Tax & ATO News Australia
VPRX and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation) [2017] AATA 2156
The Applicant sold a website to a US buyer and received payment in instalments throughout the 2010 financial year, and further payments in the 2012 financial year. As the Applicant did not lodge a tax return for either year, the Commissioner issued default assessments with a 75% shortfall penalty based on amounts documented by AUSTRAC. The tax payable and penalties were reduced after the Applicant objected to the decision, and one payment was treated as capital.
The Applicant submitted that all of the documentation relating to the sale had been lost except for some emails. For the 2010 financial year payments, he contended that it was difficult to secure a fixed price during the GFC so the amounts received were ‘revenue payments’, consideration from the buyer based on their calculated profit, and were not income. He claims he was entitled to deductions for expenses in earning his ordinary income. With regard to the 2012 financial year payments, he contended that the penalty was unjust in circumstances where he was unable to locate the sale agreement. Indeed, the applicant was inefficient in producing evidence and failed to do so on several occasions.
The tribunal accepted the emails as evidence of a sale agreement but in the absence of its details, particularly the basis on which payments were calculated, treated the payments as income rather than capital. Regarding the penalty, the tribunal found that the Applicant’s inability to produce documents was no justification for concession and that, although he was not grossly careless, there was no justification for reducing the penalty in the circumstances. The tribunal reiterated that the onus is on the Applicant to establish that the assessments are excessive, and concluded that the Applicant was unable to discharge this burden. There were no submissions on the matter of capital gains tax.
Posted in: Tax & ATO News Australia at 28 November 17
Share

Tax & ATO News Australia
Author: David Hughes
Last 12 months
- April 2018 (1)
- March 2018 (2)
- February 2018 (2)
- January 2018 (4)
- December 2017 (0)
- November 2017 (5)
- October 2017 (1)
- September 2017 (0)
- August 2017 (1)
- July 2017 (0)
- June 2017 (0)
- May 2017 (1)
- Show All
Tags
- tax benefit (1)
- non-concessional contributions (2)
- 183 day test (1)
- GST (5)
- Full Federal Court (3)
- decision impact statement (1)
- Office of State Revenue (1)
- Australian National Audit Office (1)
- SNF (1)
- NSW duty (1)
- High Court of Australia (2)
- excess contributions tax (1)
- Crown Insurance Services (2)
- High Court (3)
- Administrative Appeals Tribunal (8)
- Section 264 (1)
- stamp duty (1)
- tax ombudsman (1)
- Division 815 (1)
- Income Tax Regulations (2)
- Goods and Services Tax (2)
- SPAA (1)
- Federal Court (4)
- Tax (27)
- NAB (1)
- Income Tax Assessment 1936 (2)
- land tax (1)
- Federal Assistant Treasurer (2)
- wire tapping (2)
- Joe Hockey (2)
- taxable supply (1)
- SMSF (4)
- bankruptcy notices (1)
- Deportation (2)
- retirement savings (2)
- Taxation Administration Act 1953 (3)
- payroll tax (1)
- Celebrity Tax Evaders (1)
- investigative powers (3)
- Shadow Treasurer (1)
- Assistant Treasurer (2)
- self-managed funds (4)
- bankruptcy regulations (1)
- Transfer duty (1)
- Bill Shorten (3)
- Income tax (6)
- Crown Insurance Limited (1)
- AAT (20)
- Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence (1)
- taxpayers (17)
- cash economy (1)
- s264 notices (2)
- Crown Insurance (1)
- Business assets (1)
- Superannuation Minister (2)
- tax returns (4)
- debt disputes (4)
- taxpayer (9)
- European Union Data Retention Directive (1)
- Parliamentary Committee (1)
- taxman (6)
- Chris Jordan (7)
- taskforce (2)
- Queensland State Government (1)
- Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (4)
- notice of assessment (5)
- debt collection (3)
- Departure Prohibition Order (1)
- superannuation contributions (2)
- Australian resident (2)
- Gary Kurzer (2)
- Tax Commissioner (25)
- tax audit (5)
- audits (3)
- ITAA (3)
- assessment notice (3)
- exchange rate (1)
- carbon tax (1)
- super contributions (3)
- non-resident (2)
- Ron Pattenden (2)
- tax appeals (10)
- discretionary trust partnerships (1)
- heavy handling (2)
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1)
- tax fraud (4)
- foreign currency (1)
- Federal Government (2)
- super contributions caps (2)
- resides test (1)
- David Hughes (1)
- Administrative Appears Tribunal (5)
- CGT (3)
- Tax Office (21)
- OECD (1)
- tax evasion (10)
- Part IVA (1)
- concessional contributions (3)
- domicile test (1)
- ATO (58)
- Crown Insurance Services Limited (1)
- small business (9)
- income splitting schemes (1)
- inspector general of taxation (11)
- Double tax agreements (1)
- Commissioner of Taxation (17)
- Show All