Australian Taxation Office issues draft tax ruling expanding scope of royalty withholding tax on software related payments

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released Draft Taxation Ruling TR2021/D4 – Income tax: royalties – character of receipts in respect of software. The draft ruling is open for public comment and consultation until 23 July 2021 ahead of issuance of a final ruling. The ATO has stated that the final ruling is proposed to apply both before and after its date of issue.

The draft ruling specifically applies to computer software re-seller and distribution arrangements. However, the principles co…