THE Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Treasury will re-appear before the House Tax and Revenue Committee tomorrow as part of its inquiry into tax disputes.
These agencies gave evidence to the first public hearing of the inquiry in July. Since then, the Committee has spoken to a wide range of taxpayers, tax agents, accountants, lawyers and professional associations.
Tomorrow’s hearing will allow the Tax Office and Treasury to respond to evidence received during the inquiry. Topics likely to be raised at the hearing include:
•the extent of independence when the ATO considers a taxpayer’s objection; •the readiness of the ATO to engage with taxpayers during disputes; •the robustness of ATO processes for findings of fraud and evasion, which remove the four and two-year time limits on amending assessments; •how the general interest charge works during a dispute; •the ATO’s performance indicators for disputes.
Committee chair John Alexander said the hearing will provide the committee with the opportunity to test some of the evidence and proposals that it received during the inquiry.
“We look forward to hearing the views and expertise of the ATO and the Treasury so the committee can make recommendations that allow the ATO to collect the revenue due, whilst demonstrating fairness and respect to taxpayers,” he said.
Public hearing Wednesday 26 November 2014 Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra
4:oopm The Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office 5:30pm Adjournment
For further information: please contact the committee secretariat by telephone 02 6277 4821, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit the committee website http://www.aph.gov.au/taxrev.
VICTORIA'S peak events industry body welcomes today’s announcement that Melbourne will be the exclusive host of soccer’s International Champions Cup Australia in 2015.
“As the global sporting capital, Melbourne is the ideal place for this wonderful event that will bring together the world’s best players, their huge supporter base and local fans,” said Victoria Events Industry Council (VEIC) Chief Executive, Dianne Smith.
Ms Smith’s comments follow the announcement that three leading international soccer teams, including Real Madrid F.C., will feature in the tournament at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in July 2015.
“The tournament is expected to deliver an economic benefit of more than $50 million to Victoria, which is yet another example of the significant benefit major events and tourism bring to Victoria,” said Ms Smith.
And we can expect near capacity crowds, thanks not only to the calibre of the teams, but also to the commitment of organisers to making tickets as accessible and affordable as possible.”
VEIC Chairperson Peter Jones said: “This is only the third edition of this series and Melbourne has been able to secure this event because of its worldwide reputation for staging iconic sporting events."
“Having a stadium such as the MCG in the heart of the city is a big drawcard. We can host all the matches in one venue and this makes us a very attractive destination for these top tier clubs.”
Ms Smith added that the event will showcase Melbourne and Victoria globally, as the tournament will be broadcast to more than 150 countries.
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Established in December 2006, the Victoria Events Industry Council (VEIC) is the peak policy council representing Victoria’s $1.4 billion event industry.
THE Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) today urged listed entities to be more proactive in informing investors about their market briefings in order to comply with new best practice guidelines and also to lead by example.
AIRA, the industry association for investor relations professionals, used the release of its updated Best Practice Investor Relations guidelines to call on companies to lift the bar in communicating important information to their shareholders.
“We would like to see listed entities tell all shareholders exactly when they are scheduling investor briefings, presentations and webcasts so that more people can find out in a timely manner exactly what is happening,” AIRA’s CEO, Mr Ian Matheson said.
“Such routine details are not always made widely available, but it is essential to do so if all investors are to be kept fully informed. The details can easily be posted on a company’s own website and more particularly lodged with ASX and/or NZX.”
Mr Matheson said that regulators have made it clear that they want ALL investors to be provided with all price sensitive information in a timely manner. He said it was up to corporations to use the communications tools at their fingertips to engage effectively with as many of their shareholders’ as possible.
The fourth edition of AIRA’s best practice guidelines also calls for live webcasts of annual general meetings, including question and answer sessions. It also recommends that companies consider providing a full transcript of proceedings, including formal speeches and presentations, along with relevant question-and-answer exchanges of all significant briefings.
When it comes to investor days and analyst briefings, all questions and answers should be monitored for market-sensitive information and be released immediately to securities exchanges if any inadvertent disclosures are made. All presentations should be released prior to the investor day commencing, and also uploaded to company websites along with question-and-answer sessions.
AIRA also recommends that listed entities lodge all of these presentations and particularly financial results prior to the market opening to enable analysts and investors to digest the information before trading commences.
On the recent disclosure issue of releasing sell-side earnings consensus forecasts, AIRA says that any publication should be made on a company’s website and should also be updated on a regular basis to ensure the market was fully informed. If such details are published, the company should include a disclaimer saying it did not endorse the analysts’ forecasts.
“These guidelines reflect all recent regulatory initiatives, including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) report on the handling of confidential, market-sensitive information,” Mr Matheson said. “They also cover the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s revised principles and recommendations, ASX’s updated guidance note related to continuous disclosure and ASIC’s regulatory guide on better disclosure.
ASIC, ASX and the New Zealand Securities Exchange (NZX) have all provided comments on the guidelines.
“We want to make it easier for listed entities to comply with their obligations by including in the guidelines an investor relations toolkit, which provides easy-to-adopt briefing templates, policy examples and content checklists.”
AIRA’s guidelines are intended to provide practical advice on how listed entities can better communicate information to investors. They account for regulatory imperatives and compliance options and outline the principles and practices that investor relations officers should apply to maintain an efficient and transparent market.
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About AIRA
AIRA is Australasia’s premier member-based organisation advancing awareness of best practice investor relations, thereby improving the relationship between listed entities and the investment community. The Association's 171 corporate members now represent more than A$760 billion of market capitalisation, which is greater than two-thirds of the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the ASX.
VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone said VECCI welcomes the Federal Government’s commitment to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement which presents Victoria with significant opportunities to widen and deepen trade and investment with the world’s second largest economy.
"With a diverse and competitive industry base, Victoria is well placed to leverage major growth opportunities from Australia's largest goods export destination ($95 billion in 2013), and largest services export market($7 billion in 2013)," Mr Stone said.
"The prospects for new trade and investment extend not only to our agriculture sector, but resources, energy, manufacturing and service industries, as the following examples highlight."
Dairy: Victorian dairy farmers will benefit from the removal of tariffs on their dairy products entering China, including infant formula, liquid milk, cheese, butter and yogurt. This puts Victorian businesses in a much stronger position when competing against New Zealand dairy farmers who already benefit from their FTA with China.
Fruit and vegetables: As Victoria was Australia’s largest exporter of horticulture goods in 2013-14, the elimination of Chinese tariffs on vegetables, fruit and nuts will open up even more opportunities for Victorian farmers and other agribusinesses.
Legal services: Victorian law firms will be able to establish commercial associations with Chinese law firms in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.
Financial services: Victorian financial services providers in the banking, insurance, and funds management sectors will enjoy improved market access as China continues to advance economic reform and liberalisation.
Education and training: Victoria’s world renowned private higher education sector will receive increased promotion and improved recognition in the Chinese student market with a Chinese Ministry of Education website listing all registered providers.
Health and aged-care: Increased ownership rights have been secured for Victorian hospitals and aged-care providers, allowing them to wholly own hospitals and aged-care facilities in China.
Manufacturing: Tariffs on Victorian pharmaceuticals being exported to China will be eliminated, including those on vitamins and health products.
Tourism and travel: Victorian tourism operators can now construct, renovate and operate wholly Australian-owned hotels and restaurants in China. Victorian travel agencies/tour operators are also able to establish wholly Australian-owned subsidiaries in China for tours within China for both domestic and foreign travellers.
- Recognising that increased Australian market access by Chinese producers will put pressure on some Victorian industries, Australian tariffs on Chinese imports in some sectors will be phased out over time, giving businesses time to adjust and stay competitive.
- The challenge for small to medium sized businesses is to understand what changes in business operations, practices or strategies are needed to capitalise on opportunities from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
- Employers can access tools, tips and information on getting into exporting or growing existing exports by visiting www.vecci.org.au.
AS the G20 leaders commit to reducing the gender employment gap in their respective nations, Australian resource employers are meeting in Perth today to discuss strategies to increase women’s participation in the resource industry to 25 per cent by 2020.
The Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) Forum, hosted by national resource industry employer group AMMA, brings together organisations that are paving the way in addressing the resource industry’s male-dominated workforce.
“It was very encouraging to see women’s workforce participation become a global economic priority at the G20 Summit, specifically to reduce the gender employment gap in leading economies by 25 per cent by 2025,” says AMMA executive director Tara Diamond.
“As one of the key pillars of Australia’s economy and with more than $500 billion worth of major projects either under construction or in the investment pipeline, the resource industry will play a key role in Australia meeting this objective.
“Since AWRA was launched in 2011, the resource industry has been working to increase women’s employment from the national industry average of 15 per cent to 25 per cent by 2020.
“As governments around the world commit to policies that will support the greater participation of women in the global workforce, the Australian resource industry is already doing its part by continuing to focus on innovative and practical strategies at a workplace level.”
Ms Diamond says the AWRA Recognised Program is one such initiative that is helping the resource industry to improve the way it attracts, retains and develops women employees.
“AWRA Recognised assesses how well workplace policies and practices support workforce diversity and inclusion,” she says.
“The program provides resource employers with a roadmap to improve the way they attract and retain women across all levels of their organisations.
“This includes practical strategies such as changing the language used in recruitment campaigns, targeting female graduates, reviewing pay equity, and mentoring and professional development support for women.
“Resource sector organisations including Farstad Shipping, BHP Billiton Manganese Australia and Caterpillar Australia have stepped up to take part in the pilot round of AWRA Recognised as part of their commitment to secure the benefits of more gender diverse workforces.”
As well as discussions on key AWRA initiatives, delegates of the AWRA Forum will hear from companies including St Barbara, Iluka Resources, Deloitte Australia and Georgiou Group.
A special panel session on employment participation by Indigenous Australians will feature Fortescue, Leighton Contractors, Morris Corporation and Australian Indigenous Women in Mining.
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