The Australian Taxation Office has delayed the announcement of its final rulings on the tax treatment of private equity investments by foreign investors, the two draft determinations for which were issued last December, according to Tax-News.com.

The ATO’s draft tax determinations regarded questions behind it’s a$678 million (around $629 million) claim for tax and penalties following the sale of the Myer department store group by a private equity group using tiers of foreign ownership.

They have raised doubts in the minds of offshore investors about the suitability of undertaking business in the Australian capital markets, the report said.

The ATO ruled that, if the entity does not have the intention of becoming a long-term investor to derive dividend income from its shares, and if it is carrying on a business of restructuring and floating companies, the profit from the disposal of shares in an Australian company would constitute ordinary income, and be taxed as such.