Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

CHAPTER 3 - SPECIALIST LIABILITY RULES  

PART 3-5 - CORPORATE TAXPAYERS AND CORPORATE DISTRIBUTIONS  

Division 165 - Income tax consequences of changing ownership or control of a company  

Subdivision 165-C - Deducting bad debts  

Operative provisions

SECTION 165-129   Same people must control the voting power, or the company must satisfy the business continuity test  

165-129(1)    
Even if section 165-120 does not prevent a company from deducting a bad debt (or part of one), it cannot deduct the bad debt (or that part of it) if:

(a) for some or all of the part of the *ownership test period that started at the end of the *first continuity period, a person controlled, or was able to control, the voting power in the company (whether directly, or indirectly through one or more interposed entities); and

(b) for some or all of the *first continuity period, that person did not control, and was not able to control, that voting power (directly, or indirectly in that way); and

(c) that person began to control, or became able to control, that voting power (directly, or indirectly in that way) for the purpose of:

(i) getting some benefit or advantage in relation to how this Act applies; or

(ii) getting such a benefit or advantage for someone else;

or for purposes including that purpose.

Note 1:

A person can still control the voting power in a company that is in liquidation etc.: see section 165-250 .

Note 2:

Subdivision 167-B has special rules for working out voting power in a company whose shares do not all carry the same voting rights, or do not carry all of the voting rights in the company.

165-129(2)    

However, that person ' s control of the voting power, or ability to control it, does not prevent the company from deducting the bad debt (or that part of it) if the company satisfies the *business continuity test for the *second continuity period (the business continuity test period ).

165-129(3)    

Apply the *business continuity test to the *business that the company carried on immediately before the time (the test time ) when the person began to control that voting power, or became able to control it.

For the business continuity test: see Subdivision 165-E .