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Assorted problems with “payment”

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Published on 01 May 23 by "TAXATION IN AUSTRALIA" JOURNAL ARTICLE

What constitutes a “payment” is a fundamental concept that is relevant to a diverse set of issues regarding the incidence and timing of tax. This article discusses an assortment of different practical issues and “war stories” in which the concept of “payment” was central, including: how an accountant became liable for their client’s PAYG; the ATO’s mixed record on cases arguing that a small business controller did not pay themselves; related party dealings and R&D; asset protection that did not protect the assets;
and making SMSF contributions on time. There are some opportunities for clarification by the ATO of its interpretation of “payment”, given that some positions taken on what constitutes a “payment” may be detrimental to its overall administration of the revenue.

Author profile

Adrian Cartland
Photo of author, Adrian CARTLAND Adrian “the Taxinator” Cartland has practiced for nearly 20 years, working at a number of tax law roles in top tier firms as well as boutique tax practices, meeting his billable targets on at least a few occasions. About ten years ago he began thinking about the future of law and developed an interest in legal Artificial Intelligence, mostly in an effort to find a robot to do the work he was too lazy to do. Deciding that it was best to pursue this expensive and time consuming hobby (er, business) while not on someone else’s timesheet he founded his own firm Cartland Law, and is now unemployable. Because Adrian knows very little about other, more normal, areas of law, Cartland Law specialises in and only accepts instruction in tax, trusts and technology. Coming from a family of engineers who have constructed many things beneficial to society, Adrian has instead created a number of tax and trust structures that are so complex no-one really knows what they do. He has also created Ailira, the Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Research Assistant and partly contributed to the doom of humanity by AI. He is the Chair of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners SA, the TTI’s State Taxes Committee, was Australia’s funniest lawyer in 2007 and holds the Australian record for fastest MMA knockout at 6 seconds. - Current at 07 January 2026
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