Australia, GAARs – A Key Element of Tax Systems in the Post-BEPS World

Australian tax laws have contained a general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) for over a century. The income tax GAAR proved robust for over half a century but ceased to be effective when read down in the 1970s and was replaced in 1981. The current GAAR has been recently amended to include specific base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) measures. The GAAR applies when it can be shown the dominant purpose of entering into a transaction was to obtain a tax benefit, with eight factors considered when determining the taxpayer's purpose. The application of the GAAR is reviewed by a panel including independent members. Where the GAAR is applied, the transaction is reconstructed in a way that would have been used if there were no tax avoidance purpose and penalties are applied. A number of specific anti-avoidance rules supplement the GAAR. Principle-based design has proved to be an effective alternative to a GAAR