Last modified on Wed 2 Jun 2021 13.50 EDT
Fossil fuel multinational Shell’s recent financial accounts show the company believes no resource tax will ever be paid on gas produced from Australia’s biggest offshore project, Gorgon, a senior tax office official has told parliament.
The ATO second commissioner, Jeremy Hirschhorn, told an estimates hearing on Wednesday much of the $280bn in credits against payment of petroleum resources rent tax (PRRT) accumulated by the oil and gas industry was “trapped” in projects that would never be profitable enough to pay the tax.
PRRT is payable based on the profitability of individual projects. The costs run up building the projects are allowed to be carried forward, with interest, until it is operational.
But the case was dismissed by the court on Tuesday.
LibertyWorks was also ordered to pay the federal government s costs.
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Section 477 and 478 of the biosecurity act allows the health minister to require or direct people to follow certain biosecurity measures once a pandemic has been declared.
Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue QC, representing the Commonwealth, told the court on 5 May that upholding LibertyWorks case would scupper the ability of the federal government to order people to wear masks, do contact tracing or keep people out of aged care homes.
He noted the health minister was restricted in imposing requirements on a specific person in a way that could identify them.
Temporary graduate visa holders (Subclass 485) locked outside Australia have called on the federal government to freeze or extend their visas as they lose crucial time of their limited period visa amid the COVID-related border restrictions.
Commissioner Outram insisted the department had facilitated children to be with their families. As the commissioner said, there are a number of scenarios and if it s an Australian citizen child we have facilitated for them to return, Assistant Secretary for temporary visas and border measures Sandra Jeffery stated. If it s a temporary visa holder child and their parents are in Australia . their parents can go offshore. If the child resided in Australia before the restriction took place, we would take that into account for the child to return, I don t think we have any of those scenarios in play though, as we have facilitated that.
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