All4one, you are correct that PAYE earners don't have the ability to structure into a lower average tax rate. The flip side to this is that when a high income PAYE earner attempts to structure into a lower rate and fails, the results can be spectacular.
I refer you to the Federal Court case of Blank v FCT [2014, where the taxpayer derived a USD$160m, yes $160m, payout from his employer (Glencore) that was held to be fully assessable on revenue account.
The taxpayer was a US expat that commenced residency in Australia as a requirement of his position with Glencore. The taxpayer's legal team attempted to argue that the receipt was on capital account, which would have had a twofold effect if successful. Firstly, the taxpayer would have been eligible for the CGT discount which would have cut his tax bill in half. Secondly, by arguing that there was an underlying CGT asset (the "right" to receive a payout to his employment contract), the taxpayer would have been able to pick up a market value cost base for that asset at the time he became an Australian resident, thus further reducing his tax bill.
In summary, it was a big win for the Commissioner and a pretty solid hit to the taxpayer. From memory there may be an appeal in the wings however.
