National GST Symposium 2012

Putting the purpose in 'creditable purpose'

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the University of Melbourne Law School are pleased to present the Institute's inaugural National GST Symposium 2012.

This unique event features Australia's most influential legal minds who will discuss the interpretation of the concept of 'creditable purpose' that establishes the eligibility for input tax credits under Australian GST law.

Thought-provoking and influential, the Symposium will examine one of the most important aspects of GST through the minds of esteemed experts from government, the Bar, academia, practice and the judiciary, including The Hon Justice Edmonds of the Federal Court of Australia.

Using learnings from the past as well as international jurisdictions, join us as we benchmark the potential future of one of the most critical aspects of Australia's GST law. 

Co-hosted by the Institute and the University of Melbourne Law School.

Melbourne Law School 


Supported by:

Taxsifu  

 


Overview

Each key speaker will present a paper on one of five different aspects of the 'creditable purpose' test, giving their erudite opinion from a legal and practical perspective.

In addition to the five presenters, a select panel of expert commentators will examine these opinions in an open panel session, with a rare opportunity for the audience to ask questions of all of the experts.

The five papers presented at the National GST Symposium 2012 will be formally published and delegates will receive a complimentary copy of the publication after the event.

Presenters

  • The Hon Justice Richard Edmonds, Federal Court of Australia
  • Robert Olding, Deputy Chief Tax Counsel - Indirect Taxes, ATO
  • David Bloom QC, Barrister, NSW Bar
  • John de Wijn QC, Barrister, Victorian Bar
  • Associate Professor Rebecca Millar, University of Sydney Law School.


Commentators

  • Robert Olding, Deputy Chief Tax Counsel - Indirect Taxes, ATO
  • Jennifer Batrouney SC, Barrister, Victorian Bar
  • Professor Richard Vann, Challis Professor of Law, University of Sydney Law School 
  • Geoff Mann, Partner, Ashurst.

 

Session Timetable

  • Date & Time: Tuesday, 1 May 2012 8:45 am - 6:30 pm
  • Venue: University of Melbourne Law School
    Woodward Centre
    Level 10, 185 Pelham Street
    Carlton Vic 3053

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Time Session CPE HRS
8:45 - 9:10 am Registration 6.5
9:10 - 9:15 am Welcome
9:15 - 10:15 am Session 1: Interpretation of 11-15 – Significance of the text, context and history
10:15 - 11:15 am Session 2: A consideration of the jurisprudence in relation to the deduction provisions in the Income Tax Assessment Acts
11:15 - 11:30 am Morning tea
11:30 - 12:30 pm Session 3: What’s VAT got to do with it?
12:30 - 1:15 pm Panel (Sessions 1 - 3)
1:15 - 2:00 pm Lunch
2:00 - 3:00 pm Session 4: Input tax relief and financial supplies – nexus and relevance for apportionment
3:00 - 3:15 pm Afternoon tea
3:15 - 4:15 pm Session 5: An ATO perspective on the ‘creditable purpose’ test
4:15 - 5:00 pm Panel (Sessions 4 & 5)
5:00 - 5:05 pm Closing remarks
5:05 - 6:30 pm Cocktail function

Who Should Attend

All members of the Institute, professionals in practice, business, government and academia, the Bar, judiciary and other parties to which this event may be of relevance and/or interest.

Package & Pricing

Member

  • Standard $580.00
  • Regional $464.00

Non-member

  • Standard $696.00

Conditions:

All prices are in AUD and include GST. Discount offers cannot be combined. Members working in regional areas (125km from location) or interstate are eligible for a 20% discount off the standard member rate.

Groups: 12% discount available per person for three or more delegates from the same organisation. A registration form (located under additional information) needs to be submitted via email, fax or post if you are making a group booking. Registration forms must be received together. Other delegates may also choose to use this registration form.

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Session Description

Session 1: Interpretation of 11-15 – Significance of the text, context and history

Presented by The Hon Justice Richard Edmonds

  • HP Mercantile
  • GSTR 2008/1
  • Relevance of s 8-1(s 51(1)) principles.
Session 2: A consideration of the jurisprudence in relation to the deduction provisions in the Income Tax Assessment Acts

Presented by David Bloom QC

The definition of 'creditable purpose' in section 11-15 of the GST Law contains expressions familiar to those who have advised in relation to section 51(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and/or section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (together the 'ITAA'). 

These are:

  • 'in carrying on'
  • 'to the extent that'
  • 'private or domestic nature'.  

David will examine the cases in which those expressions in the ITAA provisions have been considered.

Session 3: What’s VAT got to do with it?

Presented by Associate Professor Rebecca Millar

This session will examine the principles developed by foreign courts to explain the nature of the nexus that must be shown between the activities of an entity and its inputs in order to establish a right to deduct/credit input tax. The focus will be on underlying principles and will use examples from the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the courts of EU Member States. The session will challenge the view that Australia’s law is ‘different’ and will endeavour to illustrate that it is a mistake to presume that concepts like ‘direct and immediate link’ and the ‘cost element’ test (both concepts being found in CJEU case law) are somehow vastly different to the ‘in carrying on’ and ‘relates to’ tests that appear in the Australian law. The benefits (and pitfalls) of adopting a comparative law approach to the interpretation of Australia’s GST will be considered. 

Session 4: Input tax relief and financial supplies – nexus and relevance for apportionment

Presented by John de Wijn QC

This session will discuss:

How does the context of input tax relief in a value-added tax and the approach of the courts to the interpretation of the general deductibility provision in income tax cases assist in the interpretation of the meaning of creditable purpose in GST and the limitation on input tax credits where financial supplies are involved?

Is the nexus for the positive and negative tests in section 11-15(1) relevant for apportionment? 

Session 5: An ATO perspective on the ‘creditable purpose’ test

Presented by Robert Olding

Hear current thinking on creditable purpose from the ATO’s Deputy Chief Tax Counsel responsible for technical leadership in relation to GST, including the nature of the test in both Division 11 and Division 129 and associated issues.

 

Presenters

  • Hon. Justice Edmonds

    The Hon Justice Richard Edmonds

    Federal Court of Australia

    Justice Richard Edmonds was appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in May 2005. From 1974 to 1985, his Honour practised as a partner with Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson) specialising in revenue law. His Honour was called to the NSW Bar in 1985 and took silk in 1995. At the Bar his Honour continued to specialise in revenue law and appeared in a number of leading cases. His Honour serves on a number of the Court’s panels, including the taxation panel of which he is the NSW co-ordinator, and expects to continue to be involved in the development of tax law through his docket of cases and regular sittings of the Full Court. His Honour has a particular interest in the Australian taxation of international operations and the construction and application of Australia’s general anti-avoidance provisions – Division 13 of Part III and Part IVA.

  • Robert Olding

    Robert Olding

    Deputy Chief Tax Counsel – Indirect Taxes, Australian Taxation Office

    Robert Olding is the ATO’s Deputy Chief Tax Counsel responsible for technical leadership in relation to GST and other indirect taxes. He has been closely involved in most of the major GST cases in the last five years. Robert is admitted as a legal practitioner in various jurisdictions and holds a Master of Laws from the University of Queensland. Before joining the ATO in 2002, Robert was an indirect taxes partner at KPMG in Brisbane.

  • David Bloom

    David Bloom QC

    Barrister, NSW Bar

    David Bloom QC was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW in March 1972. He was called to the NSW Bar in August 1975 and became one of Her Majesty’s Counsel in 1987. David practises predominantly in revenue law in which he is one of the most pre-eminent jurists in Australia. For over 30 years, he has appeared in some of the most important landmark cases in taxation law. David has both Sydney and Melbourne chambers. He is also a member of both the New York State Bar and the Bar of England & Wales.

  • John de Wijn

    John de Wijn QC

    Barrister, Victorian Bar

    John graduated from Monash University in 1974 with a B. Jurisprudence degree and an LL.B (Hons). In 1978 he obtained a M. Philosophy degree from the University of Southampton having done a thesis on International Tax. After practising as a solicitor for about 9 years John came to the bar in 1984 and took silk in 1997. He has practised predominantly in revenue law.

    John has served as a Victorian State Councillor of the Taxation Institute of Australia from 1989 to 1997 and again from 2002. He was President of the Taxation Institute in 2005. John has also been a member of the Taxation Committee of the Law Council.

  • Jennifer Batrouney

    Jennifer Batrouney SC

    Barrister, Victorian Bar

    Jennifer is a silk at the Victorian Bar practising in commercial, tax, superannuation, administrative, charity and equity law. She has had extensive experience in appearing before the High Court, the Federal Court and the superior State courts - mainly in revenue matters. Jennifer was the President of Australian Women Lawyers in 2003-2004 and was Deputy Chairman of the Board of Barristers' Clerking Services Pty Ltd ("List A") from 2004 until 2007. She is also a member of the advisory panel to the Board of Taxation and is a consultant to the Federal Treasury in relation to the Tax Issues Entry System.

  • Richard Vann

    Professor Richard Vann

    Challis Professor of Law, University of Sydney

    Richard Vann is Challis Professor of Law at the University of Sydney and has taught overseas at Harvard, NYU and London. He has many consultancies, including Review of Business Taxation, ATO Rulings Panel, Board of Taxation and Greenwoods & Freehills and worked fulltime for the IMF and OECD. He is on the Permanent Scientific Committee of the IFA and an International Research Fellow of the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.

  • Female presenter

    Associate Professor Rebecca Millar

    University of Sydney Law School

    Rebecca Millar specialises in Australian GST and comparative VAT law, and since 2005, has designed and drafted VAT laws for developing countries under the technical assistance program of the International Monetary Fund and/or World Bank. She is an academic advisor to the secretariat of OECD Working Party 9, as well as a past member of the ATO’s Indirect Tax Rulings Panel, and was also on the expert panels for the Board of Taxation. Prior to becoming an academic in 2002, she worked in practice for ten years, including Ernst and Young (1999-2002) during the implementation of the GST.

  • Geoffrey Mann

    Geoff Mann

    Partner, Ashurst

    Geoff has worked extensively in the property industry, having acted on many large real property developments, acquisitions, leasings and trusts. He was a member and chair of the Property Council of Australia's Victorian Taxes Committee and a member of the Victorian State Taxes Consultative Council. Geoff advises on indirect tax, in particular, GST, stamp duty, land tax and human resources taxes. He is recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global, 2011, Best Lawyers Australia, 2010 and Euromoney's Expert Guide to Tax Advisers, 2010.

For more information

Last Updated 31 January 2012