ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2008/71

Income Tax

Capital allowances: environmental protection activities - payment to purchaser of mining tenement to assume liability and indemnify taxpayer
FOI status: may be released

This version is no longer current. Please follow this link to view the current version.

This document has changed over time. View its history.

CAUTION: This is an edited and summarised record of a Tax Office decision. This record is not published as a form of advice. It is being made available for your inspection to meet FOI requirements, because it may be used by an officer in making another decision.

This ATOID provides you with the following level of protection:

If you reasonably apply this decision in good faith to your own circumstances (which are not materially different from those described in the decision), and the decision is later found to be incorrect you will not be liable to pay any penalty or interest. However, you will be required to pay any underpaid tax (or repay any over-claimed credit, grant or benefit), provided the time limits under the law allow it. If you do intend to apply this decision to your own circumstances, you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed. You may wish to obtain further advice from the Tax Office or from a professional adviser.

Issue

Where the taxpayer makes a payment to the purchaser as part of the sale of mining tenements to assume liabilities arising in respect of the tenements under mining, land and environment laws, are environmental protection activities carried on by the purchaser subsequent to the sale carried on 'by or for' the taxpayer as required by subsection 40-755(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)?

Decision

No, the environmental protection activities are not carried on 'by or for' the taxpayer following the sale of the tenements as required by subsection 40-755(1) of the ITAA 1997 because the taxpayer has no part in any such activity, no interest in the land or mining tenements, and is indemnified in respect of liability to pay for or perform such activity.

Facts

The taxpayer operates a mine for a number of years.

The taxpayer enters an agreement to sell the mining tenements and assets to another entity (the purchaser).

The agreement contains the condition that the purchaser assumes all current and future liabilities in respect of the mining tenements and land under mining, land and environmental laws and indemnifies the taxpayer against same.

The agreement requires that the taxpayer pay the purchaser an amount to remediate and rehabilitate the tenements and manage the same.

All activities matching the descriptions of 'environmental protection activities' in paragraphs 40-755(2)(a) and 40-755(2)(b) of the ITAA 1997 that are undertaken upon the tenements after the sale are undertaken by the purchaser or the purchaser's agents.

Reasons for Decision

Subsection 40-755(1) of the ITAA 1997 provides an immediate deduction for expenditure, whether capital or not, incurred for the sole or dominant purpose of carrying on environmental protection activities.

Environmental protection activities are defined in subsection 40-755(2) of the ITAA 1997, which states:

Environmental protection activities are any of the following activities that are carried on by or for you:

(a)
preventing, fighting or remedying:

(i)
pollution resulting or likely to result from your *earning activity; or

(ii)
pollution of or from the site of your earning activity; or

(iii)
pollution of or from a site where an entity was carrying on any *business that you have acquired and carry on substantially unchanged as your earning activity;

(b)
treating, cleaning up, removing or storing:

(i)
waste resulting, or likely to result from your earning activity; or

(ii)
waste that is on or from the site of your earning activity; or

(iii)
waste that is on or from a site where an entity was carrying on any business that you have acquired and carry in substantially unchanged as your earning activity.

No other activities are environmental protection activities.

The environmental protection activities must be carried out 'by or for' a taxpayer before the expenditure on them qualifies for deduction by that taxpayer.

The term 'by or for' in subsection 40-755(2) of the ITAA 1997 is not defined in the legislation and therefore the words have their ordinary meaning.

The Macquarie Dictionary definition of 'by' in this context is: '12. through the agency or efficacy of: founded by Napoleon; done by force' (The Macquarie Dictionary, 2001, rev. 3rd edn, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, NSW). Therefore, an activity is carried out 'by' a person if it occurs directly through their agency.

The taxpayer has no involvement in environmental protection activities on the tenements following the sale and thus the activities cannot be said to be carried on 'by' the taxpayer.

The Macquarie Dictionary definition of 'for' in this context is: '12. in the interest of: to act for a client'. Therefore, an activity is carried on 'for' a person, if it is performed by another to the benefit of or in place of the person.

The taxpayer has no interest in the land or mining tenements and is indemnified against liabilities in respect of same after the sale. It follows then that environmental activities carried on upon the tenements by the purchaser or their agents are not carried on for the benefit of, or in the place of the taxpayer. Accordingly, environmental protection activities carried on upon the tenements following the sale are not carried on 'for' the taxpayer.

Environmental protection activities are not carried on 'by or for' the taxpayer following the sale of the tenements, as required by subsection 40-755(1) of the ITAA 1997, because the taxpayer has no part in any such activity, no interest in the land or mining tenements, and is indemnified in respect of liability to pay for or perform such activity.

Note: objectively, the taxpayer makes a payment to the purchaser for the sole or dominant purpose of the purchaser assuming all liabilities in relation to the mining tenements and associated land, including a number of different liabilities under environmental laws and to purchase the related indemnity.

Date of decision: 18 February 2008

Year of income: Year ended 30 June 2005

Legislative References:
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
   subsection 40-755(1)
   subsection 40-755(2)
   paragraph 40-755(2)(a)
   paragraph 40-755(2)(b)

Related ATO Interpretative Decisions
ATO ID 2008/72

Other References:
The Macquarie Dictionary, 2001, rev. 3rd edn, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, NSW

Keywords
Deductions & expenses
Disposal of mining & exploration rights
Environmental protection activities
Environmental protection expenses
Mine rehabilitation expenses
Mining & exploration rights
Mining & petroleum
Mining leases & tenements
Mining property
Mining site rehabilitation

Business Line: Administration, Business and Personal Taxes Centre of Expertise

Date of publication: 23 May 2008

ISSN: 1445-2782

history

	Date:	Version:
You are here	18 February 2008	Original statement
	17 April 2019	Archived

Copyright notice

You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute material on this website as you wish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth endorses you or any of your services or products).