What did the AAT decide?
The AAT agreed that the taxpayer's advertising on LinkedIn counted as making an offer to the public. However, it found that a certain section of the law, S.87-20(2), changed things. This section, according to the AAT, restricted what could be considered advertising under S.87-20(1)(b). It basically said that offering services through an intermediary, like a recruitment agency, didn't count as advertising.
The AAT said that the evidence showed the taxpayer got work mainly through these intermediary companies, not directly from unrelated clients. Even though the taxpayer tried to get clients directly, it didn't lead to much of the work mentioned in the case.
The Federal Court, however, disagreed with the AAT's interpretation. It said that the AAT made a mistake in understanding how S.87-20(2) worked with S.87-20(1)(b). The Court believed that S.87-20(2) didn't apply in cases where someone advertised their services publicly, like on LinkedIn, and also got work through an intermediary.
The Court thought the AAT made a big mistake by saying that getting work through an agency somehow canceled out the fact that the taxpayer advertised on LinkedIn. This, the Court said, stretched the meaning of "merely" in S.87-20(2) too far.
So, the Court sided with the taxpayer and sent the case back to the AAT to reconsider, making sure they understood the law correctly this time.
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- Topics on Personal Service Income (1) – Overview of the PSI Rules (1)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (2) – Overview of the PSI Rules (2)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (3) – Overview of the PSI Rules (3)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (4) – Fortunatow’s Case (1)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (5) – Fortunatow’s Case (2)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (7) – Ariss’s Case (1)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (8) – Ariss’s Case (2)
- Topics on Personal Service Income (9) – Douglas’s Case
