There was a reversal of the previously announced option to self-assess the effective life for certain intangible assets (for example, intellectual property and in-house software), and instead, will continue to be set by statute.

Legislation will be introduced to clarify that digital currencies (such as Bitcoin) continue to be excluded from the Australian income tax treatment of foreign currency.

An anti-avoidance rule will be introduced to prevent significant global entities (entities with global revenue of at least $1 billion) from claiming tax deductions for payments made directly or indirectly to related parties concerning intangibles held in low- or no-tax jurisdictions.

The latest Budget lists certain State and Territory COVID-19 grant programs eligible for nonassessable, non-exempt treatment.

The amount of the Commonwealth penalty unit will increase from $222 to $275 from 1 January 2023. A penalty unit is what the fines the ATO issues are comprised of. For example, a failure to lodge penalty for small entities is calculated at the rate of one penalty unit
or each period of 28 days (or part thereof) that the return or statement is overdue, up to a maximum of 5 penalty units.

The Taskforce will continue to be focused on compliance activities that target multinationals, large public and private groups, trusts and highwealth individuals. The government has announced a further $200 million in funding per year for the next three years to extend the Taskforce and, in 2025-26, there is to be a significant increase of $534.5 million for that year.