Key Documents
The Government announced in the 2018-19 Budget that it was extending the definition of a Significant Global Entity (SGE) beyond groups headed by listed companies and by private companies required to prepare general purpose financial statements.
SGE is a concept to define, generally speaking, a group of entities, interrelated by a control relationship that could enable non-arm’s length dealings and therefore be of special interest to tax authorities.
Originally devised to determine application of OECD Country-by-Country reporting requirements, the SGE definition is now also used to determine application of the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law, the Diverted Profits Tax and penalties applying to false or misleading statements, late lodgement or tax schemes. Also SGEs are required to prepare general purpose financial statements where a non-SGE may only be required to prepare special purpose financial statements.
By extending the definition to include members of large business groups headed by private companies, trusts, partnerships, investment entities and individuals, the draft legislation will ensure the multinational tax avoidance rules apply to all relevant entities, and that Australia can meet its OECD Country-by-Country reporting commitments.
Consultation on an earlier draft of this measure took place between July and August 2018. Subsequently, some technical changes have been made to the draft legislation and it is again being released for consultation.