The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced its intention to treat income received by an entity associated with a celebrity, such as fees for licencing of image rights, as income received directly by the individual and is expected to apply to tax years before and after it's date of issue, except where arrangements were entered into based on draft PCG 2017/D11 Tax treatment of payments for use and exploitation of a professional sportsperson’s ‘public fame’ or ‘image’ (withdrawn 24 August 2018).
Over the last few years, there has been much uncertainty about how these arrangements are treated for income tax purposes. Nonetheless, with the release of the draft tax determination, Draft TD 2022/23, individuals with a public profile may enter into an agreement with a related entity, permitting that entity to exploit the individual's fame with a third party for a fee.
The Draft Determination applies where: an individual establishes a related entity, either a company or a trust, and enters an agreement to allow that entity to enter a contract with a third party, allowing them to use the individual's fame. The related entity shall contract with a third party to use the individual's fame in exchange for a fee. 'Fame' can include the individual's image, name, likeness, identity, reputation and signature. Essentially, any income derived under the arrangement is the individual's and not the related entity's.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your regular A.C.T contact or send an email to info@act.london.