International tax

Residents and non-residents have different tax rates.

• A taxpayer who is a resident of Australia for income tax purposes is liable to tax on a worldwide income.

• Non-residents are liable to tax only on income derived from Australian sources.

Whether you are a resident or non-resident of Australia for income tax purposes depends on your business entity.

Value Added Tax (VAT) for European Union based businesses

As of 1 January 2015, there have been changes to the way that VAT is charged for European Union (EU) based businesses.

This change applies to businesses that supply:

• telecommunications (e.g. SMS, phone, internet access)

• broadcasting (e.g. television, radio)

• electronic services (e.g. software downloads, cloud business online gaming, e-learning, online payment services).

EU based businesses

Previously, VAT was charged according to where the supplier was based. As of 1 January 2015, for trade from one EU nation to another, VAT is charged according to where the customer is based.

Non-EU based businesses

If you're a non-EU business but supply to customers in the EU, there are no changes to the rules. Current rules already charge VAT according to where the customer is located. This means exports direct from Australia to the EU will not be affected by the changes.

What to do...

• See the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO's) International Tax section for information on tax issues for resident and non-residents.

• Check out the Changes to VAT in the European Union page on the Austrade website.

• Visit the European Union Taxation and Customs Union website for more on the changes to the VAT.