The Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Senator Helen Coonan, today announced a number of amendments to the thin capitalisation provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
The thin capitalisation provisions, which commenced on 1 July 2001, ensure that multinational entities do not inappropriately allocate an excessive amount of debt to their Australian operations.
"The proposed amendments will ensure that the legislation is consistent with the Government's policy intentions and further clarify aspects of the operation of the law," Senator Coonan said.
"The measures will assist business in effectively complying with the thin capitalisation measures.
"The Government has undertaken extensive consultations in the development of these amendments."
The Government plans to introduce the amendments in the 2003 Autumn Parliamentary sittings.
The amendments are of a highly technical nature and are provided in more detail as an attachment to this press release on the Treasury website at www.treasury.gov.au.