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Corporate restructures involving acquisitions or disposals

Corporate restructures involving acquisitions and disposals are a priority focus for the ATO.

Last updated 30 March 2016

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

Key focus areas

Consolidation

  • 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
 

Capital gains and losses

  • Calculating the cost base of the asset joining the group
 

Losses

  • 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
 

International tax

  • 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
 

Goods and services tax (GST)

  • 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
 

Other

  • Deductibility of your purchase costs
  • Financing arrangements involving hybrid or innovative instruments
 
Disposals

Issue

Key focus areas

Capital gains and losses

  • 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
     
 

Losses

  • Application of the following tests when deducting tax losses or applying net capital losses
    • continuity of ownership test
    • same business test.
     
 

Goods and services tax (GST)

  • 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
 

QC48607