22 June 1998

Franking Credit Trading: Draft Legislation Implementing the Holding Period and Related Payments Rules and Other Amendments

I am releasing today a draft of proposed amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. These amendments will implement the holding period and related payments rules, and will amend section 45Z of the Act to deny franking benefits and the intercorporate dividend rebate on trust distributions which are equivalent to interest on a loan.

The amendments were announced in the 1997-98 Budget as part of a package of measures targeting franking credit trading and dividend streaming. The other measures were included in Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No 3) 1998 and Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No 4) 1998.

Draft provisions implementing the holding period rule were first released on 31 December 1997. The current draft has been revised to take account of submissions received.

The draft provisions, with explanatory statements, can be accessed by telephoning (02) 6216 1523 or by accessing the ATOs World Wide Web page at http://www.ato.gov.au.

22 June 1998
CANBERRA

Contact:
Penny Farnsworth
Assistant Treasurers office
(02) 6277 7360

Simon Matthews
Australian Taxation Office
(02) 6216 1523