The Australian Parliament has recently approved the following bills, which are awaiting Royal Assent. The bills are as follows:
- The Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share—Integrity and Transparency) Bill of 2023 enacts new regulations on interest limitation (thin capitalization) rules. It stipulates that Australian public companies must report information about their subsidiaries in their annual financial statements. Additionally, this legislation restricts the debt deduction claims multinational corporations can make in an income year.
- The Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Bill 2024 and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2024 explain the interaction between foreign investment fees, state and territory property taxes, and income tax treaties. Additionally, these bills propose increasing the fees for purchasing established residential properties and doubling the vacancy fees within the foreign investment framework.
The Australian Senate also approved the following legislation that will be submitted to the House of Representatives after several amendments. These are as follows:
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Support for Small Business and Charities and Other Measures) Bill 2023 aims to alleviate the income tax compliance burden reported by the general insurance industry. The bill seeks to:
- Raise the threshold for instant asset write-offs;
- Enable specific community charities to obtain deductible gift recipient (DGR) status;
- Grant small and medium enterprises access to a bonus deduction program;
- Change the income tax legislation concerning general insurance;
- Cap the income derived from non-arms length transactions.
