Senate Committee publishes report on enhancing Director ID regime, closing Modernising Business Registers program bill; Build-to-rent land tax exemption expansion bill passes Western Australia’s pa...
MoU on Australia-Netherlands BEPS arbitration process released; TPB publishes factsheet on incoming changes to AML/CTF laws; ATO update: First year Payday Super compliance approach
ATO update: Evidencing double tax agreement residency in fiscally transparent entity arrangements; OECD publishes paper on the impact of ageing demographics on tax systems
This is Part II of our two-part article on permanent establishment (PE) risk in a remote work era.
To better understand how jurisdictions interpret and apply PE concepts in the context of remote working - including in light of the 2025 OECD Model Tax Convention (MTC) Commentary - KPMG's EU Tax Centre conducted a survey in March 2026 of KPMG Member Firms in 63 jurisdictions worldwide, building ...
To those who worked with him, Grant was more than a leading voice in tax policy - he was a thinker, a connector of ideas, and someone whose curiosity extended far beyond his profession.
Grant retired from KPMG last year after an extraordinary career spanning nearly 38 years, leaving a lasting mark on the firm and the broader tax and policy landscape in Australia and globally.
His final role a...
Australian mortgage holders will be breathing a sigh of relief, after three rate rises in a row.
However, Tuesday's decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Board to pause movement on rates, is likely to be short lived.
Register for an upcoming webinar: Upcoming webinar: Global Economic & Geopolitical Outlook – June 2026
With the Iran conflict seemingly winding down and ...
Key takeaways
China's economy made a strong start to 2026, supported by front-loaded policy easing and resilient external demand. Real GDP grew 5.0 percent year on-year (YoY) in Q1, accelerating by 0.5 percentage points from Q4 2025 and reaching the upper bound of the official '4.5 percent–5.0 percent' growth target range set at the annual "Two Sessions". Two structural developments st...
The United States' (US) consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.5 percent in May, after jumping 0.6 percent in April.
The most recent move pushed the overall index up 4.2 from a year ago, its hottest pace since Spring 2023.
The three-month annualized rate, which better tracks momentum, has risen to 8.2 percent in May from 7.3 percent in April.
That is the hottest three-month pace since Septembe...
The Queensland Court of Appeal, on 29 May 2026, handed down its judgement in Commissioner of State Revenue v Special Situations Investing Group III, Inc [2026] QCA 98.
This case considers the meaning of "group companies" in a Queensland corporate reconstruction context, specifically the correct interpretation of section 407(1)(a)(i) of the Duties Act 2001 (Qld) (the Act).
Background
In Novem...
Growing financial pressure is causing lower life satisfaction levels amongst Australians today than lockdowns did during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KPMG analysis of ABS data.
Overall life satisfaction, based on asking people on a scale of 1-10 has fallen to 7.1 in 2025, down from 7.2 in 2020, when lockdowns and widespread restrictions were in place.
This marks a notable...
Remote working increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since become a long-term feature of today's working environment.
Global workforce mobility remains a key issue for multinational groups, driven by the need to retain talent and adapt to employees' growing expectations for flexibility.
This evolution has not only reshaped expectations around where and how work can be p...
The changes to the capital gains tax rules, which passed the House of Representatives on 4 June, add significant complexity to the calculation of a taxpayer's net capital gain.
Some of that complexity is required to achieve the stated policy objectives.
However, buried within that complexity is a clear erosion the benefit of the capital gains tax discount rather than merely freezing it at 30 ...
Payrolls in the United States (US) rose by 172,000 in May following an upwardly revised gain of 179,000 jobs for April.
The initial report for April showed only 115,000 job gains. All of the increase came from the private sector.
Government accounted for 52,000 of the gains, largely at the local level.
That reverses what had been a streak of public sector job losses. Federal employment added...
The South Australia 2026-27 Budget was delivered by the Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis on Thursday 4 June 2026.
The Budget contains no new taxes or tax increases. The Budget focuses on cost of living measures and delivering the election commitment to make public education free for primary and high school students.
A few other key funding measures include:
$2.5 billion Housing Package, which ai...
Australia's headline consumer inflation has surged to 4.6 percent in March – up from February's elevated 3.7 percent – its fastest pace since September 2023.
While it is below the market expectations of 4.8 percent, it only captures some early impact of the conflict in Iran, which is disrupting global energy markets, sharply lifting fuel prices, and pushing headline inflation highe...
Following the insights shared at the Microsoft AI Tour Sydney, we're turning those ideas into action through a series of webinars.
The first of two sessions, focused on leveraging Microsoft's latest innovations to support responsible agentic AI at scale.
Our AI specialists share how KPMG's industry-leading collaboration with Microsoft can help you solve your greatest business challenges.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on 1 June 2026, released proposed 'Revisions to Chapter VII of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines' (Revisions to Chapter VII), covering special considerations for intragroup services.
The Revisions to Chapter VII are extensive but leave the conceptual framework for assessing and pricing intragroup services largely unchanged.
...
Foreign investment fund rules
Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) tax changes are expected to cost NZ$84.6 million over the forecast period.
For unlisted shares, making the new revenue account method available to all New Zealand taxpayers, ensuring tax is paid only on realised gains and actual dividends.
Lifting the FIF de minimis threshold from NZ$50,000 to NZ$100,000, reducing the number of sm...
Legislation has been introduced to Parliament on 28 May 2026 which implements the following Budget night announcements:
capital gains tax (CGT) changes;
negative gearing changes;
working Australians tax offset; and
standard deduction for work-related expenses.
As previously flagged by the Government, this bill represents the first tranche of legislation in respect of the CGT changes, w...
Inflation has tempered to 4.2 percent year-on-year from 4.6 percent, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), but on a monthly basis headline consumer price index (CPI) only rose by 0.4 percent compared to March's monthly inflation lift of 1.1 percent.
What's most concerning is the fact that core inflation remains stubbornly high, ticking up albeit slightly ...
With the capital gains tax changes to be introduced to Parliament shortly, in a series of short articles we set out what we will be looking out for in terms of how Treasury has implemented the principles set out in the Budget night 'Tax Explainers'.
See previous articles in this series:
What to look for when the capital gains tax changes are introduced to Parliament
Capital gains tax chang...
With the capital gains tax changes to be introduced to Parliament shortly, in a series of short articles we set out what we will be looking out for in terms of how Treasury has implemented the principles set out in the Budget night 'Tax Explainers'.
See previous articles in this series:
What to look for when the capital gains tax changes are introduced to Parliament
Capital gains tax chang...
Following the insights shared at the Microsoft AI Tour Sydney, we're turning those ideas into action through a series of upcoming webinars.
We're delighted to invite you to the first of two sessions, focused on leveraging Microsoft's latest innovations to support responsible agentic AI at scale.
Our AI specialists will share how KPMG's industry-leading collaboration with Microsoft can help yo...
The Tasmanian 2026-2027 Budget was delivered by the Treasurer Eric Abetz on Thursday 21 May 2026.
The Budget contains no new taxes or changes to the state tax regime.
The Government says it remains committed to future proofing the state.
Over 2026-27 forward estimates, state taxation revenue is expected to grow by $339.7 million.
This is primarily due to forecast increases in payroll tax re...
Australia's unemployment has risen to 4.5 percent in April, the highest level since November 2021, according to the latest Labour Force figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
According to the ABS, the number of employed people fell by 19,000 in the month with the number of unemployed rising 33,000.
Compared to what it usually sees in April, the ABS says that more peopl...
The Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) sector in Asia Pacific (APAC) faces escalating transfer pricing (TP) controversy due to complex supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and industry shifts toward sustainability and technology.
As a result, tax authorities are intensifying audits and scrutinising the internal prices of commodities, intercompany services, financing, and use of intangibles.
...
After another period of strong returns, Australians now have more than $4.5 trillion invested in superannuation, reinforcing its scale and significance to the economy and retirement outcomes.
At the same time, super funds are under increasing regulatory and member pressure. As market volatility, cyber threats and AI adoption challenge current models, many are looking to reshape how they operat...
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) today published documents on three aspects of the global minimum tax (GMT):
Support for central GloBE information return (GIR) filing and exchange (2024 reporting fiscal year)
Updates to the central record for purposes of the GMT
Administrative guidance on the application of the transitional UTPR safe harbour to MNE groups ...
New analysis of Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) housing data has revealed that the number of stalled new homes fell in Australia's largest cities over the past year, as the country gets more homes out of the ground to combat the housing affordability crisis.
Nationally, the number of approved homes yet to start construction fell by 7 percent over the year to December 2025, with declines r...
Tax Controversy Compass is a webinar series by KPMG in Singapore for multinational enterprises with cross-border operations, bringing together relevant KPMG experts to deliver jurisdiction‑specific perspectives on emerging tax risks and dispute trends in a fast‑evolving tax controversy landscape.
You are invited to join us for the third episode of our Tax Controversy Compass series, where we e...
Personal income tax rates and Working Australians Tax Offset
The Budget introduces a Working Australians Tax Offset of $250 per worker claimable through the income tax return for the 2027-28 tax year.
Coupled with previously announced changes to income tax rates this will contribute towards reducing 'bracket creep'.
The Medicare levy low-income threshold will increase effective 1 July 2025 b...
KPMG Australia's full 2026 Federal Budget analysis can be found here.
See related podcast: Podcast episode 77: Federal Budget 2026 - From policy announcements to practical impact
What's in the budget?
Amendments to the Pillar Two legislation to implement the side-by-side package agreed by the OECD on 5 January 2026.
Funding for the ATO to continue delivery of the counter‑fraud strategy, strengthen powers to address fraud, and undertake targeted compliance activity.
Time-limited concession within the foreign resident CGT regime for certain renewable energy investmen...
KPMG's Federal Budget executive summary
The Budget forecasts aggregate deficits in the underlying cash balance over the forward estimates period to 2029-30 of $150.5 billion. Federal Government net debt is expected to be $767.8 billion in 2029-30, or 21.9% of GDP.
Encouragingly, unemployment is expected to remain relatively steady at no more than 4.5 percent over the period to 2029-30. Thos...
United States (US) payroll employment rose by 115,000 jobs in April. Payrolls fell by 156,000 in February before rising by 185,000 in March.
Public sector payrolls shed 8,000 with a loss in federal workers more than offsetting a small increase in hires at the state and local levels.
Federal employment is now down 348,000 jobs from its peak in October 2024.
Staffing shortages have become acut...
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on April 30, 2026, released the global minimum tax (GMT) implementation toolkit and the GMT frequently asked questions.
These are the first updates since the publication of the side-by-side package in January 2026.
The toolkit is primarily aimed at tax administrations implementing the GMT but may help businesses in two ways:
...
The Western Australia 2026-2027 Budget was delivered by the Treasurer Rita Saffioti on Thursday 7 May 2026.
While the Budget has been framed in a highly uncertain global economic environment arising from the Middle East conflict, the state's economy continues to perform strongly.
The domestic economy grew by 3.5 percent in 2025 outplacing national growth with further expansion forecast.
A ge...
The Payment Times Reporting (PTR) Regulator has released its inaugural Compliance Update (April 2026), signalling a clear escalation in enforcement activity.
Entities are now facing real consequences for non-compliance with the Payment Times Reporting Scheme.
The Regulator has provided a summary of enforcement actions taken to date:
497 warning letters for late reports;
109 warnings for m...
The aim of Pillar Two is to ensure a global minimum corporate income tax rate of 15 percent for in-scope MNE Groups.
In very simple terms, this is achieved by:
determining the combined effective tax rate (ETR) of all of the Constituent Entities located in a specific jurisdiction;
comparing the resulting blended rate to the 15 percent minimum rate; and
establishing a Top-up Tax where the m...
Both Victoria and the Northern Territory delivered their budgets for 2026-27 on Tuesday 5 May 2026.
Both budgets reflect minimal disruption to an already disrupted economy, with few changes to existing taxation and revenue settings.
Welcomed measures for property developers and investors are the further extension of the off-the-plan stamp duty concession in Victoria, and the further extension...
With Europe's tax landscape evolving at speed, asset managers, banks and insurers are facing a level of change and scrutiny that is reshaping how they operate across the region.
Designed for Heads of Tax, Tax Directors, senior Finance leaders and other financial services decision makers, join our KPMG specialists as they share fresh insights on the tax initiatives poised to have the greatest i...
The United States' (US) real GDP improved to 2.0 percent annualised growth in the first quarter from 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter. The outcome was slightly below market expectations of 2.3 percent. The GDP deflator, a measure of inflation, rose 3.6 percent after rising 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter.
Consumer spending contributed half of the strength in economic activity, rising 1.6 pe...
Headline inflation has jumped to 4.6 percent in March, up from 3.7 percent in February.
Despite the fact the war in Iran shows no signs of ending anytime soon, the result will give some comfort to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that Australia's inflation response to the Middle East conflict has been more muted than anticipated.
But core inflation still remains well above the RBA's target...
