Handbook

This course offers an in-depth analysis of the tax implications for commercial transactions occurring mainly within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. The course is guided by a comprehensive conceptual framework (CF). The framework focuses on accurately determining and evaluating the tax treatment of various key commercial activities, integrating high-level tax policy principles and legislative intents.

The course is ideal for students with prior knowledge or experience of assessable income and deductions in ongoing business operations. The course progresses to examine complex transactions not in the ordinary course of business, such as isolated profit-making endeavours and cases where the replacement principle is relevant, including compensation receipts.

The program also covers the intricate allocation of commercial costs for tax purposes, whether as general deductions, repairs or costs for trading stock, depreciating assets or capital gains. The course also looks at specific expenditures like financing and legal fees.

The course concludes by exploring the timing of tax recognition for income and expenses, addressing prepaid expenses, earn-out arrangements, and the interplay between capital asset rules and deductions, ensuring a thorough grasp of the taxation landscape for commercial transactions mainly in the Australian SME context.