Q: M company is an Australian company, which owned by Australian shareholder and UK shareholder equally. The UK shareholder carries on a similar business in the UK under the same branding that the Australian company carries on in Australian. The Australian company has engaged the services of a digital marketing agency to do some advertising design. It has on charged some of the cost of the design to the UK company for design services. Is the on-charging of the design for UK company subject to GST?

Q: Fiona Wilkes runs a delivery business and is registered for GST, purchased a car for $33,000 (GST inclusive) on 15, Oct 2011 to use in her delivery business, planned to use the vehicle 90% for business and 10% privately.

Q: A client needs guidance relation to the sale of commercial property sold as a going concern and its GST implications. As there is no GST on the sale of the property, what happens to other expenses such as commission and legal fees, which include GST? Can the GST on these items be claimed?

Q: I want to engage a US company for IT consulting. They will invoice my firm and I will pay them in US dollars. Can the US firm consult in Australia (no hidden licenses)? Do they need an ABN? Does the US firm pay GST?

Q: Leia Caldwell, a property developer with GST.

Q: Tim West and Associates is a partnership of solicitors that is registered for GST and is planning to move to new rented office premises. The firm was able to negotiate with the landlord to pay the partnership an inducement fee $30,000 to enter the new lease agreement (use to refurnish the new premises)

Q: My business client (sole trader), who is registered for GST runs a childcare. She bought a piece of land and decided to build it up and use it as an investment property. Can she claim the GST on the building costs? What are the consequences if she decides to sell once the building is complete?

Q: A husband and wife bought a residential property (used for commercial purposes) as a going concern in 2011 for $720,000 with a café lease in place. After one month, the café lease expired and commenced a beauty therapy business as a partnership until June 2014, when they divorce. The registration of the partnership was cancelled and the business continued trading from the premises as a sole trader registered for GST. Now, the owners want to sell. A non-GST registered party provided an offer to purchase as residential. What are the GST implications? Is a balancing adjustment necessary and if so, from what date? Is it complicate due to the deregistration of partnership in 2014? 

Q: We have a client who has received a payment from Origin Energy for the option to purchase an easement on their property of $82,000(excluding GST). The client is not registered for GST as their income turnover is lower than $75,000 per annum. However, as the payment is over $75,000, should they be register for GST? And declare GST on the option to the ATO? The option is a one-off payment so they would not need to be registered for GST on an ongoing basis. Also, how does the option to acquire the easement and subsequent purchase of the easement need to be allocated for tax purposes? Will these transactions be considered CGT events and what will the relevant cost base be? for example, is the cost base for the option just any legal fees? Would the cost base for the purchase of the easement be a portion of the cost base of the land?

Q: A proprietary limited company owned a large parcel of rural zoned land that was subdivided and sold. The remaining parcel held is 60ha. The previous sales of 40ha were done under s 38-480 of the GST Act (sale of farmland). The client is obtaining a development application to subdivide the balance lot into two parcels- 57ha and 3ha. The 3ha block has a homestead that is uninhabitable, some farming equipment are on it. The area has never been used due to its nature. Will the company incur GST liability for the sale of the 3ha subdivision? Can the company continue to apply s38-480 to the 57ha lot provided it continues with the farmland characteristics?

Q: One client is looking into purchasing a boat for personal use. Here are the details:

Q: A client (Mr. A) is a mortgage broker and adviser trading in a company structure. He is a director and shareholder of the company. His wife is also a shareholder, director and employee of the company. The company is not registered for GST as the total turnover so far is less than $75,000.

Q: A self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) owns a commercial property. They decide to sell the property and are not currently registered for GST. The property will sell within the range of $1.1 million.

Q: A client purchased farmland in October 1997. They have operated a farming enterprise on the land since then. They are currently in negotiations to sell this land. If the purchaser intends to use the farmland in the course of a farming enterprise, then no GST will be applicable under the farming business exemption.

Q: A client is a payroll service entity. They have collected Workcover from end clients and have not yet gotten an assessment for the 2016 year.

• The commission income comes from a foreign company in the Us.
• The company is not registered for GST in Australia.
• Part of the commission income is based on goods sent directly from overseas to contacts in Australia.
• 50% of the goods are sent from their distribution center in New South Wales, Australia and 50% are from their distribution center in the US.

Q: What is the GST consequence on the transfer of the vehicle out of the business?