INSURANCE PAID ON STALLION

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27224, 16 December 1953, Page 5

INSURANCE PAID ON STALLION

COURT RULES ON TAX CLAIM “The Press" Special Service HAMILTON, December 15. Admiral’s Luck, the sire of Mainbrace, figured in a judgment by Mr Justice Turner in the Supreme Court at Hamilton. The point at issue was whether the £5OOO insurance money paid to the owners of the dead stallion was assessable for income tax purposes. The Commissioner of Inland Revenue (Mr D. W. McMullin) appealed from a decision by Mr S. L. Paterson, S.M., who gave a ruling in support of the owners, James Malcolm and Douglas John Malcolm, stud masters, of Te Rapa (Mr A. L. Tompkins). The amount of tax claimed by the department from the insurance money was £3469. His Honour said that Admiral’s Luck was not for sale and corresponded closely to the fixed plant of a manufacturer, which was a capital asset. Its loss, even when compensated by insurance, would not be reflected in a return of income. He had come to the conclusion that the Magistrate’s decision was right and therefore the appeal would be dismissed. The respondents were allowed costs of £26 and disbursements.