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NSW Court of Appeal finds Uber liable for $81m Payroll Tax Assessment

Taxation

August 22, 2025

NSW Court of Appeal finds Uber liable for $81m Payroll Tax Assessment

On 1 August 2025, the New South Wales Court of Appeal overturned the Supreme Court’s earlier decision to relieve Uber of six payroll tax assessments amounting to $81,515,923 and which we covered in…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

August 13, 2025

Mid-August Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry for mid-August. This update in summary covers: Federal Court’s…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

June 26, 2025

Late June Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry for late June. This update in summary covers: High Court’s Grant of…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

June 13, 2025

Early June Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry for early June. This update in summary covers: How the ART does not…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

May 19, 2025

Mid May Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry up to mid-May. This update in summary covers: Deputy Commissioner…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

ATO Audit Warning – Family Trust Elections – When an Interposed Entity Election is Appropriate

Taxation

May 12, 2025

ATO Audit Warning – Family Trust Elections – When an Interposed Entity Election is Appropriate

A recent area of concern that our taxation team has been increasingly encountering is with whether distributions made by a family trust are within the family group and whether said distributions will…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

The Absentee (Foreigner) Land Tax Surcharge and Exemptions

Taxation

April 30, 2025

The Absentee (Foreigner) Land Tax Surcharge and Exemptions

Similar to the Vacant Residential Land Tax (discussed here ), the Absentee (Foreigner) Land Tax Surcharge is another state tax which may be payable on top of the total taxable value of the land held…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

April 30, 2025

End of April Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry up to mid-late April. This update in summary covers: Portion of Tax…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

FIRB Issues – Recent Changes in Respect of Residential Land – Approvals Required where Change of Trustee

Taxation

April 28, 2025

FIRB Issues – Recent Changes in Respect of Residential Land – Approvals Required where Change of Trustee

The Foreign Acquisition and Takeover Act 1975 (Act) sets out when foreign persons cannot buy Australian Property, need approval to buy Australian Property or need to notify the Australian Government…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

April 11, 2025

Early-April 2025 – Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry up to early April. This update in summary covers: 4 year Imprisonment…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

April 2, 2025

End of March Weekly Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry up to late-March. This update in summary covers: The revised…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Landmine Div 7A decision for Commissioner – FCT v Bendel 2025 FCAF 15 (31 March 2025 – Backfire for Commissioner – Section 109D Div 7A attack on Corporate Beneficiaries fails and causes Commissioner other problems)

Taxation

March 28, 2025

Landmine Div 7A decision for Commissioner – FCT v Bendel 2025 FCAF 15 (31 March 2025 – Backfire for Commissioner – Section 109D Div 7A attack on Corporate Beneficiaries fails and causes Commissioner other problems)

The Full Federal Court, in Bendel, has confirmed the earlier AAT appeal decision in favour of the taxpayer in a landmark decision on Division 7A, causing a series of landmines for the Commissioner in…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Mixed Use Land for Primary Production? Whether Mixed Use Land is Exempt from Stamp Duty

Taxation

March 20, 2025

Mixed Use Land for Primary Production? Whether Mixed Use Land is Exempt from Stamp Duty

In Wylarah Pastoral Co Pty Ltd ATF Tallong Family Trust v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2024] NSWCATAD 366 , the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) found that a rural…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

March 19, 2025

Mid-March 2025 – Tax Update

This article provides an update on key developments in taxation law for accountants and participants in the tax advice industry up to mid-March. This update in summary covers: The ATO’s taxpayer…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Common Employee or not? When grouping provisions do not apply

Taxation

March 6, 2025

Common Employee or not? When grouping provisions do not apply

It is a common misconception that only related entities may be grouped under the Payroll Tax Provisions. However, this is often not the case as many of our matters have consisted of several unrelated…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Contract Nomination Exercise – Unpacking the Double Duty Trap – Inherent Risks in Land Developments and Additional Consideration for Property Transactions in Victoria

Taxation

November 21, 2024

Contract Nomination Exercise – Unpacking the Double Duty Trap – Inherent Risks in Land Developments and Additional Consideration for Property Transactions in Victoria

A common issue our taxation team encounters in relation to a property transaction is the imposition of double stamp duty on purchasers. This occurs as a result of a second sale of land to a…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Uber’s Legal Lift: Tax Assessments Take a Backseat – Uber Successful in Challenging SRO’s Payroll Tax Assessment of $81m

Taxation

October 29, 2024

Uber’s Legal Lift: Tax Assessments Take a Backseat – Uber Successful in Challenging SRO’s Payroll Tax Assessment of $81m

On Friday, 6 September 2024, The Supreme Court of NSW ruled in favour of Uber in Uber Australia Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2024] NSWSC 1124. Chief Justice Hammerschlag ruled that…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Vesting Interests: Stamping Out Capital Confusion – CGT and Victorian Stamp Duty Consequences of a Trust Vesting

Taxation

May 22, 2024

Vesting Interests: Stamping Out Capital Confusion – CGT and Victorian Stamp Duty Consequences of a Trust Vesting

In our collective experience, our Taxation Team has observed that there have been innumerable family trusts that have been established in the 70s and 80s prior to the introduction of Capital Gains…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Employees versus Contractors: ATO Indicators and Audit Resource Allocation

Taxation

February 15, 2024

Employees versus Contractors: ATO Indicators and Audit Resource Allocation

The ATO has also released their Practical Compliance Guideline 2023/2 which sets out the approach of the Commissioner to businesses that classify their workers as either employees or independent…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Importance of the original employment contract in respect of determining who is an employee for PAYG

Taxation

February 15, 2024

Importance of the original employment contract in respect of determining who is an employee for PAYG

Late last year, the ATO released their new Taxation Ruling 2023/4 which sets out the ATO’s view on whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. The purpose of this ruling is to assist…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Balancing the Books: The Importance of Proper “Paper” Trails for Calculation, Claiming and Audit Purposes

Taxation

February 15, 2024

Balancing the Books: The Importance of Proper “Paper” Trails for Calculation, Claiming and Audit Purposes

Taxpayers should be reminded of keeping up to date and accurate records of their assets, especially when those assets are disposed of. Not only is it an offence to fail to keep accurate records, but…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Owies v JJE Nominees: The trustees consideration of beneficiaries in income distributions and the written reasons conundrum – Further when is a trustee not acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries and can be replaced by the Court

Taxation

January 30, 2024

Owies v JJE Nominees: The trustees consideration of beneficiaries in income distributions and the written reasons conundrum – Further when is a trustee not acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries and can be replaced by the Court

The landmark Victorian Supreme Court appeal case of Owies v JJE Nominees Pty Ltd (2022) VSCA 142 (Owies) has highlighted issues relating to the exercise of the power of trustees in discretionary…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

The Three Silos for Tax-Efficient Business Restructuring

Taxation

November 23, 2023

The Three Silos for Tax-Efficient Business Restructuring

In the context of small businesses, a restructure can afford significant advantages ranging from decreased operational costs, increased efficiency and communication as well as simplifying management.…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Prescriptions for Payroll Tax: Navigating Payroll Tax Liability in Medical Practice Agreements

Taxation

October 17, 2023

Prescriptions for Payroll Tax: Navigating Payroll Tax Liability in Medical Practice Agreements

Medical practice owners should be aware that agreements entered into with medical practitioners for the use of shared administrative and medical support services as well as the use of rooms may…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

ATO Decision Impact of High Court Carter decision – Disclaiming an interest in a discretionary trust must be done before 30 June

Taxation

July 7, 2022

ATO Decision Impact of High Court Carter decision – Disclaiming an interest in a discretionary trust must be done before 30 June

The High Court case of Commissioner of Taxation v Carter [2022] HCA 10 confirmed that the right to trust income is decided by the Trustee on or before 30 June of any year and any retrospective…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Division 7A – Where to from now for Trusts creating sub-trusts for corporate beneficiaries?

Taxation

July 4, 2022

Division 7A – Where to from now for Trusts creating sub-trusts for corporate beneficiaries?

Other than complying legacy sub-trusts created prior to 1 July 2022, it is highly arguable that creating new sub-trusts between Trusts and companies is not sensible. If you wish to pay your income or…

Tony Pointon, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

October 22, 2020

State Taxation Series: Issue #10 – Congestion Levy – Further tax relief

The State Revenue Office of Victoria has announced various tax relief measures this year, ranging from a waiver of liquor licence fees, duty concessions for commercial or industrial properties in…

David Mazzeo

Land Tax Update: Further pandemic land tax relief for landlords and landowners

Taxation

August 21, 2020

Land Tax Update: Further pandemic land tax relief for landlords and landowners

You will note that our recently published Issue 9 of the State Taxation Series looked into land tax relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after Issue 9 was published, the Victorian Government…

David Mazzeo

Taxation

August 20, 2020

State Taxation Series: Issue #9 – Pandemic land tax relief for landlords and landowners

Issue 9 of our State Taxation Series looks into land tax relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, more particularly, land tax reduction and the deferral of land tax for the 2020 year. The Victorian…

David Mazzeo

Taxation

June 23, 2020

State Taxation Series: Issue #8 – Stamp Duty Reforms – Should You Hold Your Breath?

In 1989, former Prime Minister Paul Keating boasted for being able to garner public support for difficult reforms when he pronounced: “I’ll guarantee if you walk into any pet shop in Australia, the…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

March 26, 2020

State Taxation Series: Issue #7 – New Victorian Government Tax Measures to Support Businesses through Victoria’s State of Emergency

The Victorian Government has recently announced new tax relief measures to support businesses through Victoria’s State of Emergency, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These tax relief measures…

Tony Pointon

Taxation

February 25, 2020

State Taxation Series: Issue #6 – Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty: Milestone Changes from 1 March 2020

The foreign purchaser additional duty (“FPAD”) provisions were introduced in Victoria with effect from 1 July 2015. The additional duty provisions for foreign purchasers were incorporated in section…

David Mazzeo

Taxation

December 3, 2019

State Taxation Series: Issue #5 – Section 67 – Exemption of Primary Production Land in an urban zone in Greater Melbourne

Issue 5 of our State Taxation Series considers the newly amended section 67 of the Land Tax Act (Act) relating to the primary production land (PPL) land tax exemption. The amended provisions in…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

October 29, 2019

State Taxation Series: Issue #4 – Section 36A Duties Act 2000 (Vic) – Property passing to beneficiaries of discretionary trusts

Issue 4 of our State Taxation Series looks at section 36A of the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) (“ the Act ”). The transfer of property from trustee to beneficiary is exempt from duty, with various exemptions…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

October 9, 2019

State Taxation Series: Issue #3 – Exemption of Primary Production Land (PPL) outside Greater Melbourne

Issue 3 of our State Taxation Series considers primary production land (PPL) and the exemption available under section 65 of the Act. More particularly, this issue looks at the definition of “primary…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman

Taxation

August 27, 2019

State Taxation Series: Issue #2 – Land Tax Trust Surcharge – Nomination of beneficiary and notice of beneficial interests

The first issue of our State Taxation Series looked at section 46F of the Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) ( “the Act ”), and the three circumstances where a nomination can still be lodged for a discretionary…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman, Andrew Pointon

Taxation

August 9, 2019

State Taxation Series: Issue #1 – Section 46F (Nomination of beneficiary of pre-2006 discretionary trust for land tax purposes) – Are you completely out of time to nominate?

The Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) ( “the Act ”) imposes land tax on all taxable land in Victoria, with the owner of the particular land liable to pay land tax on 31 December of each calendar year. The rate…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman, Andrew Pointon

The Breakfast Club – “Recent developments in the tax residence of individuals, companies and trusts”

Taxation

May 8, 2019

The Breakfast Club – “Recent developments in the tax residence of individuals, companies and trusts”

Robert Gordon of our firm has written an article for the Tax Institute Breakfast Club in relation to recent developments in the tax residence of individuals, companies and trusts. Please click on the…

Pointon Partners

Unlimited Time Frame for Assessing Tax in Australia Criticized

Taxation

April 17, 2019

Unlimited Time Frame for Assessing Tax in Australia Criticized

Please see link below to view William Hoke’s article, “Unlimited Time Frame for Assessing Tax in Australia Criticized”. Hoke (04-01-2019)

Tony Pointon

Proposed changes to the monster that is Division 7A

Taxation

December 6, 2018

Proposed changes to the monster that is Division 7A

Submissions to Treasury Submissions have now closed to Treasury concerning their Consultation Paper “Targeted Amendments to Div. 7A Integrity Rules” (October 2018– Consultation Paper). Whilst it is…

Tony Pointon

The Family Farm – When is the transfer of a farm to a relative duty free?

Taxation

November 23, 2018

The Family Farm – When is the transfer of a farm to a relative duty free?

A farm is a significant asset and the value of the associated business is dependent upon how that business is operated by you now, and later, by your children and their children after them. The farm…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman

ATO response to High Court decision in Bywater

Taxation

August 24, 2018

ATO response to High Court decision in Bywater

In a previous article we discussed the High Court of Australia decision in Bywater & Ors v FC of T : see…

Tony Pointon

Federal Court decision highlights the urgent need for change to income tax residency rules for individuals

Taxation

August 17, 2018

Federal Court decision highlights the urgent need for change to income tax residency rules for individuals

In the recent decision of the Federal Court in Harding v Commissioner of Taxation [2018] FCA 837, it was found that Mr Harding, an Australian citizen who lived and worked abroad for various periods,…

Tony Pointon

BEPS MLI measure in the Australian Parliament

Taxation

June 21, 2018

BEPS MLI measure in the Australian Parliament

A Bill to enact OECD BEPS Measure 15 was introduced into the House on 28 March 2018, with the government’s hope that it will pass the Parliament before the end of the financial year on 30 June 2018.…

Tony Pointon

Taxation

June 4, 2018

Musings on 2018 Federal Budget

Image rights for sports people and actors It is said that the Government will “improve integrity” in the tax system by ensuring from 1 July 2019, high profile individuals are no longer able to take…

Tony Pointon

Transfers of land in a partnership in Victoria – Court confirms non dutiable – Refund possibilities if act promptly

Taxation

May 29, 2018

Transfers of land in a partnership in Victoria – Court confirms non dutiable – Refund possibilities if act promptly

The rights of a partner in a partnership have been highlighted again by the Court of Appeal of Victoria in a judgement handed down in December 2017 (Commissioner of State Revenue v Danvest Pty Ltd BC…

Tony Pointon

Vacant Residential Land Tax – Do you need to notify the State Revenue Office?

Taxation

October 25, 2017

Vacant Residential Land Tax – Do you need to notify the State Revenue Office?

The lack of housing supply in inner and middle Melbourne has become a major issue for residents and the State Government. In response, the Victorian State Government has sought to free up further…

Tony Pointon, Amelita Hensman, Andrew Pointon

Small business corporate tax rate: Exposure draft legislation released regarding passive income threshold

Taxation

October 9, 2017

Small business corporate tax rate: Exposure draft legislation released regarding passive income threshold

In our recent article entitled “Corporate Tax Cuts. What do they mean for you?” , we referred to the relevant minister (Kelly O’Dwyer) questioning the ATO provisional interpretation of when a company…

Pointon Partners

Taxpayers and advisers take note: it will soon be time to pay-out UPEs or convert them to Division 7A complying loans to avoid paying deemed dividends

Taxation

September 25, 2017

Taxpayers and advisers take note: it will soon be time to pay-out UPEs or convert them to Division 7A complying loans to avoid paying deemed dividends

Background In Practice Statement 2010/4, the Commissioner set out three safe harbour investment options that taxpayers could avail themselves of to ensure an Unpaid Present Entitlement (UPE) of a…

Tony Pointon

Proposed changes to CGT main residence exemption for foreign residents

Taxation

August 21, 2017

Proposed changes to CGT main residence exemption for foreign residents

The Treasurer has recently released exposure draft legislation ( Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Bill 2017 ) in relation to removal of the CGT main residence exemption for foreign…

Pointon Partners