ATO advice and guidance; Consultation opens on extending unfair trading practices protections for small businesses; ATO update: Tips to avoid trustee trust resolution errors
ATO advice and guidance; Legislation update: Amendments to exclude tobacco, gambling from R&D Tax Incentive pass Lower House; Australia records first trade deficit in nearly a decade as mining expo...
Consultation paper on Productivity Commission’s inquiry into regulatory barriers to business dynamism released; ATO update: Overview of key changes to tax returns and schedules; OECD releases conso...
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...
The latest gross domestic product (GDP) data reveal an economy that has virtually stood still during the first quarter of this year, recording real growth of only 0.3 percent over the quarter, well down from the 0.9 percent quarterly growth achieved in the final three months of 2025.
On an annualised basis Australia's GDP grew by 2.5 percent over the 12 months to the end of March 2026, while s...
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.
...
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...
KPMG has prepared a submission in response to the Board of Taxation's (BoT) 'Statutory review of Australia's thin capitalisation reforms'.
The new thin capitalisation rules are relevant to a large and diverse segment of the taxpayer community.
As such, this review is essential to independently determining whether the rules operate and produce outcomes in line with their intended policy object...
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...
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...
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 on the Budget night Tax Explainers.
See related articles in this series:
Capital gains tax changes – what to look out for: Part II
Capital gains tax changes – what to l...
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...
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 2026 Federal Budget has brought important changes for individuals, family groups and privately held businesses.
Some measures will take effect quickly; others may reshape planning decisions well beyond 30 June.
Date: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Time: 1:00pm to 2:00pm AEST
Location: Webinar
Register here
Join us for a focused, practical webinar where KPMG specialists will cut through the ...
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...
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...
The Federal Court (Jackman J), on 11 May 2026, allowed the taxpayer's appeal in Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited v Commissioner of Taxation [2026] FCA 577.
The case concerned the market value of Shell Australia Limited's (SAL) 34.27 percent shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL) as at 20 January 1997.
The market value was required because the shares were originally pre-CGT as...
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...
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 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...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Board has lifted the cash rate by a further 0.25 percent, the Central Bank's third consecutive increase this year, taking the cash rate to 4.35 percent, a level not seen since November 2023.
The latest rise will unfortunately not come as a huge surprise to many economists and the broader Australian public.
RBA officials have spent much of the time since the...
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...
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...
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has finalised the updates to Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2019/1 Transfer pricing issues related to inbound distribution arrangements (PCG 2019/1) which outlines its compliance approach to 'inbound' Australian distributors.
The final PCG 2019/1 implemented all the changes that were proposed in PCG 2019/1DC and applies to income years ending after 22 A...
Without reform, and amid the world conflict and rising fuel costs, close to half (47 percent) of mid-market business leaders forecast no real growth for their organisations for the remainder of 2026.
This year's KPMG Mid-Market Pre-Budget Pulse Check surveyed over 150 mid-market businesses and found only 6 percent of respondents were optimistic about their growth prospects, predicting more tha...
We are supportive of the Federal Government's aim to improve the certainty of, and address inconsistent outcomes in, the foreign resident capital gains tax (CGT) rules. We acknowledge the need to clarify the foreign resident CGT rules on a prospective basis, consistent with previous Government announcements and consultations.
In considering reforms that affect foreign investment, it is critica...
Building on the momentum of last year's highly attended event, our focus is on helping you understand what matters now, what to plan for, what to monitor and how to act decisively as details evolve.
Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2026
Time: 9:00am - 10:00am AEST
Location: Webinar
Register here
Event highlights
Timely Budget analysis delivered the morning after the announcement.
Clear impa...
The world has been plunged into another economic crisis with the escalation of conflict in the Middle East that has shut the Strait of Hormuz, effectively reducing global oil supply by about 20 percent.
Fundamentally, the challenge with this current crisis relates to how long will the conflict with Iran last, and how quickly will oil markets return to "normal".
The oil futures market has been...
KPMG's Deals Tax and Tax Controversy practice will host a webinar to address the proposed non-resident CGT reforms.
See related article: Changes to Australian capital gains tax rules for foreign residents – draft legislation released
The proposed amendments significantly expand Australia's capital gains tax (CGT) base and go well beyond what had previously been announced.
Date: Frida...
The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), on 9 April 2026, published draft regulations on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
This is HMRC's second UK CBAM consultation of 2026.
The first sought views on draft legislation setting out the administrative requirements of this new indirect tax, along with provisions outlining the CBAM rate and carbon price relief (which...
China's economy reached total output of RMB 140 trillion in 2025, with real GDP growth meeting the official 5.0 percent target.
Yet, the headline numbers only tell part of the story.
KPMG's latest China Economic Monitor unpacks the underlying dynamics.
Overview
Exports grew 5.5 percent year-on-year and the trade surplus hit a record USD 1.2 trillion. Growth was increasingly driven by hig...
AI is no longer a future concept for tax functions.
It is already being used—sometimes well, sometimes not so well - and its impact is accelerating. The conversation is shifting from "what can AI do?" to "how do we use it safely, consistently, and at scale?"
Tax leaders are now facing a clear challenge: how to move from experimentation to real, defensible value, while meeting regulatory...
The United States' (US) consumer price index (CPI) jumped 0.9 percent in March, the fastest monthly increase since nearing the peak of the pandemic in June 2022.
The index jumped 3.3 percent from a year ago, its hottest annual pace since May 2024.
The three-month annualised pace, which better tracks momentum, rose 5.6 percent from 3.2 percent in February.
Every measure is in the wrong direct...
