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12 GST thoughts of Christmas

12 GST thoughts of Christmas:

1. There’s no GST on gifts (so Santa is probably not GST registered).
2. GST registered businesses can claim back the GST on gifts they buy for staff, suppliers and customers.
3. If you buy someone a gift voucher for Christmas it’s quite likely the IRD won’t get any GST until the person redeems it.
4. If the person you gave the voucher to loses it the IRD might never get any GST.
5. On Boxing Day when you go to the shop to return the present you don’t want the retailer will be able to get a refund of GST from the IRD provided they credit you for the return.
6. However, the retailer will have to pay GST if you use the credit to buy something else.
7. The government gets a double whammy of GST when you buy alcohol for your Christmas festivities or petrol for that family road trip (because GST applies to excise taxes on alcohol and fuel).
8. If you order an expensive gift online from overseas for someone in New Zealand and have it delivered directly to them you may be giving them a GST bill because chances are they’ll have to pay GST on the value of the present before they can pick it up from Customs.
9. Businesses are given an automatic extension of time to file their November GST return so they don’t have to file it on 28 December.
10. GST registered businesses with 31 December balance dates which make exempt supplies may have to come back early from their holidays so they can calculate their annual GST adjustment due on 28 January.
11. If you’re booking an overseas holiday and have to take a domestic flight to get to your departure airport it’s best to book both flights together if you want to save the GST on the domestic flight.
12. There’s no GST on gifts but if someone gives you something expensive while overseas you might have to pay GST when you bring it back with you.

Happy Christmas everyone

Iain

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Bodies corporate and GST

Brian Fallow’s opinion piece in today’s Herald on residential bodies corporate and GST is timely.

See here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11231055

This issue baffles me. Why is it so complicated and why is it taking so long for the IRD to reach a settled position?

Maybe I’m missing something, but like Fallow, I think the legal analysis isn’t that complex. Bodies corporate are separate entities from the apartment owners and they provide services to the owners in return for levies. Even if those services are mandated by legislation it seems to me, there is a supply and it is for consideration.

You wouldn’t have to look far to find examples where the IRD has insisted on a company registering for GST because it was supplying goods and services to related shareholders. If no charge was made for the supplies the IRD is entitled to deem consideration to be provided at market value if the shareholder is not GST registered.

This issue isn’t without a downside for the bodies corporate and the apartment owners though. Leaving aside the issue of leaky home settlements (and I agree with Fallow on that), those deriving fees of more than the registration threshold are required to register for GST in my view and that could mean a net GST cost to the owners, especially if the body corporate employs staff.

Our GST system is applauded for being broad based and here we have the IRD arguing for a narrowing of the base. An unusual situation in my view.

Comments most welcome on this one.

Iain

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Grant versus fee!

The Woking Museum and Arts and Crafts Centre is a charity set up to “advance the education of the public in local national and international history and arts and crafts”. In 2003 it entered into an agreement with the Woking Borough Council [In the UK] to “provide arts museum and cultural services and a public information service within the Borough of Woking”. The Council agreed to make annual payments to the Centre in return.

The UK Customs and Excise decided the payments made by the Council should not be subject to VAT. They argued the Centre was not a business and the payments were grants rather than “consideration” for supplies of services.

On 10 February 2014 the First Tier Tribunal hearing the case between the Council and the Centre decided the payments are subject to VAT for a number of reasons. Key to the Tribunal’s decision were the following conclusions:

1. The agreement entered into by the parties was a contract for the provision of services by the Centre to the Council and not a grant because there are mutual obligations characteristic of a contract.

2. The services delivered by the Centre provided a direct benefit to the Council in that artefacts of the Council were preserved in the museum by the Centre under an obligation to make space available for them.

3. The arrangements were commercial in nature and the fact the Centre is a charity does not render the relationship un-economic. The purpose and results of an activity are immaterial in determining whether that activity is “economic”.

This sort of analysis is as relevant in NZ as it was to this decision.

There are many organisations providing public benefit services under contracts with local authorities and government bodies. It is not always clear whether those arrangements are subject to GST and in fact we’ve had case law of our own on these sorts of issues.

The crux is how the payment should be treated. Is it a grant or a payment for services? In the end the arrangements and circumstances of each case will determine the outcome but the analysis above should provide some insights into what factors are important.

cheers

Iain

 

 

 

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12 GST thoughts of Christmas

12 GST thoughts of Christmas:

1. There’s no GST on gifts (so Santa is probably not GST registered).
2. GST registered businesses can claim back the GST on gifts they buy for staff, suppliers and customers.
3. If you buy someone a gift voucher for Christmas it’s quite likely the IRD won’t get any GST until the person redeems it.
4. If the person you gave the voucher to loses it the IRD might never get any GST.
5. On Boxing Day when you go to the shop to return the present you don’t want the retailer will be able to get a refund of GST from the IRD provided they credit you for the return.
6. However, the retailer will have to pay GST if you use the credit to buy something else.
7. The government gets a double whammy of GST when you buy alcohol for your Christmas festivities or petrol for that family road trip (because GST applies to excise taxes on alcohol and fuel).
8. If you order an expensive gift online from overseas for someone in New Zealand and have it delivered directly to them you may be giving them a GST bill because chances are they’ll have to pay GST on the value of the present before they can pick it up from Customs.
9. Businesses are given an automatic extension of time to file their November GST return so they don’t have to file it on 28 December.
10. GST registered businesses with 31 December balance dates which make exempt supplies may have to come back early from their holidays so they can calculate their annual GST adjustment due on 28 January.
11. If you’re booking an overseas holiday and have to take a domestic flight to get to your departure airport it’s best to book both flights together if you want to save the GST on the domestic flight.
12. There’s no GST on gifts but if someone gives you something expensive while overseas you might have to pay GST when you bring it back with you.

Happy Christmas everyone

Iain

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GST refund claims: keep it real.

You can’t claim GST back on an expense unless you actually receive whatever it is you are paying for.

That’s the message from the Australian Federal Court in a decision released on 1 November [Professional Admin Service Centres Pty Ltd v FC of T].

In that case the taxpayer agreed to contribute towards a man’s legal costs in return for sharing in any compensation he was awarded if successful. The taxpayer tried to claim the GST back on its payments.

The Court agreed with the Tax Office and refused to allow the GST claim because the taxpayer had no contract with the lawyers and did not actually receive the legal services itself.

The taxpayer had also tried to claim GST back on management fees it was “charged” by a related entity. The Court refused this claim as well because the evidence pointed to the fees being a “sham”. No actual services were provided to the taxpayer and no payment was made by it.

A New Zealand court would probably arrive at the same conclusion.

GST depends a lot on the contractual arrangements entered into by the parties. If goods or services are not actually acquired by the person making the payment it’s unlikely they can claim the GST back on the expense (except in some specific “agency” arrangements).

Much care is required around cost sharing arrangements and charges for “management services”. Make sure the contractual terms are consistent with being able to claim back GST and also make sure what you’re paying for is real!

cheers

Iain

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