a number of taxation
publications, including Wolters Kluwer’s Australian Federal Tax
Reporter.
Linda Daniele BCom, LLB is a senior tax writer, writing mainly for the
Australian Federal Tax Reporter. Before Wolters Kluwer, Linda
worked as a legal editor at the Judicial Commission of New South
Wales.
Enrico Enriquez BA, LLB writes for the Wolters Kluwer Australian
Payroll Tax Manual and has previously written for a number of other
Wolters Kluwer tax publications.
John Gaal is a very experienced and well respected tax specialist
who has written for a number of Wolters Kluwer tax publications over
many years. John works as a tax consultant and writer on his own
account.
Ian Ross-Gowan MTax, BCom, CPA, CTA is a Director with Michael
Johnson Associates (MJA). MJA is a specialised R&D tax agency and
consultancy in government industry support programs. Ian is a former
group taxation manager of a top 100 company and has undertaken
post graduate research in taxation and accounting.
Kevin Johnson BEc, LLB, CA, CTA is a software engineer for APS
developing programs for taxation and accounting professionals.
Previously, he was a tax manager at a major international accounting
firm. He is a registered tax agent.
Marcus Lai BA, DipLaw is a senior editor and tax writer. He has
worked as the managing editor of various Wolters Kluwer tax books
and is now the editor of the Australian Master Tax Guide. He is also a
contributing writer to the Guide and a number of other Wolters Kluwer
tax publications.
James Leow LLB (Hons), MTax is a superannuation and taxation
consultant. He is co-author of the Australian Master Superannuation
Guide and writes for a number of other Wolters Kluwer publications.
Amrit MacIntyre BA, LLB, CTA is a partner at Baker McKenzie.
Heidi Maguire BA, LLB (Hons), MRes is a senior tax writer at Wolters
Kluwer, writing mainly for the Australian Tax Cases service, the
Australian Federal Tax Reporter and Tax Navigator for Business
Activities.
Ben Miller BCom, CA, SSA is a senior tax writer, writing and curating
mainly for the online product CCH iQ. Ben previously worked in small
and medium accounting firms as a tax, superannuation and business
services manager.
Denise Mulder MCom, LLB, CA is a senior tax writer, regularly
contributing to the Australian Federal Tax Reporter and Australian Tax
Navigator for Business Activities. Before joining Wolters Kluwer,
Denise worked for an ASX100 listed company, and a major
international accounting firm.
Mary Zachariah BBus is a senior tax writer, writing mainly for the
Australian Federal Tax Reporter. Mary has practised in both direct and
indirect taxation areas and was previously a tax manager in a major
international accounting firm.
List of Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used extensively in this publication.
AAT Administrative Appeals Tribunal
ABN Australian Business Number
ADF Approved deposit fund
AMGST Australian Master GST Guide (Wolters Kluwer)
AMSG Australian Master Superannuation Guide (Wolters
Kluwer)
APRA Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
ASIC Australian Securities and Investments Commission
ATC Australian Tax Cases (Wolters Kluwer)
ATO Australian Taxation Office
AWOTE Average weekly ordinary time earnings
BAS Business Activity Statement
CFC Controlled foreign company
CGT Capital gains tax
DTA Double taxation agreement
EST (Australian) Eastern Standard Time
ETP Employment termination payment
FBT Fringe benefits tax
FBTAA Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986
FBTAR Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Regulations 2018
FC of T Federal Commissioner of Taxation
FIF Foreign investment fund
FITR Australian Federal Income Tax Reporter (Wolters
Kluwer)
FSR Financial Services Reform
FTA Fuel Tax Act 2006
FTD Fuel Tax Determination
FTR Australian Federal Tax Reporter (Wolters Kluwer)
FTR (ch 40) Fuel Tax Ruling
GIC General interest charge
GST Goods and services tax
GSTD GST Determination
GSTG Australian GST Guide (Wolters Kluwer)
GSTR GST Ruling
HECS Higher Education Contributions Scheme
HELP Higher Education Loan Programme
IAS Instalment Activity Statement
ID ATO Interpretative Decision
IGT Inspector-General of Taxation
IR&D Act Industry Research and Development Act 1986
ITA Australian International Tax Agreements (Wolters
Kluwer)
ITA Act International Tax Agreements Act 1953
ITAA36 Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
ITAA97 Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
ITR15 Income Tax Assessment (1936 Act) Regulation 2015
ITR97 Income Tax Assessment Regulations 1997
ITTPA Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997
LCG Law Companion Guideline
MLA Medicare Levy Act 1986
MPR Monthly payer requirement
MRRT Mineral Resource Rent Tax
MT Miscellaneous Tax Ruling
NRAS National Rental Affordability Scheme
OBU Offshore banking unit
PAYG Pay As You Go
PCG Practical Compliance Guideline
PDF Pooled development fund
PSI Personal Services Income
PS LA Practice Statement Law Administration
PST Pooled superannuation trust
R&D Research and development
RBA Running balance account
RBL Reasonable benefit limit
RSA Retirement savings account
SGAA Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992
SGAR Superannuation Guarantee (Administration)
Regulations 2018
SGC Superannuation Guarantee Charge
SISA Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993
SISR Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations
1994
SLP Australian Superannuation Law and Practice (Wolters
Kluwer)
SME Small or medium enterprise
SMSF Self managed superannuation fund
STS Simplified Tax System
TAA Taxation Administration Act 1953
TAR Taxation Administration Regulations 2017
TASA Tax Agent Services Act 2009
TD Taxation Determination
TFN Tax file number
TOFA Taxation of Financial Arrangements
TR Taxation Ruling
TSAs Tax sharing agreements