Accountant’s charitable error: Satellite Italian diaspora company fails to dodge stamp duty

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has dismissed a company’s charity status claim after it attempted to dodge nearly $80,000 in stamp duty when purchasing a property valued at $1,400,000 in Thornbury, an inner-north suburb of Melbourne.

The company incurred stamp duty when it purchased the Thornbury office building from Instituto Nazionale Assistenza Sociale (INAS) Italy for $300,000, with duty of $77,000. In the transferee statement signed by the company’s national coordinator, Ciro Fiorini, its total market value at the contract date was $1,400,000, and the property’s book value according to its 2024 financial statement was $381,856.

The company, Instituto Nazionale Assistenza Sociale (INAS) Australia, is related to the founding Italian company, INAS Italy, which opened to carry on its work in Australia. Based on its statement of purposes, INAS Australia was created in 1992 to benefit persons of Italian descent who are resident in Australia.

The statement said the company carries on INAS Italy’s work by: “Relieving those who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress, relieving need from inadequate knowledge of English, Australian customs or laws by giving information, instruction or advice, promoting education, including in the English language, and providing facilities for recreation or other leisure time.”

Its services include “helping Italians understand and comply with tax obligations, for which INAS Australia was recognised and thanked for its contribution; advising Italians about social security and pensions in Australia; translating documents for Italians with poor English skills; and publishing a free magazine catering to the Italian community”.

The court found that while INAS Australia sought to claim charity status in 12 August 2026 proceedings, it claims “certain tax exemptions on the basis that it is a not-for-profit” that provides community service, according to the company’s national coordinator, Ciro Fiorini.

In its 2023–24 NFP self-review return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), in late 2024, the company answered “no” to the question “Does the organisation have any charitable purposes?” by its accountant and auditor, Brenton Ellis of The Gild Group.

It later amended the self-review return to answer “yes” to this question.

Charitable company?

In the proceedings, INAS Australia sought to claim that it was a charitable organisation on the basis of the second head of the legal meaning of a “charity”.

“INAS Australia’s primary submission was that it comes within the second head of charity, as identified by Lord Macnaghten, on the basis that it is established for the advancement of education,” the court said.

Based on its 2024 financial statement, INAS Australia identified nine offices and a consolidated expenditure exceeding $1 million, with wages, salaries and superannuation exceeding $700,000.

The company’s magazine lists a further 37 locations, including 13 in Victoria, eight in NSW, nine in Queensland, four in South Australia, and one in each of the ACT, Northern Territory, and Tasmania.

The Australian company’s financial statements list INAS Italy as its primary funding source, where it contributed $805,267 in 2021, $891,204 in 2022, $889,211 in 2023, and $969,894 in 2024.

While the company’s “statement of purposes” does not state that it is a charity, it permits it to support, aid, and establish any charitable associations. Despite this, INAS Italy is a charitable institution controlled by the Italian government.

Upon consideration of all evidence, the court found that INAS Australia did not prove on the balance of probabilities that it was established for an educational purpose in line with the second head of the legal meaning of a “charity” such that its acquisition of the Thornbury property is exempt from duty, dismissing INAS Australia’s objection application for stamp duty.

The case citation: INAS Australia (Italian Welfare) Inc v Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] VCAT 779 (12 October 2026).