Qantas loses High Court battle with ATO: Midday roundup

The High Court has ruled Qantas Airways is liable for GST on revenue it collected from customers who did not actually show up for flights. The ATO has consistently claimed the company should not be able to keep the $34 million, although the airline has argued it did not owe the money because it never […]

Engel Schmidl 02 October, 2012

The High Court has ruled Qantas Airways is liable for GST on revenue it collected from customers who did not actually show up for flights.

The ATO has consistently claimed the company should not be able to keep the $34 million, although the airline has argued it did not owe the money because it never supplied the service.

However, the ATO argued that because the company kept the money, it did provide a service.

Government puts more pressure on Jones

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has weighed into the controversy surrounding Alan Jones, saying the shock jock suffers from delusions of grandeur.

“I think what this guy suffers from is absolute delusions of grandeur,” he told ABC Radio.

“And I think that’s being cultivated by his intimate association with previous conservative leaders over a long period of time.”

Treasurer Wayne Swan has made similar comments, while Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said Jones’s comments went “beyond the pale”.

The Federal Government has criticised Tony Abbott’s statement – he said the comments were “completely out of line” – as being insufficient.

Shares up on strong offshore leads

The Australian sharemarket has opened higher this morning following a solid offshore lead and anticipation of a rate cut at today’s RBA meeting.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 25.8 points or 0.6% to 4,414.4 at 12.00 AEST, while the Australian dollar went up slightly to $US1.03.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78 points to 13,515.

Australia Post buys Qantas stake in StarTrack

Australia Post has completed an agreement to buy a 50% stake in StarTrack – the same stake previously owned by Qantas.

Qantas said it will make a total profit of $30 million from the deal.

“Through this acquisition we will be able to offer an integrated air freight product across domestic and international networks,” chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement

“By leveraging the best from both businesses and delivering efficiencies, we will provide a market leading service to our customers.”