Handbook

The pervasive operation of the Australian taxation system on commercial transactions means that tax considerations are of major importance in most business and investment decisions. After briefly outlining tax policy considerations, this course concentrates on the substantive and technical tax rules in Australia. Topics include: tax administration rules; the income tax formula and tax liability, and liability for other levies and charges; the concept of income and assessable income including net capital gains; exempt income; the general deduction provision and allowable deductions generally; deduction regimes that either supplement the general deduction rule (e.g. capital allowance regimes) or deny a deduction otherwise available; tax accounting rules and the tax treatment of trading stock; taxation of taxable income made through partnerships, trusts and corporations; selected specific anti- avoidance rules and the general anti-avoidance rule; an overview of cross border transactions and international tax rules; an outline of the goods and services tax (GST) and the fringe benefits tax (FBT) and how these taxes interact with income tax; and superannuation.