Tax Objection Form and Business Letter for Australian Taxation Law

This assignment presents a comprehensive analysis of a tax objection form and a corresponding business letter, focusing on Australian taxation law. The assignment begins with an introduction to the relevant legislations, the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1936 and 1997, and sets the context by describing a scenario where a taxation professional and fisherman, Henry, is dissatisfied with an amended assessment. The core of the assignment is a detailed business letter drafted to assist Henry in filing an objection under Section 175A of the 1936 Act. The letter outlines the legal grounds for objection, referencing key cases like Henderson v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation and HR Lancey Shipping Co. Pty Ltd. v. FCT, and emphasizes the importance of adhering to the procedures outlined in Section 14ZU of the Taxation Administration Act 1953. The letter also provides guidance on the limitation period for filing the objection, highlighting the two-year timeframe from the receipt of the amended assessment. The assignment further includes a completed objection form, detailing the taxpayer's information, the specific objection to the amended assessment, and the reasons for the objection, referencing relevant sections of the 1997 Act and case law. The assignment concludes with a summary and a list of references and bibliography.

OBJECTION
APPLICATION AND
BUSINESS LETTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1. and 2. Letter to Henry ............................................................................................................1
3. Objection Form – for taxpayers..............................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The subject of Income Tax in Australia is governed by two principal legislations –
The Income Tax Assessment Act, 1936 and The Income Tax Assessment Act, 1997. The present
assignment seeks to evaluate and suggest relevant measures to Henry, a taxation professional as
well as fisherman, who is not satisfied with the assessment made by the Taxation authorities. In
particular, the study shall elaborate on the legal grounds on which an assessee is liable to file an
objection to the assessment, in addition to the procedure for filing of the objection form.
1. and 2. Letter to Henry
Samantha Samuels
111, Railway Road,
Carlton NSW 1128
22 September 2016
Mr. Henry Thompson
420, Widget Street
Karratha, WA
To Mr. Henry
I am writing this letter to assist you in filing of the objection under Section 175A of the
1936 Act to the amended assessment dated 15 April 2015, in accordance to Section 14ZU of the
Taxation Administration Act 1953 and also within the limitation period as stipulated in Act. In
addition. I would like to take the privilege to inform you that Section 175A of the 1936 Act
authorizes you to take an action against the amended assessment issued by the Commissioner by
exercising his powers under Section 170 of the 1936 Act. The courts in various cases has opined
that a taxpayer has the right to object to an assessment or an amended assessment if he is not
satisfied by the findings contained in the assessment or the income so calculated by the
commissioner. For instance in the case of Henderson v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation
(1970) the court allowed an objection against an assessment which included the income of one
year for some other income year (Woellner and et. al., 2016). Therefore, you are completely
authorized under the said provision of law to file an objection against the imputed assessment.
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Further, the objection shall be lodged in accordance to Section 14ZU of the Taxation
Administration Act, 1953 which requires the objection to be filed in an approved form, within
the limitation period as stipulated under Section 14ZW and shall in length elaborate the grounds
being relied upon for filing the said objection. The grounds so described in the objection shall
address all the requirements reiterated by the court in the case of HR Lancey Shipping Co. Pty
Ltd. v. FCT (1951). It has specifically been stated that the wordings of the grounds shall be
explicit enough to highlight the alleged error in the assessment in the eyes of the Commissioner
(Norbury, 2016). These grounds shall be correctly outlined in the standard objection form
issued by the tax authorities, which can also be downloaded from the official website of
Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Lastly, it shall be assured that the objection is being filed
within the limitation period so provided in Section 14ZW of the Administration Act. The
section explicitly requires taxation objections under Section 175A of the 1936 Act in relation to
item 1, 2 or 3 of section 170 (1) of the Act to be filed within a period of 2 years after receipt of
the assessment.
The instant case falls within item 1 of Section 170 (1) and hence the objection shall be
filed within a period of 2 years to be calculated from the date of receipt of the amended notice,
which is 15 April, 2015. The limitation period shall bar the filing of the said objection on 15
April, 2017 and hence, it shall mandatorily be filed before the expiration of this time period. It
is important to note that this limitation period has a strict applicability as stated in Lucic v.
Nolan & Ors. (1982) and held it to be the prima facie rule which can be modified only in
exceptional and justified circumstances. These circumstances were in length considered by the
J. Dawson in Brisbane South Regional Health Authority v. Taylor (1996) which in crux imposed
the onus to prove the delay on the applicant and to establish that it shall not be in prejudice to
the defendant (Oats, 2012).
Therefore, in light of the above arguments it is highly advisable to file the Objection in a duly
filled form as early as possible without breaching the limitation period of 2 years, and put forth
the case before the relevant authorities.
Sincere Regards,
Samantha Samuels
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3. Objection Form – for taxpayers
Section A: Authorization
1. Is this objection for you or another taxpayer?
Self _____
Other: Do you have a signed declaration and authorization from the individual or entity?
No () If you do not have written authorization, we cannot consider this objection.
Yes ()
Section B: Your details (or details of other person/entity the objection is for)
2 Provide the full name of your client
______________________________________________________________________________
__
3. Tax File number
4. If you have engaged with the ATO on this matter previously, provide your reference
number
______________________________________________________________________________
__
Section C: Contact details
5. Who is the contact person for this objection?
Title:
 Mr ()
 Mrs ()
 Miss ()
 Ms ()
 Other ()
Answer: Mr
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6. Who is the legal representative? ( if applicable )
Answer: Legal tax advisor
7. Address for the objection decision and related correspondence
Section D: Objection details
8. What topic(s) does your objection relate to?
Answer: Income tax.
9. What is the decision you are objecting to?
Answer: The assessee seeks to object the amended assessment dated 15th April, 2016 for the
income tax year of 2014-15, issued by the Commissioner. The assessee is of the opinion that the
said amended assessment is incorrect to the extent of disallowing the trading loss of $5,000.
10. Is this objection within the time limit?
The time limit for lodging an objection depends on the type of decision you are objecting to.
 If you are lodging this objection because you received a letter from us advising you that
your amendment request was out of time, your objection is also outside the time limit
No () Go to Question 10 Yes () Go to Question 11
Answer: Yes
11. For us to consider the objection as if it was lodged on time, explain the circumstances
and reasons why you did not lodge the objection within the time limit.
12. What are your reasons for the objection?
The assessee through this medium is objecting the amended assessment dated 15th April
2015, which had disallowed a business loss of $5000 following a desk audit. Whereas in fact the
Commissioner in the earlier assessment dated 11th October 2015 had allowed the said loss for the
relevant assessment year of 2014-15.
By placing reliance on Section 175A of the 1936 Act, the taxpayer sought to object the
said amended assessment as it is detrimental to interests of the taxpayer and also the taxpayer has
valid grounds to challenge the assessment issued by the Commissioner. In the case of Isaacs v.
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Federal Commissioner of Taxation (2006) the court had opined that in the event an assessee is
dissatisfied with the assessment issued by the commissioner for the income being low in the
assessment or for any other valid reason, he/she can find recourse under Section 175A of the
1936 Act (Dunne, Juliette and James, 2014). Moreover, the loss was disallowed merely after
conducting a desk audit as against a package audit which is not sufficient for identification of the
relevant facts and figures. The latter would have enabled the authorities to undertake an in-depth
analysis of the situation. It is important to note that the loss incurred by the taxpayer was solely
arising from its fishing activities. As mentioned in the facts, the taxpayer went through a major
surgery which disabled him to carry put fishing activities. In result of which the taxpayer was
forced to wind up the fishery business which led to a loss of $5000.
The assessee relying on Section 8.1 read with Section 25.40 of 1997 Act, had claimed a
business loss of $5,000 in the return filed by him for the relevant year. Section 8.1 provides for
general deductions which can be claimed by a taxpayer to deduct from the assessable income of
the relevant year and section 25.40 is a specific provision governing the loss incurred by profit
making entities. On reading the two provisions in consonance to each other, it can be concluded
that law allows deduction of a loss which is arising from a profit making undertaking, only to the
extent the Total Income of the assessee becomes zero. It is an established law that sole traders
can offset their business losses against any other income earned by the assessee. Also, the
income earned by the assessee in the relevant year is $230,000 and shall remain to be positive
even if the deduction of the loss amount of $5000 is allowed by the authorities. The High Court
in the case of GP International Pipecoaters Pty Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1990)
considered Section 8.1 off 1997 Act and opined that in the event any business proprietor incurs
loss in the business, he is entitled to take recourse under section 25.40 of the Act (Woellner and
et. al., 2011). Hence, relying on the said precedent and the relevant provisions of the 1997 Act,
the instant assessee is entitled to deduction of the business loss against his total income, as even
after allowance of such deduction the income remains to be positive. Furthermore, loss incurred
by the taxpayer can be solely owed to the fisheries operations which the taxpayer himself carries
out and is related only to the relevant year of 2014-15.
12. Supporting evidence and documents
Please find enclosed the Income Statement of Henry for the relevant income tax year.
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Section E: Declaration
Sign and date this form if you are lodging the objection by fax or post, or delivering it by hand.
Name:_____________________________________
Signature:__________________________________ Date:_________________
CONCLUSION
On analyzing the given facts in relation to the applicable laws, it can be concluded that
under Section 175A of 1936 Act, Henry is capable to file an objection against the amended
assessment issued by the Commissioner. In addition, the said assessment shall mandatorily be
filed within the period of 2 years from the date of receipt of the amended assessment.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dunne, Joanne., Juliette, Mason and James, Patto. 2014. "2013 cases show high ATO success
rate." Taxation in Australia 48 (8): 429.
Norbury, Michael. 2016. "Tax cases: Crown estates: A question of law?." Taxation in
Australia 50(11): 687.
Oats, Lynne, ed. 2012. Taxation: a fieldwork research handbook. Routledge.
Woellner, Robin and et. al., 2011. Australian Taxation Law Select: legislation and commentary.
CCH Australia.
Woellner, Robin and et. al., 2016. Australian Taxation Law 2016. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
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BIBILIOGRAPHY
 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/itaa1936240/s24ax.html
 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/taa1953269/
 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/itaa1997240/
 http://www.iknow.cch.com.au/document/atagUio538753sl16704175/case-9-98-
administrative-appeals-tribunal-of-australia-south-australia-12-may-1998
 https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Income-and-deductions-for-business/Claiming-tax-
losses/Claiming-tax-losses-from-previous-years/
 https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Losses/
 http://www.cpdlive.com/charteredaccountants/seminarNotes/TaxForYoungProfessionals
-AllowableDeductions-Essentials-TechnicalPaper.pdf
 http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/publications/judges-speeches/justice-logan/logan-j-
20141106#_ftn1
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