GST Point-in-Time Service Updates

Monday 21 September 2020 @ 11.17 a.m.

The GST Point-in-Time Service has been updated to include the Treasury Laws Amendment (2020 Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (Cth) (Act No 79 of 2020) and the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Jobkeeper Payments) Amendment Act 2020 (Act No 81 of 2020).

Act 79 of 2020

Schedule 1 to the Act amends the hybrid mismatch rules in the ITAA 1997 to:

  • clarify the operation of the hybrid mismatch rules for trusts and partnerships;
  • clarify the circumstances in which an entity is a deducting hybrid;
  • clarify the operation of the dual inclusion income rule;
  • clarify the operation of provisions that refer to corresponding foreign hybrid mismatch rules;
  • clarify that, for the purpose of applying the hybrid mismatch rules, foreign income tax generally does not include foreign municipal or State taxes;
  • clarify that the hybrid mismatch rules apply to MEC groups in the same way as they apply to consolidated groups;
  • ensure that the hybrid mismatch integrity rule can apply appropriately to financing arrangements that have been designed to circumvent the operation of the hybrid mismatch rules; and
  • where distributions made on Additional Tier 1 capital instruments give rise to a foreign income tax deduction, allow franking benefits on those distributions; and include an amount equal to the amount of the deduction in
  • the assessable income of the entity that makes the distribution.

Schedule 2 to the Act amends the TAA to broaden the amounts that employers can voluntarily report under the Single Touch Payroll rules to include employer withholding of child support deductions from salary or wages and child support garnishee amounts from salary or wages that are paid to the Child Support Registrar.

Schedule 3 to the Act amends the ITAA 1997 to introduce a new general category of DGR for community sheds. The new DGR category applies to public institutions that are registered charities and satisfy the definition of a community shed.

Schedule 4 to the Act amends the IMA Act 1947 and IFC Act 1955 to facilitate Australia making additional capital contributions to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group. To achieve this, the amendments streamline the existing legislative processes under which Australia enters into agreements to fund capital increases to the IBRD and revise the way the existing ‘Articles of Agreement’ of the IFC are incorporated into the IFC Act 1955. The amendments also establish appropriations to facilitate payments that Australia is required to make under an agreement with the IBRD or the Articles of Agreement of the IFC.

Schedule 5 to the Act amends the ITAA 1997 to allow the following entities to be deductible gift recipients under the income tax law:

  • Governor Phillip International Scholarship Trust;
  • High Resolves;
  • Australian Academy of Law;
  • Superannuation Consumers’ Centre Ltd;
  • Motherless Daughters Australia Limited;
  • The Headstone Project (Tas) Inc.;
  • Foundation Broken Hill Limited;
  • C E W Bean Foundation.

Schedule 6 to the Act makes amendments to the tax secrecy provisions in the TAA to allow protected information relating to the JobKeeper scheme to be disclosed to the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman for the purposes of the administration of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Act 81 of 2020

Schedule 1 to the Act extends the current time limit on payment rules authorised by the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Act 2020. This amendment facilitates the JobKeeper scheme being extended to 28 March 2021. Schedule 1 also amends the tax secrecy provisions in the TAA to allow protected information relating to the JobKeeper scheme to be disclosed to an Australian government agency for the purposes of the administration of an Australian law. Such disclosures can only be made for a purpose relating to the Coronavirus.

Schedule 2 to the Act supports the extended operation of the JobKeeper scheme for a further temporary period by providing employers with continued flexibility to respond to the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic while also assisting employees to remain in employment and connected to their workplaces.

These amendments have been updated in the Point-in-Time GST Service current to 16 September 2020. (NB: subscription required).

If you are not already a subscriber to this or other Point-in-Time Services then please contact us to find out more or to take a free trial