Corporate restructures involving acquisitions and disposals are a priority focus for us. These transactions could result in a range of factors you need to consider for taxation purposes.
Acquisitions
Issue
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Key focus areas
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Consolidation
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- Structuring acquisitions, or restructuring where the economic ownership remains unchanged – including inserting a new head company
- Ensuring your allocable cost amount (ACA) calculations are accurate
- Correctly identifying the assets acquired by the group that are subject to the tax cost setting rules
- Applying the appropriate market value to the reset cost of base assets in the ACA allocation process
- Ensuring the eligibility of deductions claimed under the rights to future income and residual tax cost setting rules
- Applying the multiple entry consolidated (MEC) group rules correctly
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Capital gains and losses
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- Calculating the cost base of the asset joining the group
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Losses
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- Correctly applying the following when transferring losses from a joining entity to a head company of a consolidated group
- modified continuity of ownership test
- same business test rules
- available fraction.
- Ensuring the available fractions for the entire group are correctly calculated
- Correctly applying the continuity of ownership and same business tests when deducting tax losses or applying net capital losses
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International tax
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- Whether increased value has been allocated to the Australian entity for thin capitalisation purposes
- Post-acquisition refinancing, particularly where there is evidence of debt loading or interest rates changes
- Innovative or uncommercial risk transfer arrangements
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Goods and services tax (GST)
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- Claims for GST credits on related acquisitions that were not made solely for a creditable purpose, where the restructure involves making (or an intention to make) input taxed financial supplies
- Changes to business structures, systems or accounting processes and the impact on correct reporting of GST obligations
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Other
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- Deductibility of your purchase costs
- Financing arrangements involving hybrid or innovative instruments
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Disposals
Issue
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Key focus areas
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Capital gains and losses
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- Correctly classifying the proceeds of an asset sale as revenue or capital
- Steps within corporate restructures that may result in reduction, deferral or elimination of a capital gain
- Rollovers, exemptions or concessions used to reduce or defer any capital gains
- Use of convertible notes
- Material differences between the economic and tax outcomes
- Valuations used to calculate a capital gain or capital loss
- Exiting an entity from a tax consolidated group or deconsolidating a tax consolidated group
- Disposal of taxable Australian property by non-resident organisations, including
- real estate
- mining rights
- interests in an Australian entity that owns real estate and mining rights in Australia
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Losses
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- Application of the following tests when deducting tax losses or applying net capital losses
- continuity of ownership test
- same business test.
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Goods and services tax (GST)
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- Claims for GST credits on related acquisitions that were not made solely for a creditable purpose, where the restructure involves making (or an intention to make) input taxed financial supplies
- Changes to business structures, systems or accounting processes and the impact on correct reporting of GST obligations
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Corporate restructures involving acquisitions and disposals are a priority focus for the ATO. This page describes a range of factors you will need to consider for taxation purposes.