There was a parliament sitting between 31 July 2023 and 10 August 2023. There was no new tax-related legislation announced and no essential developments that were previously before parliament. The next sitting will be conducted between 4 and 14 September 2023.
Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2023 (2023 Measures No. 1)
This contains two major changes:
- To ensure fairness in tax treatment, legislation will be amended to align the tax treatment of off-market share buybacks by listed public companies with on-market share buybacks. This means that no portion of the buy-back price will be treated as a dividend for tax purposes.
- Additionally, an integrity measure will be introduced to prevent certain dividends paid by companies from being franked if they are funded by capital raising.
Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2023 (2023 Measures No. 3)
Prior to the Senate, this bill consists of the amendments to the introduced ‘education and training standards’ that need to be followed by the financial advisers, and changes to the first home super saver scheme to enable individuals to change or revoke their applications.
Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2023 (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share – Integrity and Transparency)
Additionally, prior to the Senate, this bill consists of the major changes to the thin capitalisation provisions, and the new rules that need public companies to disclose information about subsidiaries in their annual financial report.
Reporting Exemptions for Digital Platform Operators
Two draft legislative instruments were issued dealing with new reporting obligations of digital platforms’ operators and offering exemptions from reporting for some transactions. Basically, the exemptions are applicable for small operators in relation to taxi travel or accommodation, circumstances where another individual has a reporting obligation for the same transaction, and for transactions including the supply of accommodation or taxi travel overseas.