26 OCTOBER 2022
2022–23 Labor Federal Budget Highlights
The Federal Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, handed down the Labor government’s first Federal Budget at 7:30 pm (AEDT) on 25 October 2022.
The full Budget papers are available at www.budget.gov.au and the Treasury ministers’ media releases are available at ministers.treasury.gov.au. The tax, superannuation and social security highlights are set out below.
Businesses
• Electric vehicles under the luxury car tax threshold will be exempt from fringe benefits tax and import tariffs.
• A number of Victorian and ACT based business grants relating to the COVID-19 pandemic will be non-assessable non-exempt income for tax purposes.
• Grants will be provided to small and medium-sized businesses to fund energy efficient equipment upgrades.
• The tax treatment for off-market share buy-backs undertaken by listed public companies will be aligned with the treatment of on-market share buy-backs.
• The 2021–22 Budget measure to allow taxpayers to self-assess the effective life of intangible depreciating assets will not proceed.
• Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge rate increased from 26.4 to 27.2 cents per litre of diesel fuel, effective from 29 September 2022.
• Australia has signed a new tax treaty with Iceland.
• Additional tariffs on goods imported from Russia and Belarus have been extended by a further 12 months, to 24 October 2023.
• Ukraine goods are exempted from import duties for a period of 12 months from 4 July 2022.
• Technical amendments to the taxation of financial arrangements (TOFA) rules proposed in the 2021–22 Budget will be deferred.
• Amendments to simplify the taxation of financial arrangements (TOFA) rules proposed in the 2016–17 Budget will not proceed.
• The proposed measure from the 2018–19 Budget to impose a limit of $10,000 for cash payments will not proceed.
• Proposed changes in the 2016–17 Budget to amend the taxation of asset-backed financing arrangements will not proceed.
• The new tax and regulatory regime for limited partnership collective investment vehicles proposed in the 2016–17 Budget will not proceed.
• The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme will be expanded and enhanced.
Individuals
• The amount pensioners can earn in 2022–23 will increase by $4,000 before their pension is reduced, supporting pensioners who want to work or work more hours to do so without losing their pension.
• To incentivise pensioners to downsize their homes, the assets test exemption for principal home sale proceeds will be extended and the income test changed.
• The income threshold for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will be increased from $61,284 to $90,000 for singles and from $98,054 to $144,000 (combined) for couples.
• The Paid Parental Leave Scheme will be amended so that either parent is able to claim the payment from 1 July 2023. The scheme will also be expanded by 2 additional weeks a year from 1 July 2024 until it reaches 26 weeks from 1 July 2026.
• The maximum Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate and the CCS rate for all families earning less than $530,000 in household income will be increased.
• The current higher Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rates for families with multiple children aged 5 or under in child care will be maintained.
• Legislation will be introduced to clarify that digital currency (or crypto currencies) will not be treated as foreign currency for income tax purposes.
Superannuation
• Eligibility to make a downsizer contribution to superannuation will be expanded by reducing the minimum age from 60 to 55 years.
• The 2021–22 Budget measure that proposed relaxing residency requirements for SMSFs and small APRA-regulated funds (SAFs) from 1 July 2022, has been deferred.
• The 2018–19 Budget measure that proposed changing the annual audit requirement for certain self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) will not proceed.
• A requirement for retirement income product providers to report standardised metrics in product disclosure statements, originally announced in the 2018–19 Budget, will not proceed.
Multinationals
• Thin capitalisation rules for non-ADIs will be amended from 1 July 2023, with tests relating to ratios replaced by earnings-based tests.
• Significant global entities will be denied a tax deduction for payments to related parties in relation to intangibles held in low- or no-tax jurisdictions.
• Significant global entities and public companies will have additional reporting requirements for income years commencing from 1 July 2023.
• Proposed amendments to the debt/equity tax rules mentioned in the 2013–14 MYEFO will not proceed.
Tax administration
• Penalty unit increase to $275 from 1 January 2023.
• Personal Income Taxation Compliance Program extended a further 2 years to 30 June 2025
• Shadow economy compliance program extended to 30 June 2026.
• The ATO tax avoidance taskforce will receive additional funding and is being extended to 30 June 2026.
• Financial penalties for breaches of foreign investment compliance to double from 1 January 2023.
• Access to refunds of indirect tax, including GST, fuel and alcohol taxes, under the Indirect Tax Concession Scheme has been expanded to the diplomatic and consular representations of Bhutan.
• The proposed extension of reportable transactions relating to the sharing economy deferred by 12 months to 1 July 2024
Tax agents
• Funding to be given to the Tax Practitioners Board to increase compliance investigations.
• Additional funding will be provided to support the delivery of government priorities in the Treasury portfolio.
Not-for-profit
• Deductible gift recipients list to be updated.
• The 2021–22 MYEFO measure to establish a deductible gift recipient category for providers of pastoral care will not proceed.
Click on the link to see the full version of the Labor Government 2022-23 CCH Tax and Superannuation Federal Budget Report.
25 OCTOBER 2022
R&D tax incentive for activities conducted in China denied
The AAT has held that a taxpayer was not entitled to the research and development (R&D) tax incentive in relation to supporting R&D activities that were conducted in China as the taxpayer did not have an overseas finding pursuant to s 28C(1)(a) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986 (IRDA 1986) in relation to such.
Facts
The taxpayer company commenced designing and developing an electric tricycle in the 2014 income year. In 2018 it was issued 2 invoices from HK Flistar Ltd (for $1,092,062 and $188,680) to produce vehicle components and an invoice from Hefei Kelly Technology Investment Co Ltd (for $332,720) for the production of electrical components. Both HK Flistar and Hefei Kelly were Chinese companies.
In August 2018 the taxpayer lodged an R&D Tax Incentive Application form with AusIndustry, including a description of its R&D activities and expenditure for the income year ended 30 June 2018. No supporting R&D activities for that year were registered. Soon after, AusIndustry issued the taxpayer a Notice of Registration under s 27A of IRDA 1986. The taxpayer lodged its income tax return and R&D tax incentive schedule for the 2018 year retaining a refund of $748,476, which included $701,856 for expenditure on R&D activities conducted outside of Australia.
Following a review, the Commissioner notified the taxpayer that an amended assessment would issue to reflect that $1,613,462 of the taxpayer’s R&D notional deductions would be reclassified as general deductions under s 8-1 of ITAA 1997, that the amount of $1,613,462 was comprised of the HK Flistar and Hefei Kelly invoices, and that the taxpayer did not have a finding under s 28C(1)(a) of the IRDA 1986 (overseas finding) in respect of overseas activities conducted during the 2018 year. Relevantly, the R&D tax incentive was generally only available for activities solely conducted in Australia. In limited circumstances, the benefit of the R&D tax incentive was extended to overseas activities covered by a finding under s 28C(1)(a).
In due course, an amended notice of assessment was issued, which included the following adjustments:
- • accounting expenditure subject to R&D tax incentive was decreased from $1,720,635 to $107,173 (a decrease by $1,613,462)
- • refundable tax offset was decreased from $748,476 to $46,620 (a decrease by $701,856).
An administrative penalty of $350,928 was also imposed.
The taxpayer immediately submitted an R&D Tax Incentive Registration Variation to AusIndustry registering its supporting R&D activities, which was granted. The variation request reclassified the construction and cost of a prototype from a core R&D activity to a supporting R&D activity. In the variation request, the taxpayer described the supporting R&D activities as follows: “[t]he design, development and fabrication and/or supply of components for the assembly of the project’s prototypes are for the dominant purpose of supporting the core R&D activities”. No mention was made that the supporting R&D activities were conducted overseas to produce the components for the prototype.
The taxpayer objected to the amended assessment and penalty assessment. When its objections were disallowed the taxpayer sought review by the AAT. At issue was whether:
- • the taxpayer was entitled to the R&D tax incentive in relation to its supporting R&D activities
- • the taxpayer was liable to an administrative penalty pursuant to s 284-75 of Sch 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA 1953), and
- • remission of the administrative penalty imposed, in whole or in part, was warranted under s 298-20 of Sch 1 to the TAA 1953.
Before the AAT, the taxpayer contended that the approved supporting activities were the mere supply of parts and components from China for the dominant purpose of supporting the core R&D activities, which were solely conducted in Australia. In other words, it was contended that an overseas finding was not applicable as no R&D activities were conducted outside Australia.
Decision
The AAT affirmed the decision under review, finding that, contrary to the taxpayer’s contentions, the supporting R&D activities were not the mere supply of components. The approved supporting R&D activities plainly went beyond such. Therefore, they were not covered by s 355-210(1)(d) or 355-210(1)(e) of ITAA 1997 as they were conducted overseas and the taxpayer did not have an overseas finding. Accordingly, the notional deductions under s 355-205 of ITAA 1997 did not arise from the $1,613,462 expenditure on the supporting R&D activities during the 2018 year and there was no entitlement to a tax offset in respect of such.
In regard to penalties, the taxpayer was not entitled to the claimed tax offset of $701,856. No mention was made in the initial R&D Tax Incentive Application, nor the variation request, that the supporting R&D activities were conducted overseas. Given the significant size of the amount of tax offset claimed, the AAT said that a reasonable person in the circumstances would have taken steps to ensure that it was entitled to claim the tax offset. The taxpayer was thus liable to an administrative penalty pursuant to s 284-75(2) of Sch 1 to TAA 1953. There were no circumstances that justified any remission in penalties.
Source: TDS Biz Pty Ltd v FC of T 2022 ATC ¶10-650; [2022] AATA 3543, 25 October 2022.
24 OCTOBER 2022
Director ID applications due on 30 November
The ATO has reminded directors of companies in Australia to apply for their director identification number (director ID).
Individuals are required to apply for a director ID by 30 November 2022 if they are the director or alternate director of a company, registered Australian body or registered foreign company under the Corporations Act 2001.
A director ID is also required for the director or alternate director of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act). The due date CATSI Act directors to apply for a director ID is 30 November 2023. New CATSI Act directors must apply for their director ID before appointment from 1 November 2022.
Source: Director ID — Time is running out, ATO website, 21 October 2022, accessed 21 October 2022.
Land tax thresholds for 2023 (NSW)
NSW land tax thresholds for the 2023 land tax year have been gazetted in accordance with s 62TBA of the Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW).
The tax-free threshold for 2023 is $969,000. The premium value threshold is $5,925,000.
The increases reflect an average increase in property values in NSW between 1 July 2021 and 1 July 2022 of 25.61%.
Using this as an indexation factor, the Valuer-General has determined an indexed amount of $1,190,000 for the 2023 land tax year. The tax-free threshold is the greater of the average of the indexed amounts for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 land tax years ($969,000) and the tax-free threshold for 2022, which was $822,000.
Source: NSW Government Gazette No 481, NSW legislation website, 14 October 2022, accessed 21 October 2022.
30 SEPTEMBER 2022
Land tax: Queensland to scrap reforms including value of interstate landholdings
It is understood that the Queensland government will abandon its measure to include the value of interstate landholdings for the purpose of assessing land tax payable in Queensland.
The measure is contained in Revenue Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (Qld) which amends the Land Tax Act 2010 (Qld) to include the value of interstate landholdings for the purpose of assessing land tax payable in Queensland from the 2023–24 financial year. The measure was first announced in the state’s 2021–22 Budget Update — Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review.
30 SEPTEMBER 2022
Regulations to expand eligibility for downsizer super contributions
Regulations have been made to give effect to the superannuation measure to expand the eligibility for downsizer contributions by reducing the eligibility age from 60 to 55 years.
When enacted, Sch 5 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No 2) Bill 2022 will amend ITAA 1997 to allow individuals aged 55 years or over to make downsizer contributions to their complying superannuation plan from the proceeds of selling their main residence.
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Broadening Contribution Rules) Regulations 2022 (F2022L01286) support the amendments in Sch 5 to the Bill by ensuring that downsizer contributions will be accepted by regulated superannuation funds and Retirement Savings Account (RSA) institutions for individuals who are aged 55 years or over, from the date of commencement of Sch 5 to the Bill.
The Regulations commence on the later of 1 October 2022 and after the commencement of Sch 5 to the Bill (ie the first quarter after the Bill receives assent). The Regulations do not commence at all in the event that Sch 5 to the Bill does not commence. The Regulations apply in relation to contributions made on or after the commencement of the Regulations.
Source: Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Broadening Contribution Rules) Regulations 2022 (F2022L01286), Federal Register of Legislation website, 30 September 2022, accessed 30 September 2022.© CCH
30 SEPTEMBER 2022
Land tax (Qld): reform to include value of interstate landholdings to be scrapped
It is understood that the Queensland government will abandon its measure to include the value of interstate landholdings for the purpose of assessing land tax payable in Queensland.
The Revenue Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (Qld) amends the Land Tax Act 2010 (Qld) to implement the land tax reform to include the value of interstate landholdings for the purpose of assessing land tax payable in Queensland from the 2023–24 financial year. The measure was announced in the 2021–22 Budget Update — Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review.
Source: CCH
8 AUGUST 2022
Effective life of depreciating assets
The Income Tax (Effective Life of Depreciating Assets) Amendment Determination (No 1) 2022 has been made to update the Commissioner’s effective life schedule for depreciating assets.
The determination provides taxpayers in specific industries, and for specific assets, with effective lives as a basis to calculate the decline in value (depreciation) of a depreciating asset for income tax purposes.
An extensive and comprehensive consultation process was undertaken to update the determination with effective lives of new electric bicycles, electric scooters and plastic safety screens, and effective lives of new depreciating assets for the following industries:
• casinooperations
• clothingmanufacturing
• saltmanufacturingandrefining(excludingharvesting),and • woodenfurnitureandupholsteredseatmanufacturing.
The determination amends the Income Tax (Effective Life of Depreciating Assets) Determination 2015 and applies from 1 July 2022.
Source: Income Tax (Effective Life of Depreciating Assets) Amendment Determination (No 1) 2022, registered on the Federal Register of Legislation as F2022L00823, 24 June 2022, accessed 24 June 2022.
Crypto assets not regarded as foreign currency for tax purposes
Crypto currencies will continue to be excluded from foreign currency tax arrangements.
Following the government of El Salvador allowing Bitcoin as legal tender, the Albanese government will move to clarify current arrangements in legislation that will mean crypto assets will be excluded from foreign currency for tax purposes.
Capital gains tax will continue to apply to crypto assets that are held as investments.
The clarification will be backdated to 1 July 2021 to avoid ambiguity following the decision by the government of El Salvador.
Source: Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, “Crypto not taxed as foreign currency”, [joint media release], 22 June 2022, accessed 22 June 2022.
Car expenses cents per kilometre deduction rate for 2022–23
The ATO has finalised a legislative determination that sets the cents per kilometre rate for calculating work-related motor vehicle expense deductions at 78 cents per kilometre for the income year commencing 1 July 2022.
The Income Tax Assessment — Cents per Kilometre Deduction Rate for Car Expenses Determination 2022 (F2022L00813) applies to eligible taxpayers who use the cents per kilometre method to calculate the income tax deductions for their work- related car expenses.
Section 28-25(4) of the ITAA 1997 allows the Commissioner to determine the rate for the cents per kilometre method for an income year. The rate will remain applicable to subsequent income years until the Commissioner, having regard to subs 28-25(5) of the ITAA 1997, determines to vary it.
The determination commences on 1 July 2022 and repeals Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 — Cents per Kilometre Deduction Rate for Car Expenses 2020 (F2020L00676) registered on 5 June 2020.
Source: Income Tax Assessment — Cents per Kilometre Deduction Rate for Car Expenses Determination 2022, registered as F2022L00813 on the Federal Register of Legislation on 22 June 2022, accessed 22 June 2022.
22 JUNE 2022
ATO guidance on s100A
The ATO has issued further guidance on the application of s100A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.
The Managing section 100A for the 2021–22 income year guidance has been published to help registered tax agents and trustees manage their 2022 tax year-end obligations and understand when s100A may be relevant, including:
• trust distributions for the 2021–22 income year
• what happens when s100A applies
• where the ATO’s new draft guidance on s100A can be accessed, and
• what records will assist in the event of a review.
Section 100A is an anti-avoidance rule that broadly targets arrangements where a beneficiary is presently entitled to trust income, but the economic benefit is received by a person other than that beneficiary and has the purpose of reducing any person’s tax liability. If s100A applies, a deeming rule operates such that the beneficiary will not be considered presently entitled to the diverted income, but instead the trustee is liable to tax at the top marginal tax rate.
The further guidance follows feedback and concern over the s100A draft guidance (PCG 2022/D1) issued by the ATO on 23 February 2022.
Reference: ATO website, Managing section 100A for the 2021–22 income year, 21 June 2022, accessed 21 June 2022.
7 JUNE 2022
Director Penalties
A Director Penalty Notice (DPN) is a notice sent to a director of a company in accordance with Division 269 of Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) (TAA) which makes directors personally responsible for certain kinds of tax obligations of a company.
These obligations include Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding amounts, Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) for which a company becomes liable.
Division 269 operates in the following way:
• A director has an obligation to cause the company to comply with its obligation from the initial day on which the tax obligation accrues.
• If the company fails to comply with its obligation by the end of the due day for payment, a penalty becomes due and payable by the director equal to the amount of the company’s obligation.
• The Commissioner must serve a DPN before commencing proceedings to recover a penalty.
Directors need to be aware that their liability to pay director penalties will occur before any DPN is served. The issuing of a DPN is a procedural step only required of the ATO before it can commence proceedings against the director to recover penalties which have already accrued.
Lockdown or non-lockdown?
If a company has made timely reporting of its obligations (even if it has not paid them), the ATO will send what is called a ‘non-lockdown’ DPN.
This requires the company to have lodged its business activity statements (BAS) and instalment activity statements (IAS) within three months after the due date for lodgment, and its SGC statements within one month and 28 days after the end of the quarter to which the unpaid superannuation contributions relate.
A non-lockdown DPN gives the director the option of complying with the notice by appointing a voluntary administrator (VA), a small business restructuring practitioner (SBRP) or a liquidator within 21 days after the date on which the DPN was sent. Any penalty is then remitted (waived) by the ATO.
Critically, the period of 21 days to comply with a DPN cannot be extended. Any director receiving a DPN should immediately seek advice from an appropriately qualified professional. Appointing a VA, SBRP or liquidator on the 22nd day will be too late for the director to escape personal liability.
In the situation where a company has failed to report its obligations, the ATO will serve a lockdown DPN. If this happens, the only way for a director to comply with the notice is to pay (or cause the company to pay) the penalty amounts within the 21-day period.
To avoid the possibility of receiving a lockdown DPN, directors should ensure that the company always lodges its BAS, IAS and SGC statements on time even if the company is unable to pay the amounts owing on the day of lodgment.
Instalment agreements
The Commissioner will not commence proceedings against a director to recover a penalty while there is an instalment arrangement in place with the company, providing the company complies with the arrangement.
If the company defaults on the instalment arrangement, the Commissioner will be at liberty to proceed against the director.
Defences
There are only a limited number of defences which a director may be able to raise to avoid liability for failing to comply with a DPN.
The main defences are:
1. An illness meant that it was unreasonable for the director to take part in the management of the company when the company failed to comply with its SGC and PAYG obligations.
2. The director took all reasonable steps to ensure that the company complied with its obligations, but there were no reasonable steps that could have been taken to ensure that:
1. the company complied with its obligation;
2. an administrator was appointed to the company;
3. a small business restructuring practitioner was appointed; or
4. the company was wound up (i.e. a liquidator was appointed).
These defences are strictly applied.
For example, the director must have been incapacitated by illness throughout the relevant period when the company’s liabilities were incurred.
It is not a defence for the director not to have participated in management of the company or not have been aware of the outstanding obligations.
Conclusion
The receipt of a DPN carries profound and time-critical consequences. It is strongly recommended that a director receiving a DPN immediately seeks legal advice, including specialist insolvency advice.
References
1. DCT v Lesley Frances Robertson [2009] NSWSC 597.
2. https://www.ato.gov.au/Tax-professionals/Newsroom/Lodgment-and-payment/Director-penalty-notices/
5 JUNE 2022
Superannuation
From 1 July 2022 Employers will need to pay for all employees, regardless how much they pay employees, beacause the $450 per month threshold for super guarantee eligibility is being removed.
This change doesn’t affect other eligibility requirements for SG. Workers for are under 18 still need to work more than 30 hours in a week to be eligible.
An employee’s eligibility for SG is determined by when they are paid salary and wages, not when they earn the income. This means, if an employee pays an eligible employee on or after 1 July 2022, the new rules will apply to the full amount, regardless of whether some or all of the pay period it relates to is before 1 July.
General Super Guarantee
| Period | General super guarantee |
| 1 July 2021 – 30 June 2022 | 10.00% |
| 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023 | 10.50% |
| 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024 | 11.00% |
| 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025 | 11.50% |
| 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026 | 12.00% |
| 1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027 | 12.00% |
| 1 July 2027 – 30 June 2028 and onwards | 12.00% |
1 JUNE 2022
Luxury Car Tax Threshold for 2022–23
The luxury car tax threshold for the 2022–23 financial year is $71,849, up from $69,152 for 2021–22.
The fuel efficient car threshold for the 2022–23 financial year is $84,916, up from $79,659 for 2021–22.
Source: Luxury car tax rate and thresholds, ATO website, 1 June 2022
Feel free to contact us if you need further assistance in relation to the above.
31 MAY 2022
Tax Time 2022: Double Dipping Deductions
The ATO is reminding taxpayers not to make the mistake of double dipping their deductions in their tax return this year.
“While some people make genuine mistakes, we do see people trying to gain an unfair advantage by claiming incorrect or false expenses. A mistake that we often see in tax returns is people claiming expenses twice,” said Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh.
Some of the “double dipping” mistakes the ATO sees when people lodge their tax returns each year relate to working from home and the shortcut method, car expenses and reimbursed expenses.
Working from home expenses and the shortcut method
A common mistake the ATO sees is people using the working from home shortcut method to claim their working from home expenses and then double dipping, claiming additional amounts in their return for expenses such as their mobile phone and internet bills, as well as the decline in value of equipment and furniture.
When the working from home shortcut method is used to claim working from home expenses, it is all-inclusive.
There are 3 methods available to claim a deduction for working from home expenses depending on individual circumstances, the shortcut, fixed rate and actual cost methods. The method that gives people the best outcome can be used, as long as the eligibility and record-keeping requirements for their chosen method are observed.
Taxpayers can use the home office expenses calculator to help them work out which method will give them the best outcome.
“While the traditional methods require receipts, paperwork and other record keeping, the shortcut method only requires a record of hours worked – diary entries or timesheets will suffice,” Mr Loh said.
Car expenses
Nearly 3 million taxpayers claimed work-related car expenses in 2021 and one of the most common mistakes was people using the cents per kilometre method to make their claim, and then double dipping by claiming expenses separately such as fuel, car insurance, and registration.
The cents per kilometre rate is all-inclusive and covers decline in value, registration, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and fuel costs. These expenses can’t be added on top of the rate when calculating deductions.
The ATO will also be taking a closer look at claims calculated using the logbook method, to ensure they reflect people’s circumstances coming out of the pandemic.
“You must choose your preferred method when calculating car expenses, the cents per kilometre or the logbook method. Just because there is a dip in the road, doesn’t mean you can double dip your car expenses” Mr Loh said.
Reimbursed expenses
Finally, the ATO is making sure taxpayers aren’t claiming expenses where they have already been reimbursed by their employer.
“If your boss has reimbursed your dry-cleaning costs for your uniform, but you then claim laundry deductions on your tax return, well you’re picking your neighbours’ pockets” Mr Loh said.
Source: Don’t double dip your deductions this tax time, ATO website
Feel free to contact us if you need further assistance in relation to the above.