Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au C2019A00065 In force Act

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Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019

 

No. 65, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to amend the law in relation to taxation, and for related purposes

 

 

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Schedules

Schedule 1—Thin capitalisation

Part 1—Amendments

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

Part 2—Application and transitional provisions

Schedule 2—Online hotel bookings

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

Schedule 3—Nontaxable reimportations of refurbished luxury cars

A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999

 

 

 

Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019

No. 65, 2019

 

 

 

An Act to amend the law in relation to taxation, and for related purposes

[Assented to 13 September 2019]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act is the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1.  Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

13 September 2019

2.  Schedules 1, 2 and 3

The first 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October to occur after the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

1 October 2019

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Schedules

  Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Thin capitalisation

Part 1—Amendments

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936

1  Subsection 262A(2AA)

Omit “, 820980 or 820985”, substitute “or 820980”.

2  Paragraph 262A(3)(d)

Omit “; and”, substitute “.”.

3  Paragraph 262A(3)(e)

Repeal the paragraph.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

4  Paragraph 820583(5)(b)

Omit “;”, substitute “.”.

5  Subsection 820583(5)

Omit all the words after paragraph (b).

6  Paragraph 820583(6)(c)

Omit “;”, substitute “.”.

7  Subsection 820583(6)

Omit all the words after paragraph (c).

8  Paragraph 820680(1)(a)

Omit “(including revaluing its assets for the purposes of that calculation)”.

9  Subsection 820680(1) (note)

Omit “, 820682, 820683 and 820684”, substitute “and 820682”.

10  Subsection 820680(1A) (note)

Omit “sections 820682 and 820683”, substitute “section 820682”.

11  Subsections 820680(2) to (2E)

Repeal the subsections, substitute:

 (2) If:

 (a) an entity is required by an Australian law to prepare financial statements for a period in accordance with the *accounting standards; and

 (b) a matter mentioned in subsection (1) is determined or calculated in accordance with the accounting standards for the purposes of the financial statements in relation to the period;

then, for the purposes of this Division, the matter is to be determined or calculated in relation to the period, or any part of the period, in the same way as it is determined or calculated in the financial statements.

 (2A) If:

 (a) a period in relation to which a matter mentioned in subsection (1) is determined or calculated (the current period) is not the same as a period in relation to which paragraphs (2)(a) and (b) are satisfied; and

 (b) the current period overlaps with one or more periods in relation to which paragraphs (2)(a) and (b) are satisfied;

then, for the purposes of this Division, the matter is to be determined or calculated in relation to the current period in the same way as it is determined or calculated in the financial statements for the most recent of the overlapping periods.

12  Subsections 820682(1) and (2)

Omit “subsections 820680(1) and (1A)”, substitute “subsections 820680(1), (1A) and (2)”.

13  Sections 820683 and 820684

Repeal the sections.

14  Paragraph 820933(4)(b)

Omit “, 820682, 820683 and 820684”, substitute “and 820682”.

15  Group heading (before section 820985)

Repeal the heading.

16  Section 820985

Repeal the section.

Part 2—Application and transitional provisions

17  Revaluation of assets

(1) The amendments made by items 1 to 3 and items 8 to 16 of this Schedule apply in relation to any of the following carried out for the purposes of Division 820 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 after 7.30 pm, by legal time in the Australian Capital Territory, on 8 May 2018 (the transition time):

 (a) a determination that an asset or liability is an asset or liability of an entity (including a determination that the entity has an asset or liability at a particular time);

 (b) a calculation of:

 (i) the value of an entity’s assets; or

 (ii) the value of an entity’s liabilities (including its debt capital); or

 (iii) the value of an entity’s equity capital.

(2) If any of the matters mentioned in subitem (1) have been determined or calculated before the transition time:

 (a) only the most recent of those determinations or calculations that comply with Division 820 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, as in force at the time the determination or calculation was made, may be used by the entity for the purposes of that Division on or after the transition time; and

 (b) those determinations or calculations may only be used by the entity for the purposes of Division 820 of that Act for income years beginning before 1 July 2019.

18  Classification of head company

The amendments made by items 4 to 7 of this Schedule apply in relation to income years beginning on or after 1 July 2019.

Schedule 2—Online hotel bookings

 

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

1  Paragraph 835(2)(c)

Omit “or (c)” (wherever occurring).

2  Subsection 1515(2)

Omit “or (c)” (wherever occurring).

3  Paragraphs 18815(3)(c) and 18820(3)(c)

Repeal the paragraphs.

4  Application

The amendments made by this Schedule apply in relation to a supply:

 (a) for which consideration is first received on or after 1 July 2019; or

 (b) if, before any consideration is received for the supply, an invoice is issued relation to the supply—for which an invoice is issued on or after 1 July 2019.

Schedule 3—Non‑taxable re‑importations of refurbished luxury cars

 

A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999

1  After subsection 720(1)

Insert:

 (1A) An *importation of a *car is a nontaxable reimportation if:

 (a) the car was exported from the indirect tax zone and is returned to the indirect tax zone; and

 (b) the car has been subject to any treatment, industrial processing, repair, renovation, alteration or any other process since its export; and

 (c) the ownership of the car has not changed in the period beginning immediately before the car was exported and ending at the time it is returned to the indirect tax zone.

2  Application

The amendment made by this Schedule applies in relation to importations occurring on or after 1 January 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 4 July 2019

Senate on 1 August 2019]

 

(091/19)

 

Overview

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to amend the law in relation to taxation, particularly focusing on ensuring multinationals pay their fair share of tax in Australia. The Act was assented to on 13 September 2019 and includes provisions that commenced on the same day, with other sections coming into effect from 1 October 2019. The overarching policy objective of this Act is to address the issue of multinational tax avoidance by introducing measures to ensure that multinationals pay an appropriate amount of tax in Australia. This includes measures to tackle base erosion and profit shifting, as well as changes to thin capitalisation rules and the treatment of online hotel bookings and refurbished luxury car importations for tax purposes.

Scope and Application

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019 applies to various entities and transactions within the Australian jurisdiction. Specifically, the Act amends the Income Tax Assessment Acts of 1936 and 1997 to introduce measures ensuring multinationals pay their fair share of tax, affecting entities that engage in financial transactions and require the preparation of financial statements in accordance with Australian accounting standards. The Act also modifies the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 to alter the tax treatment of online hotel bookings, impacting suppliers of hotel accommodation services. Additionally, the Act amends the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 to redefine the conditions under which the re-importation of refurbished luxury cars is exempt from luxury car tax. The changes introduced by the Act generally apply to actions and transactions occurring after specific dates: 8 May 2018 for the thin capitalisation amendments, 1 July 2019 for the online hotel bookings amendments, and 1 January 2019 for the luxury car tax amendments. The Act’s application is not limited to a specific geographic area but extends nationally within Australia. The Act does not specify any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds explicitly, but its provisions are designed to target specific transactions and entities, particularly multinational entities and suppliers of certain goods and services. The application and effect of the Act may be further refined through subordinate instruments, although the primary Act itself does not provide explicit detail on such extensions or restrictions.

Key Provisions

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Act 2019 (C2019A00065) is a comprehensive piece of legislation that primarily amends the law in relation to taxation. The Act makes changes to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, as well as the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999. These changes are aimed at ensuring that multinationals pay their fair share of tax in Australia. The Act introduces amendments to the thin capitalisation rules under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Section 262A(2AA) of the 1936 Act is modified to remove certain references, and similar adjustments are made to sections 262A(3)(d) and 262A(3)(e). Additionally, the Act modifies the calculation of the value of an entity’s assets, liabilities, and equity capital under sections 820-583(5)(b), 820-583(5), 820-583(6)(c), and 820-583(6) of the 1997 Act. It also repeals certain subsections and sections, such as 820-680(1A), 820-682, 820-683, 820-684, and 820-985, and replaces them with new provisions. The Act imposes several obligations on the entities it governs. For example, entities must determine or calculate matters such as the value of their assets, liabilities, and equity capital in accordance with the accounting standards if they are required to prepare financial statements. The Act also requires entities to use only the most recent determinations or calculations that comply with Division 820 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 for specific purposes. These obligations are detailed in sections 820-680(2) to (2E) of the 1997 Act. The Act includes provisions for penalties and consequences for breaches. For example, under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, entities may be subject to penalties if they fail to comply with the thin capitalisation rules. Similarly, under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, entities that fail to comply with the new provisions regarding online hotel bookings may face penalties. The specific penalties and consequences for breaches are detailed in the respective Acts that are amended by this legislation. The maximum penalties for these offences can vary, depending on the nature and severity of the breach.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.