ARTICLE · 14 NOVEMBER 2017

Mind The Gap - GST And New Residential Properties

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The Turnbull Government has released Exposure Draft legislation that proposes to implement the 2017-18 Budget measure of requiring purchasers of newly constructed ...

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The Turnbull Government has released Exposure Draft legislation that proposes to implement the 2017-18 Budget measure of requiring purchasers of newly constructed residential properties or new subdivisions to remit the GST directly to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as part of the contract settlement procedure. The exposure draft has been released for industry consultation.

In a previous GST update of 12 May 2017 (click here to view), we stressed that the critical question in relation to the Budget announcement was whether the purchaser's liability would be interim or final. The good news for developers is that the liability proposed under the Exposure Draft is an interim withholding tax liability. That means developers should not be denied access to the margin scheme.

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