Income Tax Assessment Act 1936

PART III - LIABILITY TO TAXATION  

Division 3 - Deductions  

Subdivision A - General  

SECTION 78A   CERTAIN GIFTS NOT TO BE ALLOWABLE DEDUCTIONS  

78A(1)    

In this section:

agreement
includes any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether formal or informal or express or implied, and whether or not enforceable by legal proceedings (whether or not the agreement, arrangement or understanding was intended to be so enforceable).

associate
, in relation to the donor of a gift, means:

(a) in the case of a donor being a natural person:

(i) a relative of the donor;

(ii) a partner of the donor;

(iii) if a partner of the donor is a natural person - the spouse of that partner;

(iv) a trustee of a trust estate where the donor or a person who is an associate of the donor by virtue of subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii) or (v) benefits or is capable (whether by the exercise of a power of appointment or otherwise) of benefiting under the trust, either directly or through any interposed companies, partnerships or trusts; or

(v) a company where:

(A) the company is, or its directors are, accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of the donor, of a person who is an associate of the donor by virtue of subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) or of a company that is an associate of the donor by virtue of another application of this subparagraph; or

(B) the donor is, the persons who are associates of the donor by virtue of subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) are, or the donor and the persons who are associates of the donor by virtue of those paragraphs are, in a position to cast, or control the casting of, more than 50% of the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the company; or

(b) in the case of a donor being a company:

(i) a partner of the donor company;

(ii) if a partner of the donor company is a natural person - the spouse of that partner;

(iii) another person where:

(A) the donor company is, or its directors are, accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of that person, whether those directions, instructions or wishes are communicated directly to the donor company or its directors, or through any interposed companies; or,

(B) that person is, or that person and the persons who, if that person were the donor, would be associates of that person by virtue of paragraph (a) or by virtue of another subparagraph of this paragraph are, in a position to cast, or control the casting of, more than 50% of the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the donor company;

(iv) a trustee of a trust estate where the donor company or a person who is an associate of the donor company by virtue of subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii), (v) or (vi) benefits, or is capable (whether by the exercise of a power of appointment or otherwise) of benefiting under the trust, either directly or through any interposed companies, partnerships or trusts;

(v) another company where:

(A) the other company is, or its directors are, accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of the donor company, of a person who is an associate of the donor company by virtue of subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (vi) or of a company that is an associate of the donor company by virtue of another application of this subparagraph; or

(B) the donor company is, the persons who are associates of the donor company by virtue of subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (vi) are, or the donor company and the persons who are associates of the donor company by virtue of those subparagraphs are, in a position to cast, or control the casting of, more than 50% of the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the other company; or

(vi) another person who, if a third person who is an associate of the donor company by virtue of subparagraph (iii) were the donor, would be an associate of that third person by virtue of paragraph (a) or by virtue of another subparagraph of this paragraph.

78A(2)    

Subject to this section, a gift of money, or of property other than money, made by a person (in this section referred to as the donor ) to a fund, authority, institution or person is not an allowable deduction under Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 where:

(a) by reason of any act, transaction or circumstance that has occurred, will occur, or may reasonably be expected to occur, being an act, transaction or circumstance occurring as part of, in connexion with or as a result of:

(i) the making or receipt of the gift; or

(ii) any agreement or scheme entered into in association with the making or receipt of the gift,

the amount or value of the benefit derived by the fund, authority, institution or person as a consequence of the gift is, will be, or may reasonably be expected to be, less than the amount or value at the time when the gift was made of the property comprising the gift;

(b) by reason of any act, transaction or circumstance of a kind referred to in paragraph (a), any fund, authority, institution or person other than the fund, authority, institution or person to which the gift was made, makes, becomes liable to make, or may reasonably be expected to make or to become liable to make, a payment, or transfers, becomes liable to transfer, or may reasonably be expected to transfer or to become liable to transfer, any property, to any person or incurs, becomes liable to incur, or may reasonably be expected to incur or to become liable to incur, any other detriment, disadvantage, liability or obligation;

(c) by reason of any act, transaction or circumstance of a kind referred to in paragraph (a), the donor or an associate of the donor has obtained, will obtain or may reasonably be expected to obtain any benefit, advantage, right or privilege other than the benefit of any deduction that, but for this section, would be allowable from the assessable income of the donor under Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 ; or

(d) by reason of any agreement or scheme entered into as part of or in association with the making of the gift, any property, other than property comprising the gift, has been acquired or will be acquired, whether directly or indirectly, from the donor or an associate of the donor by that fund, authority, institution or person or by another fund, authority, institution or person.

78A(3)    

Without limiting the application of subsection (2), where the terms and conditions on which a gift of property other than money is made are such that the fund, authority, institution or person to which the gift is made does not receive immediate custody and control of the property, does not have the unconditional right to retain custody and control of the property in perpetuity to the exclusion of the donor or an associate of the donor or does not obtain an immediate, indefeasible and unencumbered legal and equitable title to the property, paragraph (2)(c) shall be deemed to apply in relation to that gift.

78A(4)    

Paragraph (2)(a) does not prevent a deduction under Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 from being allowed from the assessable income of the donor where the amount or value of the benefit derived by the fund, authority, institution or person as a consequence of the gift is, will be, or may reasonably be expected to be, less than the amount or value at the time when the gift was made of the property comprising the gift by reason only that the fund, authority, institution or person has incurred, will incur, or may reasonably be expected to incur, expenses for the purpose of obtaining or soliciting the gift, being expenses that, in the opinion of the Commissioner, are reasonable in relation to the value of the gift.

78A(5)    

This section does not prevent a deduction under section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (because of item 4, 5 or 6 of the table in that section) from being allowed from the assessable income of the donor in respect of a gift of property other than money by reason only that the terms and conditions on which the gift was made are such, or the effect of any arrangement (within the meaning of that Act) entered into in association with the making or receipt of the gift is such, that the value of the gift may be reduced in accordance with section 30-220 of that Act.