Tax office mounts High Court appeal
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has declared it will test the Goods and Services Tax status of security deposits in an appeal to the High Court.
In the meantime, the ATO will be holding on to any security deposit refunds.
The Taxation Commissioner, Michael D’Ascenzo, announced on Friday that the ATO would be seeking special leave to appeal to the High Court against a recent decision of the full Federal Court that no GST is payable on the forfeiture of a security deposit.
The basis of the ATO’s appeal is that the full Federal Court’s decision runs counter to the views expressed by the ATO in a GST Ruling issued last year.
D’Ascenzo said the High Court appeal was being launched because both the scope of the definition of supply and the GST treatment of forfeited security deposits were important issues for the community.
He said that anyone seeking a refund for GST paid on a forfeited security deposit needed to notify the ATO in writing of their intention to do so, to ensure they were not prejudiced by time limits on refunds because such notification needed to be made within four years.
D’Ascenzo said any requests for refunds received would be held pending the outcome of the High Court proceedings.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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