澳洲稅務局 (ATO) 正在起草有關外國信託受益人居民收入的新指南草案。
該法案將於 2024 年中期發布，將解釋 ATO 何時考慮根據《1936 年所得稅評估法案》第 99B 條採取執法行動，其中分配已從非居民信託分配給受益人。它還將為納稅人提供有關記錄保存的實用指導。
當外國信託的資金或其他資產支付給信託受益人或用於信託受益人的利益時，可以適用第 99B 條。資產的金額或價值包含在接受者的應稅收入中，但也有一些例外。這些包括當分配已經根據所得稅法的另一條款評估給受益人或受託人時，或當它代表信託的初始主體金額或主體的額外貢獻時。
該裁決草案將澄清 ATO 對假設納稅人測試的看法，該測試是第 99B 條的一個要素。 ATO 表示，正在與主要專業機構就正在製定的合規方法可能出現的問題進行接觸。它表示，由於澳洲交易報告和分析中心對海外向澳洲居民的付款進行監控，因此經常會收到有關潛在 s.99B 案件的警報。該數據與報稅表中報告的資訊相符。
該項目是澳洲當局加強對外國信託受益人徵稅措施的一部分。 2024年5月聯邦預算提議修訂外國居民資本利得稅（CGT）制度，以確保外國居民在直接和間接銷售與澳洲土地有「密切經濟聯繫」的資產時繳納資本利得稅。
ATO 也正在計畫有關所得稅問題的其他幾項商議，特別是關於 ATO 何時考慮將 1936 年法案第 IVA 部分中的一般反避稅條款適用於轉讓安排的新指南，其中個人的個人服務收入是透過從事個人服務業務所獲得的。
Australia prepares new guidance on distributions from non-resident trusts
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is preparing new draft guidelines concerning income received by residents who are beneficiaries of foreign trusts.
To be issued in mid-2024, it will explain when the ATO will consider enforcement action based on section 99B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (the 1936 Act), where distributions have been made from non-resident trusts to beneficiaries. It will also provide taxpayers with practical guidance about record keeping.
S.99B applies when money or another asset of a foreign trust is paid to or applied for the benefit of a beneficiary of the trust. The amount or value of the asset is included in the recipient's assessable income, although there are some exceptions. These include when the distribution has already been assessed to the beneficiary or trustee under another provision of the income tax law or when it represents an amount of initial corpus of the trust or additional contributions of corpus.
The draft determination will clarify the ATO's view on the hypothetical taxpayer test, which is an element of s.99B. The ATO says it is engaging with key professional bodies on issues that may arise from the compliance approach being developed. It says it is often alerted to potential s.99B cases as a result of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre monitoring of payments to Australian residents from overseas. This data is matched with information reported in tax returns.
The project is part of the Australian authorities' initiative to tighten up taxation of foreign trust beneficiaries. In May 2024, the 2024/25 federal budget proposed to amend the foreign resident capital gains tax (CGT) regime to ensure foreign residents pay CGT on direct and indirect sales of assets with a 'close economic connection' to Australian land.
Several other consultations on income tax issues are also under development at the ATO, notably a new guideline on when the ATO will consider applying the general anti-avoidance provisions in Part IVA of the 1936 Act to an alienation arrangement, where personal services income of an individual is derived through a personal services entity that is conducting a personal services business.
Sources:
• ATO
• ATO (current work on other income tax issues)
• ATO Tax Avoidance Taskforce – Trusts
• STEP International News 16 May 2024: Australia to extend foreign resident CGT regime