Taxation of Employee Remuneration - ATAX0325
Faculty: Australian School of Business
School: Australian School of Taxation and Business Law
Course Outline: ATAX0325 Course Outline
Campus: ATAX Campus
Career: Postgraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0
Enrolment Requirements:
Restricted to students enrolled in Programs 5540, 5272, 7270, 5273 or 7273
Excluded: ATAX0425, ATAX0525, ATAX0625
CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
Description
This course examines the treatment of employee remuneration in the Australian taxation system. We start by examining the employer/employee relationship, contrasting it with the principal/independent contractor relationship. This distinction is central to understanding our tax laws. Tax collection obligations imposed on employers, including under PAYG and the pay-roll tax system, are considered in detail. Employers' obligations and employees' rights under the superannuation guarantee system are examined, as are tax concessions for contributions and the taxation of payments made on termination of employment (eg, arising from redundancy, unfair dismissal or death). The course examines the treatment of personal services income when it is derived through an interposed entity, and the tax consequences of salary sacrifice arrangements and salary packaging. Finally, we look at the Tax Office's response to arrangements aimed at avoiding tax on payments for services performed.
Recommended Prior Knowledge
None
Course Objectives
On completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Distinguish, in broad outline, between an employee and an independent contractor, and explain the importance of the distinction
- Explain and evaluate the rationale and workings of the PAYG system and the pay-roll tax system
- Detail the major operational features of the fringe benefits tax and its consequences for employers and employees
- Describe the operation of and rationale for tax concessions for employers and employees when they make superannuation contributions
- Explain the superannuation guarantee obligations imposed on employers and the implications for employees
- Distinguish the various types of payments that may be made on termination of employment and the tax treatment of those payments
- Explain various 'salary packaging' devices and anti-avoidance provisions aimed at preventing the minimising of tax through, for example, the interposition of entities between the provider and recipient of services
Main Topics
- Fundamentals
- Tax collection
- Fringe Benefits Tax
- Superannuation and the workplace
- Termination payments
- Remuneration planning
Course Texts
Textbook lists for ATAX courses will be available from the UNSW Bookshop from 1 February for Semester 1 courses and from 1 July for Semester 2 courses.
Order from UNSW Bookshop:
http://www.bookshop.unsw.edu.au/atax.html