The Federal Court has recently overturned an Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’) decision that a taxpayer was a resident of Australia for tax purposes (even though he was mostly living and working overseas during the relevant period). The taxpayer was a mechanical engineer who became an Australian citizen in 1978. He lived and worked in Dubai, […]

With millions of pieces of information now pre-filled (including information from most banks, employers, government agencies and private health insurers), the ATO is giving taxpayers with simple affairs the ‘green light’ to lodge their tax returns. Taxpayers who plan to claim deductions this year should make sure they have the correct records, and, in most […]

Additional tax liabilities may arise when money or assets of a foreign trust are paid to a taxpayer or applied for their benefit, and they are a beneficiary of the foreign trust.  These can include: loans to them by the trustee directly or indirectly through another entity; amounts paid by the trustee to a third […]

Taxpayers need to consider what work-related expenses they will be looking to claim in the new financial year, and what records they will need to substantiate those deductions. Records can be kept as a paper version, an electronic copy, or a ‘true and clear’ photo of an original record. Working from home deductions Taxpayers can […]

The ATO is reminding investors who purchased new shares in a qualifying ‘early stage innovation company’ (‘ESIC’) that they may be eligible for tax incentives. These tax incentives provide eligible investors who purchase new shares in an ESIC with: a non-refundable carry forward tax offset equal to 20% of the amount paid for their eligible […]