Charities and their tax exempt status – new court ruling.

A recent High Court decision on the tax exempt status of charities may have ramifications for your organisation.

Late last year the High Court of Australia presided over the case of Commissioner of Taxation vs Word Investments Limited.

The case involved a charitable organisation (Wycliffe Bible Translators) taking the taxation commissioner to court over its refusal to grant tax exemption status to Word Investments, which is a commercial enterprise set up by Wycliffe to raise funds for their charitable purposes.

The High Court ruled that, put simply, Word was set up to raise funds for charitable purposes, and therefore should be granted tax exempt status, even though it was run as a commercial business. This decision has ramifications for all charities operating in Australia.

Enterprise Care supporter Cornwall Stodart Lawyers has compiled an informative brief on the decision and its implications for Australian charities. Read the brief on the Enterprise Care website: http://www.enterprisecare.com.au/ebiz/content/wsc.aspx?ID=25