In its quest to legislate a 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts the Commonwealth Government now proposes that ‘all distributions from trusts to registered charities and deductible gift recipients will be excluded from the minimum tax.’ This is a welcome response to significant concerns...
In this update we outline Fowler Charity Law's analysis of the Australian Government's Exposure Draft legislation proposed to implement its budget commitment to tax discretionary trusts. Our prior update here outlined the potentially detrimental effect on distributions from discretionary trust to Australian charities and not-for-profits. The...
Yesterday the Australian Government released exposure draft legislation proposed to implement its budget commitment to tax discretionary trusts. Our prior update here outlined the potentially detrimental effect on distributions from discretionary trust to Australian charities and not-for-profits. In releasing the material, the Government has clarified...
The ACNC Commissioner has released her long-anticipated revised Interpretation Statement on Charitable Housing. The new Statement presents a substantial reworking of the prior iteration, providing new material on: Requirements for registration as a charity, including: collaboration within centrally governed housing provider groups; the interface between...
Summary The Commonwealth Government proposes to ‘introduce a 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts to improve the fairness of the tax system’ as a component of the 2025-26 Federal Budget.[1] The new tax on family discretionary trusts is ‘estimated to increase [tax] receipts by...
Summary The changes to the taxation of discretionary trusts proposed in the 2026-27 Federal Budget Papers are likely to have a significant adverse effect on charitable giving and philanthropic activity within Australia. The Government proposes to ‘introduce a 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts...
Those Australian not-for-profit entities that have been self-assessing their Commonwealth income tax status as exempt need to start declaring the basis of this assessment to the Australian Taxation Office (‘ATO’) in an online form due by 31 March 2025. Previously not-for-profit entities with an Australian...
Today the long-anticipated Productivity Commission Final Report on Philanthropy within Australia was tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament. The Report, available here, contains very significant recommendations that will have implications for every charity within Australia should they be implemented by the Commonwealth Government. The following provides a...
Overnight the Productivity Commission released its Draft Report on Philanthropy within Australia. The Report contains some very significant recommendations that will impact upon every charity within Australia if they are maintained within the Commission’s final report due in May next year and if they are...
FCL Principal Mark Fowler published an article in the Canberra Times over the weekend commenting on the Commonwealth Government's Housing Australia Future Fund. In it he expresses the view that the HAFF legislation has not sufficiently addressed the uncertainties that arise in respect of the...