New Tax Legislation On Cash Donations
21 July 2003 at 1:07 pm
The third of the Government’s announced changes to the tax laws in response to the Report of the inquiry into the definition of charities has been tabled in Federal Parliament allowing cash donations to be claimed over 5 years and simplifying the listing of specific organisations as deductible gift recipients (DGRs).
Deductions for all gifts of property valued at more than $5,000 and made from 1 July 2002 can be spread over a period of up to 5 years.
It’s proposed to amend the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to allow deductions for cash donations made from 1 July 2003 to DGRs to also be spread over a period of up to 5 years. This measure will ensure that cash and property gifts are treated similarly.
The income tax law allows taxpayers to claim income tax deductions for certain gifts to DGRs. To be a DGR, an organisation must fall within a category of organisations set out in Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, or be specifically listed under that Division.
The amendments are designed to allow all existing specifically-listed DGRs to be transferred from the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to regulations and to allow any new specifically-listed DGRs to be prescribed in regulations. These amendments will not affect the status of currently listed DGRs.
This will make legislative amendments concerning specifically-listed DGRs less administratively costly and more timely.
On 29 August 2002, the Government announced a number of changes to the tax laws in response to the recommendations in the Report of the inquiry into the definition of charities and related organisations.
The amendments can be found in Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 7) 2003 and you can view the Bill and Explanatory Memorandum at the Parliament House website at www.aph.gov.au
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