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ATO’s Private Groups Justified Trust program
Tax Advisory Specialists recently attended a workshop with Deputy Commissioner Tim Dyce and Assistance Commissioner Gregory Dick on the ATO’s Private Groups Justified Trust program.
In broad terms, Justified Trust is an approach by the ATO to build and maintain community confidence that taxpayers are paying the right amount of tax.
The Justified Trust program is aimed towards large private groups, market leaders and groups of specific interest. However, the principles of Justified Trust are also applied to medium sized and emerging private groups (including where net wealth is as little as $5 million).
So the ATO’s approach to Justified Trust will most likely apply in some way or another to your larger clients.
For justified trust to be established across a private group, the following four elements need to be met:
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Effective tax governance demonstrated;
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Risks flagged to market are not present or appropriately mitigated;
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Tax outcomes from new and significant transactions are explained; and
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Differences in accounting and tax results are explained.
Effective tax governance is a critical element. It comprises the following principles:
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Accountable management & oversight;
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Recognise tax risks;
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Seek advice;
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Integrity in reporting;
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Professional and productive working relationship;
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Timely lodgement and payments; and
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Ethical and responsive behaviour.
It is worth thinking about how your private group clients would rate against the above criteria.
And if you need to seek specialist tax advice, remember we are here to help.
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