Legal Framework
Division 9 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth) (GST Act) stipulates that GST is applicable to a supply of goods, services and transactions related to real property, obligations or rights. The supply must be for consideration (GST Act s9-15) to a relevant entity registered for GST (Div 23) in the course of enterprise (s9-20). This does not include employment or hobby income.
Taxable supplies include goods wholly within Australia, from or to Australia or real property in Australia. Certain types of supplies are free of GST, examples include fresh unprocessed food, medical services, education courses, childcare, exports, pre-owned real estate and going concerns. When an enterprise purchases goods or services to be consumed or used for resupply to an end customer they may receive a refund (input tax credit) on the amount of GST contained in the price (Div 11), which means in effect no GST is paid on those supplies.
New residential and commercial properties are subject to GST but re-sale of existing properties is not. All real estate agent fees on either new or second-hand property are subject to GST. Processed foods such as biscuits, soft drinks, restaurant meals and take-away foods are also subject to GST.
Registered enterprises for GST must complete a Business Activity Statement (BAS) for reporting to the Australian Taxation Office for each quarter ending March, June, September and December. Businesses must lodge their Statements with the ATO within twenty working days of the end of each quarter.
Read more about this topic: Goods And Services Tax (Australia)
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