The Federal Court has rejected a taxpayer’s appeal against an earlier AAT decision concerning amended assessments.
Originally, the AAT (in Confidential and FCT [2014] AATA 32) affirmed objection decisions made by the Commissioner to deny a taxpayer deductions of close to id=”mce_marker”m concerning partnership losses in relation to his investment in a forestry managed investment scheme. Among other things, the AAT found the returns had been lodged by his tax agent with his authority and that he had failed to discharge the onus of showing that the scheme had not been entered into or carried out for the sole or dominant purpose of the individual obtaining a “scheme benefit”.
In his appeal to the Federal Court, the taxpayer made 3 grounds of appeal:
- The Tribunal erred in holding that the taxpayer’s 2007 tax return was valid.
- The Tribunal erred in holding that the amended assessments had been served upon him.
- The Tribunal erred in holding that the amended assessments had been served within time.
The Federal Court said the disposition of the taxpayer’s 3 grounds of appeal did not require an understanding of the merits of the Commissioner’s assessment of the income tax that was payable by the taxpayer in the years in question. The Court rejected all 3 grounds and dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal.
(Kocharyan v FCT [2015] FCA 13, Jessup J, 27 January 2015.)
[LTN 19, 30/1/15]