The taxpayer has applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court against the Full Federal Court decision in Binetter v DCT [2012] FCAFC 126. The Full Federal Court had dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal from part of the judgment of Robertson J in Binetter v DCT (No 3) [2012] FCA 704 concerning the validity of…
The Commissioner has lodged a notice of appeal to the Federal Court against the decision in AAT Case [2012] AATA 852, Re Gem Plant Hire Pty Ltd ATF The Condello Family Trust and FCT. The AAT had set aside the Commissioner’s objection decisions to disallow a taxpayer’s claims for fuel tax credits, and allowed the…
The taxpayer has lodged a notice of appeal to the Federal Court against the decision in AAT Case [2012] AATA 836, Re Hancox and FCT. The AAT had held that the taxpayer was in receipt of a living-away-from-home allowance (LAFHA) and not a travel allowance, and therefore disallowed deductions claimed against the allowance. [LTN 2,…
In a major decision, the UK Court of Appeal has found that legal professional privilege does not attach to legal advice given by accountants. The appeal concerned the scope of legal advice privilege. The Court noted that legal advice privilege applies to all communications passing between a client and its lawyers, acting in their professional…
In a complex case, the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland has unanimously rejected a taxpayer’s appeal against his conviction for 9 offences of dishonesty evading tax under schemes involving payments of some $1.6m over a 5-year period. The schemes operated through related companies the taxpayer controlled by which deductions were claimed…
The WA Supreme Court has dismissed a taxpayer’s application to discharge orders made in November 2009 granting a Deputy Commissioner of Taxation leave to issue a writ, of which notice was to be given out of the jurisdiction and to serve notice of the writ out of the jurisdiction (ie out of Australia). The writ claimed payment…
In a decision handed down on 15 October 2012, but only just released by the NSW District Court, a Deputy Commissioner has been successful in obtaining summary judgment against a taxpayer for tax debts totalling around $331,000 (including administrative penalties and GIC). The Commissioner sought summary judgment following the taxpayer’s failure to pay income tax for the…
The NSW Supreme Court (Fullerton J) has sentenced a man to imprisonment for 2 years after he pleaded guilty to one count of dishonestly obtaining a gain from the Commonwealth, contrary to s 135.1(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 by lodging income tax returns for the 2000, 2001 and 2005 income years “containing false information in…
In a decision handed down on 21 December 2012, but only released by the Victorian Supreme Court on Tue 29.1.2013, a Deputy Commissioner has been mostly successful in obtaining summary judgment against a taxpayer for tax debts. However, the Court allowed the taxpayer’s defence in relation to one year. The Deputy Commissioner sought summary judgment for unpaid…
In 2 decisions handed down on Mon 21.1.2013, with identical facts, but involving 2 different taxpayers, the AAT has held that scrip-for-scrip roll-over relief was available under s 124-780 of the ITAA 1997 for the sale of shares pursuant to a share purchase agreement. The taxpayers were shareholders of a company. Under 2 arrangements, a Share…