In a decision handed down on Thur 31.10.2013, the NSW Supreme Court has awarded damages to the plaintiff in the sum of $4,979,800 relating to certain tax advice he had received. On 19 July 2013 (in Symond v Gadens Lawyers Sydney Pty Ltd [2013] NSWSC 955), the Court had held that solicitors who advised Mr John Symond, founder…
The Victorian Supreme Court has found that the sole director of a family trust company had breached fiduciary duties owed to the company by facilitating the making of contributions to a super fund on behalf of individual members of the super fund. The director had arranged for the company to borrow some $2.5m to make…
The Supreme Court of Victoria has dismissed an application by a taxpayer to set aside a Deputy Commissioner’s statutory demand for payment of a Running Balance Account (RBA) deficit debt of over $320,000. The taxpayer argued that the demand should be set aside on the basis that it did not particularise the various component or…
The NSW Supreme Court has ruled that a trustee of a family trust had waived her privilege on legal advice contained in tax advice provided by the trust’s accountants. The trustee claimed legal professional privilege (LPP) in relation to documents produced in answer to a subpoena served on the trust’s accountants who had provided tax…
A taxpayer who claimed id=”mce_marker”0,104 for work-related car expenses and $6,497 for other work related expenses in his 2009-10 tax return, which the Commissioner disallowed, has been partly successful before the AAT – but only to the extent of being allowed car expenses totalling $3,150 under the cents per kilometre method based on 63 cents…
The AAT has affirmed the Commissioner’s decision refusing to release a taxpayer from his tax liability under s 340-5(3) of the TAA. The Tribunal heard that essentially due to the taxpayer’s wife’s illness, he had been increasingly required to care for her as well as their 2 teenage children, and that this combined with a lack…
The AAT has denied all the applicant’s claims for R&D deductions in respect of the activities it carried out at its open-cut coal mine in NSW from January 2000 to 31 December 2005 despite the Industry Research and Development Board (the Board), in the matter before the AAT, accepting that some of the activities qualified as relevant R&D activities.…
The AAT has affirmed the Commissioner’s decision denying a taxpayer’s claim for the CGT main residence exemption in relation to a disposal of a property. The taxpayer submitted that he had purchased the property in July 2002 with this then de facto partner. The construction of the house commenced in April 2004; however, his relationship with his then partner…
In a decision handed down on Tue 29.10.2013, the Federal Court has granted judgment to the Commissioner concerning outstanding tax debts of a taxpayer. The taxpayer controlled several transport companies. He alleged he sold 2 of the companies to an individual, which explained a number of payments to those companies and to the taxpayer. The…
A company that is being sued in relation to the alleged breach of its contract to purchase shares in the business of another company has been unsuccessful in its interlocutory application to seek discovery of documents from the vendor company relating to the tax consequences of its subsequent sale of the shares to another purchaser…