SUMMARY
In its final sitting week, the Commonwealth Parliament passed
three pieces of legislation which include important measures aimed
at clarifying the taxation treatment of payments and benefits
provided under native title agreements. Together, the Tax Laws
Amendment (2012 Measures No. 6) Act 2013 (Cth) and the Tax
Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 2) Act 2013 (Cth) (together
"Tax Amendment Acts") and also the
Charities Act 2013 (Cth) ("Charities
Act") answer key questions about how relevant
payments and benefits are to be treated for the income and capital
gains tax purposes in an area that will continue to develop.
BACKGROUND
The "right to negotiate" and Indigenous Land Use
Agreement provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)
("NTA"), as well as certain other State
and Territory legislation (for example, the Traditional Owner
Settlement Act 2010 (Vic)), establish frameworks for the
making of agreements between developers, groups of Aboriginal
