ATO published a Practice Statement for TP penalties in transition period
The Australian Taxation Office published a Practice Statement Law Administration 2016/2 (PS LA 2016/2) to deal with the application of transfer pricing penalties during the transition period between 1 July 2004 and 28 June 2013. During that period,
See MoreAustralia: Amended the Transfer Pricing Rules as per 2015 OECD Transfer Pricing Recommendations
Australia's transfer pricing legislation currently specifies that it be interpreted to achieve consistency with the OECD transfer pricing guidelines as last updated in 2010. The OECD's final report on Action Items 8-10 of the G20/OECD BEPS Action
See MoreAustralia: Reducing the corporate income tax rate
On 3 May 2016, the government of Australia announced in the 2016–17 Budget that it will reduce the corporate tax rate progressively from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. Currently, there is a small business corporate tax rate which is less than the
See MoreIMF Technical Note on introducing a GAAR
On 31 January 2016 the IMF issued a technical note on ensuring that a general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) achieves its purpose. Many countries have either introduced a GAAR or are considering its introduction, which the objective of combating
See MoreAustralia: Multinational anti tax avoidance bill receives Royal Assent
On 11 December 2015, Further to its passing by Parliament on 3 December 2015 the Tax Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2015 received Royal Assent. The Bill implements a new anti avoidance rule designed to counter the
See MoreAustralian Senate passes Government’s multinational anti tax avoidance measures
The Turnbull Government has secured the passage of the Tax Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill, a critical piece of legislation, which will ensure major international companies operating in Australia but booking profits
See MoreThe Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiation completed
On October 4, 2015, Ministers of the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam – announced conclusion of their
See MoreAustralia introduced multinational anti-avoidance law, CbC reporting and increased penalties
The Treasurer of Australia introduced a Bill to implement the announced multinational anti-avoidance law to apply to foreign multinationals generating certain profits earned from Australia without an Australian permanent establishment;
See MoreAustralian Taxation Office releases GAAR guidelines
The Australian Taxation Office released for comment a draft practice statement PS LA 2005/24 which deals with the application of the general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) in Part-IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 on 13 August 2015. This Draft
See MoreAustralia: Stronger penalties to fight against multinational tax avoidance
The Government of Australia announced double the maximum administrative penalties that can be applied by the Commissioner of Taxation to large companies that enter into tax avoidance and profit shifting schemes. The increased penalties, under
See MoreAustralia: New transfer pricing documentation standards
On 6 August 2015, the Australian Treasury released exposure draft law to implement reporting requirements for large multinational businesses in line with recommendations by the OECD and G20. In the 2015-16 Budget, the Australian government announced
See MoreNew guidance on Advance Pricing Agreements issued by Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office released its revised policies and procedures for the Advance Pricing Agreements program on 23 July 2015. The updated guidance has been provided in the form of Practice Statement Law Administration PSLA 2015/4, which
See MoreNegotiations for DTA between Australia and UAE
Following a recent meeting, negotiations for a double tax agreement (DTA) between Australia and the United Arab Emirates are
See MoreAustralia: tax cuts for small business
According to the Budget the government of Australia is to decrease the income tax rate for small companies to 28.5 per cent with an aggregated annual turnover of less than AUD 2 million. Companies with an aggregated annual turnover of AUD 2 million
See MoreIMF comments on Australian fiscal policy
On 24 June 2015 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a concluding statement at the end of discussions with Australia under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The strong income growth of the past two decades has slackened off
See MoreAustralia publishes reports on international tax issues
On 4 June 2015 the Australian Treasurer published certain reports on international tax issues for comment. These cover potential areas of tax reform including the following: The advantages of adopting the authorized OECD approach (AOA) in relation
See MoreAustralia: Budget for 2015-2016 Includes BEPS Measures and Exposure Drafts for a New Targeted Anti-Avoidance Rule
The Government of Australia announced the 2015-2016 fiscal budget on May 12, 2015. Australia has included in the budget a country-by-country reporting requirement following the recommendation in the OECD/G20 action plan on base erosion and profit
See MoreUK: Joint initiative with Australia to combat profit shifting
The Australian Treasurer issued a press release following the G20 meeting on 16 and 17 April indicating potential collaboration with the UK to combat profit shifting. The UK government introduced a Diverted Profits Tax with effect from 1 April
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