After a bit of controversy with student loan arrests a few weeks ago and a new Minister of Revenue last week it has been a pretty quiet week in the tax world leading up the end of the tax year.
As such I thought I would provide a small update on the progress of a couple of tax bills making their way through parliament.
The Omnibus Tax Bill received its third and final reading on Wednesday and is now awaiting royal assent. We have previously commented on this bill, the main features being the tax credits for research and development and other amendments designed to combat black-hole expenditure in this area.
Other Bills making their way through parliament include the Bill containing the proposed withholding tax on residential land sales for non-residents, GST on online services and some changes to student loans. The proposed changes to student loans relate to the income adjustments required and, while not radical, recent events might provide a good reminder that student loan borrowers may be required to make adjustments to their taxable income similar to working for families.
Interestingly we note that a Bill introduced in 2010 proposing to allow principal caregivers a tax credit allowing them to split income between spouses, civil union and de facto partners is still technically awaiting a second reading. This would effectively counteract Penny and Hooper in some situations and is unlikely to progress further