What are the ATO Rulings?
ATO public rulings are documents produced by the Australian Taxation Office which set out ATO’s view on a particular topic or issue and in particular the way that the law applies to the a question which is uncertain or unclear. Although there is also a role for judicial decision making in ensuring that the law is clearer and more accessible to the public, the public rulings are also aimed at this public purpose even if somethimes they do not entirely achieve what they are designed for, which is to reduce uncertainty about the application of the taxation law. Officially, the Australian Taxation Office describes the Public Rulings and Determinations in the Commissioner’s opinion as to the way in which ‘a tax law’ applies to:
* a person in relation to a class of arrangements;
* a class of persons in relation to an arrangement; or
* a class of persons in relation to a class of arrangements.
Public rulings can apply can any type of taxation such as company income tax, personal income tax, GST, FBT, customs and excise and any othe federally administered system of taxation in Australia. An example of a Taxation Ruling is TR 2008/D5 called Income tax: “Meaning of ‘Australian superannuation fund’ in subsection 295-95(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997”.
The ruling examines the Commissioner’s interpretation of the definition of ‘Australian superannuation fund’ in subsection 295-95(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997). The definition of ‘Australian superannuation fund’ is relevant in determining whether a superannuation fund is a ‘complying superannuation fund’ for the purposes of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SISA). At the time that this was published, it was desinged to reduce some of the uncertainty surrounding the operatioin of the taxation law and the definition of superannuantion. If you have a question about the taxation law or about an ATO ruling in particular, we would be more than happy to offer you with legal advice about the operation of the taxation law.
