Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 1) 1999 (16 of 1999)

Schedule 12  

Part 1   Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986

2   After Part XI

Insert:

Part XIA - Record keeping exemption

Division 1 - Overview of Part

135A Overview of Part

(1) Basically, this Part provides that, if certain conditions are satisfied, an employer need not keep or retain most of the records otherwise required to be kept and retained under subsection 132(1).

(2) If the conditions are satisfied, the employer's FBT liability is generally worked out using the aggregate fringe benefits amount from a previous FBT year (the base year ) instead of the current FBT year.

Division 2 - Conditions

135B Conditions that must be satisfied

(1) This section has 2 conditions that must be satisfied for Division 3 to apply to an employer for an FBT year (the current year ).

First condition: base year established

(2) Either of the following must be true:

(a) the FBT year immediately before the current year was a base year (see section 135C) of the employer; or

(b) some other FBT year before the current year was a base year of the employer and section 135G applied to the employer for every FBT year after that base year but before the current year.

Second condition: no Commissioner's notice in previous year

(3) The employer must not have been given a paragraph 135E(2)(c) notice by the Commissioner during the FBT year immediately before the current year.

135C What is a base year?

(1) An FBT year is a base year of an employer if:

(a) the employer carries on business operations throughout the FBT year; and

(b) the employer lodges an FBT return for the FBT year within the time allowed for doing so under section 68; and

(c) as at the declaration date for the FBT year, the employer has kept and retained all the records that are (ignoring section 135E) required to be kept and retained under subsection 132(1) in relation to the employer's liability under this Act for the FBT year; and

(d) the employer's aggregate fringe benefits amount for the FBT year does not exceed the exemption threshold (see subsections (2) and (3)) for the year; and

(e) section 135G does not apply to the employer for the FBT year (that section allows employers to work out their liability to pay tax using their aggregate fringe benefits amount from a previous base year, instead of the current FBT year).

Exemption threshold for 1996-97 FBT year

(2) The exemption threshold for the FBT year beginning on 1 April 1996 is $5,000.

Exemption threshold for later FBT years

(3) The exemption threshold for a later FBT year is the amount worked out using the formula:

Exemption threshold * Indexation factor

where:

exemption threshold is the exemption threshold for the previous FBT year.

indexation factor is the number worked out, to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more), under subsection (4) for the later FBT year.

Indexation factor

(4) The indexation factor for an FBT year is the greater of:

(a) 1; and

(b) the number worked out using the formula:

Sum of index numbers for quarters in most recent December year / Sum of index numbers for quarters in earlier December year

(5) In subsection (4):

earlier December year means the period of 12 months immediately before the most recent December year.

index number , for a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number for the quarter (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) first published by the Australian Statistician for the quarter.

most recent December year means the period of 12 months ending on 31 December immediately before the FBT year for which the threshold is being worked out.

Disregard new publications

(6) If the Australian Statistician publishes an index number for a quarter in substitution for an index number previously published for that quarter, disregard the later publication.

Changed reference base

(7) However, if the Australian Statistician changes the reference base for the Consumer Price Index, take into account only the index numbers published in terms of the new reference base.

Rounding down to whole dollar amount

(8) Round the subsection (3) result down to the nearest whole dollar (if the result is not already a number of whole dollars).

Division 3 - Consequences if conditions in Division 2 are satisfied

135D Consequences

This Division has the consequences that apply if both conditions in section 135B are satisfied in relation to an employer for an FBT year (the current year ).

135E Exemption from keeping records

(1) Subsection 132(1) (which requires certain records to be kept and retained) does not apply to the employer in relation to the employer's liability under this Act for the current year.

Records the employer must still keep

(2) However, subsection 132(1) still applies in relation to the employer's liability under this Act for the current year so far as it relates to the following:

(a) copies of records that an associate of the employer gives the employer under paragraph 132(2)(b);

(b) benefits provided at a time when the employer was:

(i) a government body (see subsection 136(1)); or

(ii) a person all of whose income is exempt from income tax;

(c) benefits provided after the Commissioner has given the employer a written notice under this paragraph, during the current year, requiring the employer to resume keeping records.

135F Keeping records for 5 years after they are last relied on

The period in paragraph 132(1)(b) for retaining records relating to the employer's liability under this Act in respect of the employer's most recent base year is extended (or further extended) to 5 years after the end of the current year (if the period is not already that long).

135G Way to work out liability

The employer's liability to pay tax under section 66 is worked out using the employer's aggregate fringe benefits amount for the employer's most recent base year, instead of for the current year.

135H Exception if employer chooses to use current year aggregate fringe benefits amount

Section 135G does not apply if the employer chooses to work out his or her liability using the employer's aggregate fringe benefits amount for the current year.

135J Exception if employer is government body or tax-exempt

Section 135G does not apply if the employer is:

(a) a government body (see subsection 136(1)); or

(b) a person all of whose income is exempt from income tax;

at any time during the current year.

135K Exception if aggregate fringe benefits amount increases too much

(1) Section 135G does not apply if the employer's aggregate fringe benefits amount for the current year is more than 20% greater than it was for the employer's most recent base year (unless the difference is $100 or less).

Example: The aggregate fringe benefits amount was $100 for the most recent base year and $180 for the current year. This is 80% greater - well over the 20% limit. But section 135G can still apply because the difference is only $80.

Special rules for applying this test

(2) In working out, for the purposes of subsection (1), the employer's aggregate fringe benefits amount for the current year, apply the following rules.

Section 123 disregarded

(3) Disregard the effect of section 123 (which deals with failing to retain statutory evidentiary documents).

Special rule for car fringe benefits - statutory formula method used in earlier year

(4) If:

(a) for the employer's first car benefit year (if any - see subsection (6)), the employer used the method in section 9 (statutory formula) to determine the taxable value of one or more car fringe benefits relating to a particular car; and

(b) the employer uses the same method for that car, or for a car provided as a replacement of that car, for the current year; and

(c) the annualised number of kilometres the car (or its replacement) travelled in the current year is at least 80% of the annualised number of kilometres the car travelled in the first car benefit year;

the employer may, in using that same method, use the statutory fraction for the car from the first car benefit year, instead of from the current year.

Special rule for car fringe benefits - cost basis method used in earlier year

(5) If:

(a) for the employer's first car benefit year (if any - see subsection (6)), the employer used the method in section 10 (cost basis) to determine the taxable value of one or more car fringe benefits relating to a particular car; and

(b) the employer uses the same method for that car, or for a car provided as a replacement of that car, for the current year; and

(c) the business use percentage (see subsection 136(1)) for the current year is not lower than the business use percentage for the first car benefit year by more than 20 percentage points;

the employer may, in using that same method, use the business use percentage for the car from the first car benefit year, instead of from the current year.

Meaning of first car benefit year

(6) In subsections (4) and (5), the employer's first car benefit year is the first FBT year (if any) in the period:

(a) beginning with the employer's most recent base year; and

(b) ending with the FBT year immediately before the current year;

during which one or more car fringe benefits were provided in relation to the employer.

135L Employer not in business throughout current year

(1) This section applies if the employer does not carry on business operations throughout the current year.

Pro-rata reduction of base year aggregate fringe benefits amount

(2) For the purposes of sections 135G and 135K, the employer's aggregate fringe benefits amount for the employer's most recent base year is replaced by the amount worked out using the following formula:

Aggregate fringe benefits amount * (Number of days in the current year during which the employer carried on business operations / Number of days in the current year)