The ATO is currently assessing the income tax returns of Australians who are working overseas temporarily, and paying foreign taxes, on the basis that a Foreign Income Tax Offset (FITO) cannot be applied to reduce the Medicare levy obligation of an individual taxpayer. This means that where an Australian is, say, working in PNG on as resources project, and incurs foreign tax which is greater than the individual’s Australian tax, the individual receives a credit for (in this case) the PNG tax but cannot obtain a credit against their Australian Medicare levy income tax.
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