On 9 May 2017, the Government announced changes to the foreign resident capital gains withholding (FRCGW) rate and threshold. The changes will apply to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2017: for real property disposals where the contract price is $750,000 and above (currently $2 million) the FRCGW withholding tax rate will be 12.5% (currently 10%). The existing threshold and rate will apply for any contracts that are entered into before 1 July 2017, even if they are not due to settle until after 1 July 2017. Background Broadly, where a foreign resident disposes of certain taxable Australian property, the purchaser is required to withhold an amount from the purchase price (see note b

From 1 July 2017, GST will apply to imported services and digital products. If you are an Australian GST registered business, you will not be charged GST on your purchases from a non-resident supplier if you: provide your ABN to the non-resident supplier state you are registered for GST. Examples of imported services and digital products from overseas include: digital products such as streaming or downloading of movies, music, apps, games and e-books services such as architectural, educational and legal. If you are purchasing imported services and digital products only for your personal use, you should not provide your ABN.

On 9 May 2017, the Government announced that from 1 July 2017 it will align the GST treatment of digital currency (such as Bitcoin) with money. Digital currency is currently treated as intangible property for GST purposes. Consequently, consumers who use digital currencies as payment can effectively bear GST twice: once on the purchase of the digital currency and again on its use in exchange for other goods and services subject to GST. This measure will ensure purchases of digital currency are no longer subject to the GST. No changes to the income tax treatment of digital currency are proposed

On 9 May 2017 the Government announced that it would amend the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions to ensure that they can only be accessed in relation to assets used in a small business or ownership interests in a small business. The concessions assist owners of small businesses by providing relief from CGT on assets related to their business, as well as contribute to their retirement savings through the sale of the business. However, some taxpayers are able to access these concessions for assets which are unrelated to their small business, for instance through arranging their affairs so that their ownership interests in larger businesses do not count towards the tests for de

On 9 May 2017 the Government announced that Australia's foreign resident capital gains tax (CGT) regime will be extended to deny foreign and temporary tax residents access to the CGT main residence exemption. This change applies from the date of announcement. Properties held prior to this date will be grandfathered until 30 June 2019

As part of the 2014-15 Federal budget the Government announced that it will impose a temporary Budget Repair levy of 2% on that part of a person's taxable income which exceeds $180,000. The levy will apply from 1 July 2014 and apply to the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years. There will be consequential changes for legislation that reference the top marginal tax rate of 45%.

On 9 May 2017 the Government announced that from 1 July 2019, the Medicare levy will increase from 2% to 2.5% to ensure that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is fully funded.

The Government has announced that it will allow the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to disclose tax debt information to registered credit reporting bureaus (CRBs). The ATO will only be able to disclose tax debt information of a business where certain criteria are met. The measure will commence from the date of Royal Assent. Providing transparency of overdue tax debts of businesses supports more informed decision making in the business community and seeks to reduce unfair advantage gained by businesses that do not pay their tax on time. It also encourages businesses to engage with the ATO to manage their tax debts. CRBs may include the tax debt information in their credit reports which are a