In a world of legislative change and case law development, there is an ever-growing challenge for regulators and taxpayers to navigate and communicate uncertainty. Hear from the experts in this panel, who face this challenge about how to navigate:
- Legal questions which are currently being litigated (e.g., s 100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (1936 Act), Commissioner of Taxation v Guardian AIT Pty Ltd ATF Australian Investment Trust [2023] FCAFC 3 and the use of rulings and guidelines including drafts)
- A change in interpretation from the regulator (e.g., Division 7A of the 1936 Act and sub-trust arrangements)
- The breadth of regulator communication (e.g., rulings and other guidelines including the use of traffic lights and administrative practice)
- The weight to be attributed to guidelines (e.g., Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/4 (Allocation of professional firm profits – ATO compliance approach) and Victorian economic entitlement guidance); and
- Development and design of legislation and changes in government policy (e.g., announcements later discontinued and interaction between state and federal taxes (such as windfall gains tax)).