Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) With respect to every person having the receipt control or disposal of money belonging to a non‑resident, who derives income, or profits or gains of a capital nature, from a source in Australia or who is a shareholder, debenture holder, or depositor in a company deriving income, or profits or gains of a capital nature, from a source in Australia, the following provisions shall, subject to this Act, apply:
(a) he shall when required by the Commissioner pay the tax due and payable by the non‑resident;
(b) he is hereby authorized and required to retain from time to time out of any money which comes to him on behalf of the non‑resident so much as is sufficient to pay the tax which is or will become due by the non‑resident;
(c) he is hereby made personally liable for the tax payable by him on behalf of the non‑resident to the extent of any amount that he has retained, or should have retained, under paragraph (b); but he shall not be otherwise personally liable for the tax;
(d) he is hereby indemnified for all payments which he makes in pursuance of this Act or of any requirement of the Commissioner.
(2) Every person who is liable to pay money to a non‑resident shall be deemed to be a person having the control of money belonging to the non‑resident, and, subject to subsection (2A), all money due by him to the non‑resident shall be deemed to be money which comes to him on behalf of the non‑resident.
(2A) For the purposes of this section, money due by a person to a non‑resident from which an amount must be withheld under section 12‑325 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (about natural resource payments) or Subdivision 12‑H in that Schedule (about distributions to foreign residents from managed investment trusts) shall be deemed not to be money which comes to the person on behalf of the non‑resident.
(3) Where the Commonwealth, a State or an authority of the Commonwealth or a State has the receipt, control or disposal of money belonging to a non‑resident, this section (other than paragraph (1)(c)) applies to and in relation to the Commonwealth, the State or the authority, as the case may be, in the same manner as it applies to and in relation to any other person.
(4) In this section, tax includes the general interest charge under section 163AA, former section 170AA, subsection 204(3), subsection 221AZMAA(1), former subsection 221AZP(1), former subsection 221YD(3) or former section 221YDB, additional tax under former Part VII and shortfall interest charge.
Note 1: The general interest charge is worked out under Part IIA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and shortfall interest charge is worked out under Division 280 in Schedule 1 to that Act.
Note 2: Subsection 8AAB(4) of that Act lists the provisions that apply the general interest charge.
(5) This section applies to an equity holder in the same way as it applies to a shareholder.