The Government is currently deciding which of the 64 remaining unenacted tax measures it will adopt and progress through to law.

As I reported last week, The Tax Institute provided advice to the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and the Board of Taxation on the key priority measures that we strongly recommend be progressed through Parliament by 1 July 2014.

After extensive consultation with members, these measures are:

• Capital Gains Tax – look-through treatment for earn out arrangements;
• Consolidation – operation of rules following a demerger;
• Debt/equity tax rules – limiting scope of integrity rule; 
• GST cross-border transactions – ‘connected with Australia’ rules; and
• Administration of GST system - multi-party transactions & grouping rules.

In addition, there are several measures in the list of 64 that have been announced for the purpose of providing improvements and necessary corrective action/care and maintenance to the taxation system that should still be addressed at a later stage:

• Loss recoupment rules;
• Simplified imputation system;
• Further CGT provisions;
• Further Consolidation measures;
• Further GST measures; and
• Taxation of not-for-profits.

In determining its tax agenda, there are other consultations on foot not listed which we strongly urge the Government to continue with, in particular the modernisation of the taxation of trust income in Division 6.

You may access our complete submission.

The Government will reveal which measures survive the purge by the end of the year with the release of the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement.

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.