Finance Articles

Extensions Of The Time For Lodging Applications For Review Of The Taxation Decisions At The Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Section 29 (2) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth.) states that the general rule is that an application for review of a decision made by the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation must be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ("AAT") within 60 days after the day upon which the person is notified of the reviewable decision.

The normal 28 day period is extended to 60 days by S.14ZZC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

Section 29 (7) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth.) provides that the AAT, upon application in writing, may extend the time for the making of an application for a review of the taxation decision if the AAT is satisfied that it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.

Both the Federal Court of Australia and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal have considered when a taxpayer should have leave to extend time within which to commence an appeal against a decision by the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation.

In summary, these principles are as follows:

- Applications to extend time will generally not be granted unless either the Federal Court or the AAT is positively satisfied that it is proper to do so;

- It is a pre-condition to the exercise of the discretion to extend time in favour of the taxpayer that the application shows a reasonable explanation of the delay and that it is fair and equitable in the circumstances to extend time;

- A distinction will be made between the case of a taxpayer who has continued to make the ATO aware that he or she contests the finality of the decision and a case where the ATO was allowed to believe that the matter was finally concluded - if for example, nothing is heard from the taxpayer for a lengthy period;

- Any prejudice to the ATO including any prejudice in defending the proceedings occasioned by the delay is a material factor militating against the grant of an extension;

- The mere absence of prejudice is not enough to justify the grant of an extension. Public considerations often intrude. A delay which may result, if the application is successful, in the unsettling of other taxpayers or of established practices will prove fatal to the application for an extension of time; The merits of the substantial application must be taken into account in considering whether an extension of time should be granted. In other words, if either the Federal Court or the AAT is reasonably satisfied that the taxpayer has little or no chance of success on the substantial application, it is more likely than not that the application to extend time within which to commence the appeal will be disallowed; and

- The errors or neglect of a taxpayer's advisors will not be visited on that taxpayer. In other words, if the reason why an application was not commenced within the 60 day appeal period was due to the neglect or default of the taxpayer's accountants, solicitors, barrister or other advisors, then the Federal Court and AAT are more likely to allow the application for extension of time.

For instance, in NT97/399-409 and Deputy Commissioner of Taxation AAT No. 12809 [1998] AATA 266 (9 April 1998), Senior Member Block found that a delay of over five years coupled with a taxpayer who did not appear to have ever taken his taxation obligations seriously, required the taxpayer to provide an adequate explanation for the delay. The ATO objected to the extension of time for commencing the appeal upon the basis that the officers involved in determining the taxpayer's assessments would be less available had the review been sought on time. Senior Member Block stressed that merit alone is not a sufficient ground to grant the extension. Consequently, the taxpayer's request to extend the time to appeal the ATO's decision was denied.

It is clear from these legal authorities that the primary thrust of any enquiry as to whether to grant or refuse an extension of time is that the AAT does what is just and equitable between the taxpayer and the ATO. Whilst allowing applicant taxpayers to have their cases heard is important, to do so may not always produce a result that is just and equitable between the parties.

These legal authorities differ from New South Wales and Victorian precedents relating to extensions of time within which to bring an action for, say, personal injuries or property damage for negligence or for breach of contract. Those authorities place emphasis on the merits of the substantial application and less weight on the reasons for delay or prejudice to potential defendants.

Accordingly, taxpayer applicants should be particularly careful to provide reasonable explanations when pursuing extensions of time to the AAT or Federal Court under Section 29 (7) of the Administrative Appeal Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth.).

Michael Pickering is a solicitor employed at LAC Lawyers Melbourne http://www.laclawyers.com.au. He has nearly 20 years experience as a lawyer.

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

How To Get A Better Mortgage Rate
How To Get a Better Mortgage Rate By Improving Your FICO Score The American dream has always included home ownership, a place where a man can raise his family free from government oversight That dream is still attainable even in today?s economy, but it must be tempered with common sense to prevent your dream from becoming your worst fiscal nightmare

Recover From Bankruptcy With A Mortgage Refinance Loan
If you have gone through a bankruptcy, you are probably having problems getting finance and not being able to get finance when almost everything in commerce is based on credit, can turn out to be very stressful. Nevertheless, if you are a homeowner, you can get finance by refinancing your home loan while at the same time helping you raise your credit score.

What is FHA Reverse MOrtgage Insurance?
What is FHA Reverse Mortgage Insurance? By Don Seibert

NAMP and FHA Online University Team up to Educate Mortgage Professionals about the New FHASecure Initiative
The National Association of Mortgage Processors (NAMP) is offering online classes through FHA Online University to enable mortgage professionals help borrowers through the recently developed FHASecure initiative. Through FHA Online University's FHASecure course, borrowers with good credit will be able to rebound from the strains of the currently volatile mortgage market.

Before You Say No See 7 Reasons Why You Should Roll Your Own Reverse Mortgage
Reverse Mortgages are popular ways for Seniors to continue to Live in their Homes and still take advantage of the Equity Build up in the form of Monthly payments. Using the Simple Steps in this Article you can create your own 'Reverse Mortgage' and Save Money while Increasing your Monthly Income.

Instant decision loan online: avail time saving finance facility
If you are a person, who is in urgent need of money and dont know where to go, then instant decision loan online can help you in fulfilling your needs. Instant decision loans online are helpful for the people who are facing poor credit history. With these loans there is quick approval of loan. No time is taken for processing. Thus one can overcome all financial constraints with the help of these loans. If ones bad credit is cutting a sorry figure in front of one and is being denied of loan facility, then the person can simply resort to instant decision loan online. Instant decision loans are generally in unsecured form that is the borrower does not have to pledge any security against the loan facility

ZINO Society Investment Forum to Award $150,000 Prize, Companies Seeking Funding Invited to Apply for Zino Zillionaire Event
A $150,000 investment fund will be awarded to the best investment opportunities at the ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF), to be held September 11, 2007, at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. The event is sponsored by the ZINO Society. Companies from all industries that are seeking seed funding, early-stage, or expansion investment and have a definable product or service are encouraged to apply. The company application deadline is July 31, 2007. Companies will receive an 'early bird' rate if they apply by July 22, 2007.

How to Get Your Home Mortgage Loan
If you are thinking of purchasing a new home soon you will need to know how to qualify for a new home mortgage. If you have a good credit history you will find it much easier to get approved for your home loan.

WHAT'S UP IN FINANCE Online Challenges Young People to Tackle Essential Money Matters: Thirteen/WNET Web Site Offers Simulation Games, Video, And
WHAT'S UP IN FINANCE? Online (www.thirteen.org/finance) uses games, videos, interviews, and much more, to help today's youth use money smarts to realize personal and professional goals like affording an apartment or launching a career. The Website is a companion to the award-winning reality television program WHAT'S UP IN FINANCE?, hosted by Kwame Jackson (The Apprentice), which can be viewed in its entirety online. The Website and on-air program were made possible by The Moody's Foundation.

New York Personal Injury Lawyers Comment on The State of Nursing Homes and How They are Affected by the Ownership of Private Investment Groups
NY Personal injury lawyers Schreffler Schwarz (www.schrefflerschwarz.com) react: "Seems Like a Nice Place" isn't a good reason to choose a nursing home for your loved one. The recent New York Times article regarding the current state of affairs reports how private investor-owned homes are not just ruining the industry, they are literally putting people into their graves.

The "Great Unbanked" to Drive Mobile Finance Market to 41.5 Billion Transactions by the End of 2011, but Legislation Issues Must Still Be Overcome, Sa
Juniper Research forecasts that 41.5bn mobile financial service transactions will be made by the end of 2011. The key drivers for these transactions will be the high speed of adoption by consumers of new mobile finance facilities - particularly those currently without access to any form of banking. Bespoke payment applications for remittance purposes will also be popular but issues around legislation must still be overcome.

For Investment Advice UK, Consult an Independent Financial Adviser
In the UK, we are nothing if not spoiled for choice when it comes to ways to invest our funds This is a fine thing of course, except for the fact that the sheer range of possibilities can make it difficult to choose, especially if the wrong choice is unnecessarily risking our funds

Refinance After Bankruptcy - How Does Your Bankruptcy Affect Home Mortgage Refinancing?
There are a few basic concepts one should know when looking into refinancing a mortgage after a bankruptcy. Most importantly, you need to know the two different types of personal bankruptcy that you can declare.

Fast Christmas Loans To Finance Celebrations!
Christmas is getting close and there is much to be done: presents to purchase, decorations to prepare, family and friends to invite, food to buy, etc. Christmas can really be expensive and more than often extra funds are needed. People resort to different sources of financing being credit cards the most common one. However, that?s because most people ignore how advantageous fast Christmas loans are and how they can provide all the financing that someone can need for celebrations.