On or about 17 July 2019, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published the proposed changes to the IFRS Standard for income tax, IAS 12 for public comment. The amendments clarify how companies account for deferred tax on leases and decommissioning obligations.
IAS 12 specifies how a company accounts for income tax, including deferred tax, which represents amounts of tax payable or recoverable in the future.
In specific circumstances, companies are exempt from recognising deferred tax when they recognise assets or liabilities for the first time. There has been some uncertainty in the market about whether the exemption applies to leases and decommissioning obligations.
Therefore, to promote consistent application of the Standard, the IASB has proposed narrow-scope amendments to promote consistent application of the standard as there has been some uncertainty regarding whether companies are exempt from recognising deferred tax on leases and decommissioning obligations.
The proposed amendments lay down that the exemption in the Standard would not apply to leases and decommissioning obligations – transactions for which companies recognise both an asset and a liability. The proposed amendments would result in companies to recognise deferred tax on such transactions.
The ED is open for comments until 14 November 2019.
Source: IFRS website, 17 July 2019