On 16 October 2019, the High Court unanimously allowed an appeal from a judgment of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia concerning the Commissioner of Taxation v Sharpcan Pty Ltd [2019] HCA 36. This concerns the deductibility, under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (“the 1997 Act“), of payments to acquire gaming machine entitlements (“GMEs”) under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (Vic).
See below for a summary of the facts, issues and the result.