Modernising the taxation of trusts

The Tax Institute continues to be at the forefront of advocating for reform of the rules governing the taxation of trust income. For many members who struggle daily with the complexities of the current laws, modernisation of the tax laws affecting trusts would be welcome.

The Tax Institute has been working hard over the years to advocate for trust tax reform and to ensure that the reform project does not stall. With the Government’s most recent focus being on certain trust tax integrity measures, we have been part of the conversations and have made a further submission to the Government. This submission has also re-emphasised the importance of holistic reform of Division 6.

Capping of self-education expenses

The groundswell of concern about the Government’s intention to impose a $2,000 cap on self-education expenses continues to gain momentum. This week The Tax Institute, and other members of the #ScrapTheCap alliance, met with advisers to the Treasurer, the Hon Chris Bowen MP. We took the opportunity to once again outline the adverse impact of the changes on legitimate claims for self-education expenses.

I urge members who feel strongly about this issue to contact their local Federal Member of Parliament to express their views. You can locate your federal electorate and local federal member on the AEC website. Then go to the #ScrapTheCap website, which has a facility on it that allows you to email your federal member directly.

Payroll tax

Last week The Tax Institute held its 13th Annual States’ Taxation Conference. This conference provided the ideal platform for the Tasmanian Commissioner of State Revenue to launch a new initiative on behalf of all of the State and Territory governments: www.payrolltax.gov.au.

For members who wade through the various States’ and Territories’ payroll legislation on a daily basis and for others who just dabble occasionally, this new website provides a gateway to all States’ payroll tax legislation. This initiative stems from the project to harmonise aspects of payroll tax legislation that has been underway for some years now.

Robert Jeremenko

Robert Jeremenko CTA is Senior Tax Counsel of The Tax Institute.

The Tax Institute is Australia’s leading professional association in tax. Its 13,000 members include tax agents, accountants and lawyers as well as tax practitioners in corporations, government and academia.