Private ruling: Am I in business as a share trader?
Published: October 2013
Ruling period: Income year ended 30 June 2013
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2012

Ruling: Q1: Were you carrying on a business as a share trader during the relevant income year? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You commenced the activity of buying and selling shares during the previous income period. During the income year ended you made a number of share transactions, a summary of which follows: Income year No. of purchases Around 100 No. of sales Around 100 Total value of purchases Approximately $X Average purchase value Approximately $10,000 Total value of sales Approximately $X Average value of sales Approximately $10,000 Average holding period (days) Around 12 weeks No. of purchases held in the relevant year Approximately 50 Value of shares held in the relevant year Approximately $Y You use your own funds to buy your share holdings. You do not have a loan facility. You trade in a mixture of stocks. You have access to market information and publications, and purchase a mixture of recommended stocks for income and capital growth. You have a background in business and finance, but not in share trading. You use an on-line broker for your trading. You keep records of your share transactions. You spend X hours per week on your share transactions.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 , Section 6-5 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 , Section 8-1 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 , Section 102-5 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 , Section 102-10

Reasons for decision: Summary: There are two possible scenarios as to how gains and losses from share trading activities can be treated for income tax purposes. These scenarios and their consequences are as follows: | Detailed Reasoning - 1. Business Income: In this scenario your share trading activities would be considered to constitute the carrying on of a business. Your shares would be regarded as trading stock and any gains or losses would be included in your assessable income. Your income would be ordinary income and assessable under section 6-5 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997), while your expenses would be deductible under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997. | Detailed Reasoning - 2. Investment Income: In this situation your share trading activities would be regarded as investing. Your shares would be considered capital gains tax (CGT) assets. Any gains resulting from the disposal of shares would be a capital gain. Any losses sustained on the disposal of your shares would be a capital loss. Your income would be statutory income and assessable under section 102-5 of the ITAA 1997, while a loss would be deductible under section 102-10. To determine which of these treatments applies to your situation it is necessary to make a determination of whether or not your share trading activities amount to the carrying on of a business. Whether or not a person is carrying on a business is a question of fact, not a question of law. The determination of whether or not a business is being carried on is generally a process of weighing up all of the relevant indicators within the context of a given situation. No one indicator determines whether or not a business is being carried on. Taxation Ruling TR 97/11 Income tax: am I carrying on a business of primary production? (TR 97/11) lists the following indicators as relevant in determining if a business is being carried on: · Whether the activity has a significant commercial purpose or character, · Whether the taxpayer has more than an intention to engage in business, · Whether the taxpayer has a purpose of profit as well as a prospect of profit from the activity, · Whether there is repetition and regularity of the activity, · Whether the activity is of the same kind that is carried on in a similar manner to that of the ordinary trade in that line of business, · Whether the activity is planned, organised and carried out in a business like manner, · The size, scale and permanency of the activity, · Whether the activity is better described as a hobby, a form of recreation or a sporting activity. In the case of share trading repetition and regularity are considered to be important indicators on whether or not a business is being carried on, with the size and scale of the activity being supporting factors. In your case you have carried out around 100 purchase transactions and around 100 sale transactions during the relevant income year. This is a total of around 200 transactions, which is approximately four transactions per week. For a portfolio of your size this is considered to be a commercial level of share trading and would be a supporting indicator that a business of share trading was carried on. Your share holding period is on average 12 weeks. While this is a lengthy holding period for a share trader, it is still considered to be too short a period for a share investor, and would also support that a business of share trading was carried on. The scale of your share trading activities is also significant in that your share purchases amounted to approximately $X, while you sold shares to the value of approximately $X. Your closing stock value at the end of the income year was approximately $Y. These figures are considered to be beyond mere passive capital investment, and support that a business of share trading was carried on. Although you have not indicated that you have a share trading plan in place and are not spending a substantial amount of time on your share trading, overall the weighing up of the relevant factors indicate that for the relevant income year you were carrying on a business as a share trader. Your share purchases and sales would be considered to be business activities. Any profits or losses from your share investments would then be considered to be assessable income and reported in your tax return as Net income or loss from business.