Community Charity Guidelines
The Treasury has released the exposure draft of the Taxation Administration Guidelines 2024, with responses due by 3 December 2024. These guidelines apply to deductible gift recipients (DGRs) within the new community charity category and outline the requirements for these entities to obtain and maintain DGR endorsement. The draft guidelines focus on the importance of record-keeping, governance, and allowable activities for community charities. To receive DGR endorsement from the ATO, a ministerial declaration must specify the community charity.
The DGR endorsement framework will apply to 28 organisations affiliated with Community Foundations Australia. A fact sheet issued by the Treasury provides further guidance on the new community charity DGR framework. The draft guidelines are expected to take effect the day after their registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Beneficial Ownership Reforms
Treasury has released an exposure draft of legislation aimed at establishing a public beneficial ownership register, which will reveal the individuals who effectively own and control entities listed on Australia’s financial markets. The initial phase of the reform focuses on listed companies.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Corporations Act to strengthen the substantial holding and tracing notice regimes, which govern the disclosure of beneficial ownership for listed entities. The disclosure requirements will also extend to foreign-incorporated entities listed on Australian financial markets.
Additionally, ASIC will be granted expanded powers to enforce compliance with the disclosure requirements. Submissions on the draft legislation can be made online until 13 December 2024.
Improving Retirement Phase of Superannuation
The Government aims for the reforms to enhance the retirement phase of superannuation, helping retirees maximise their superannuation through reliable information, improved products, and increased transparency. The reforms focus on the following four areas:
- Independent guidance: The government will update the Moneysmart website so that retirees can access information on super and retirement options. A consumer education campaign will also be led by ASIC with new resources expected in 2025.
- Better retirement products: Reforms to income stream regulations will make better the development of retirement products. These changes will come into effect on 1 July 2026, which will allow funds to provide product features like instalment payments instead of lump sum payments.
- Best practice principles: The superannuation industry will be guided by new voluntary best practice principles for creating high-quality retirement products.
- Enhanced transparency: A new Retirement Reporting Framework, commencing in 2027 will offer increased transparency on retirement results. APRA will gather and publish data annually to monitor progress and measure success, with the framework’s design informed by Treasury-led consultations starting next year.
Crypto Asset Reporting Framework
Treasury has released a consultation paper on Australia’s adoption of the OECD’s Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), with submissions due by 24 January 2025. The CARF sets an international standard for the automatic exchange of crypto account information between tax authorities, building on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for traditional financial accounts.
The CARF has three components:
- CARF Model Rules that can be included as domestic law to gather information from reporting crypto asset service providers with a relevant nexus to Australia;
- Automatic exchange of information between participating will be possible through Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Information and related Commentary
- Tax administrators use an electronic format for exchanging the CARF information, and reporting crypto asset service providers also use an electronic format to report CARF information to tax administrations.
The CARF will encourage crypto intermediaries to report to tax authorities on crypto payment transfers, such as disposals and acquisitions (market value). Generally, the consultation paper pays attention to two options:
- Adopt the CARF model – where the OECD CARF Model Rules are accepted in Australian law to ensure consistency with other nations that accept the model and reduce compliance costs etc.
- Bespoke approach – where Australia customises the policy approach to target the reporting obligations to those service providers in the crypto industry whose clients’ information is seen as offering the most useful information to help the ATO with its compliance activities.