Birchstone Brief for the week ended 7 April 2023

ATO Updates

ATO to begin data matching residential investment property loan data

As announced in a gazette notice dated 3 April 2023 , the ATO will acquire residential investment property loan data from authoriesd financial institutions in relation to the 2021-2022 through to the 2025-2026 income years. This data will be matched against ATO records and used (among other purposes) to:

• identify relevant cases for action (including compliance activities and educational strategies);?
• inform rental property owners of their taxation obligations; and
• help avoid unnecessary ATO contact to taxpayers who are correctly reporting and claiming rental property income or expenses.??

GST guidance for BNPL providers updated

The ATO has released updated guidance on the GST implications for typical buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) providers. The guidance sets out the ATO's view of the key GST considerations for BNPL providers, and in particular focuses on how the Commissioner considers such providers should be determining their entitlement to input tax credits on related costs.?

Draft legislative instrument to exempt WPN holders from STP reporting

If registered, LI 2023/D9 will exempt entities that:

• hold a Withholding Payer Number (WPN); and?
• do not have an ABN,?

from single touch payroll (STP) reporting obligations.?

Class rulings issued

The ATO has issued:?

• CR 2023/15 - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited - Restructure - Employee share scheme - Treatment of shares or rights; and?
• CR 2023/16 - Sky Network Television Limited - Capital return.?

State Taxes

Commissioner's Practice on remissions of WA Penalty Tax updated?

TA A 20.4 , which replaces TAA 20.3 with effect from 4 April 2023, outlines the circumstances in which the WA Commissioner of State Revenue will remit penalty tax for late payment of tax or duty.??

Cases

Appeals

Taxpayer in Hyder case applies for special leave?

The taxpayer has applied to the High Court for special leave to appeal against the Full Federal Court's decision in Hyder v FCT [2023] FCAFC 29 (covered in the Birchstone Brief for the week ended 10 March 2023 ).?

Legislation

Exposure draft legislation and explanatory materials: Public country-by-country reporting

Treasury has released exposure draft legislation and explanatory materials? proposing to implement a transparency measure announced as part of the Federal October 2022-23 Budget. Based on the draft legislaiton, if passed into law this measure will require entities who are CBC reporting parents for the purposes of the ITAA 1997 to publish selected tax information that:

• relates to themselves and their?CBC reporting group; and?

covers presence and tax dealings across jurisdictions and provides a picture of how the entity structures its tax affairs in Australia and internationally.?

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