Australian 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
See MoreWTO: Trade Policy Review of Australia
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is conducting a Trade Policy Review of Australia on 21 and 23 April 2015 and has published the report prepared by its Secretariat. Since the previous Trade Policy Review in 2011 the Australian economy has
See MoreRevision to DTA between New Zealand and Australia
The government of New Zealand announced its plans to update the income tax treaty with Australia of 2009 for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on
See MoreAustralia: Approval process for application of the reconstruction provisions
The practice statement (PS LA 2015/3) issued on 26 February 2015 sets out a new internal approval process for application of the reconstruction provisions. This law administration practice statement is issued under the authority of the Commissioner
See MoreAustralia and India accelerate trade agreement negotiations
Negotiations to conclude the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) are progressing, with the aim to reach an early conclusion this year. The sixth round of the CECA negotiations was held in New Delhi from 18-19 December
See MoreEconomic Partnership Agreement between Japan and Australia enters into force
On January 15, 2015, the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force, opening up opportunities for increased trade and investment by Australia with Japan which is the third largest economy in the world and Australia’s second
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