Exemption for interests in an ASX-listed company

Section EX 31 of the Income Tax Act 2007

A person does not have an attributing interest in a FIF if they have shares in an Australian company that is listed on the ASX. This is provided for by section EX 31, which is unchanged by this Act.

To help taxpayers apply the section EX 31 exemption correctly, in June of each year, Inland Revenue publishes a list of the Australian shares that qualify for the ASX exemption, for the previous tax year (the IR 871 publication).

Note that when a person has less than a 10% interest in the ASX-listed company, the domestic tax treatment will apply. This generally includes taxation of any dividend and taxation of gains on sale if the FIF interest is held on revenue account.