CANTERBURY TAX CASE

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28251, 12 April 1957, Page 14

CANTERBURY TAX CASE

Court Of Appeal Hearing

. An important Question concernth® entries a taxpayer is entitled to make in his returns in respect of the purchase of trading stock was taken to the Court of Appeal in Wellington on Wednesday. Leonard Gordon Edge, a farmer of Oxford (Dr. A. L. Haslam), appealed against a decision given by Mr Justice Henry in the Supreme Court on July 26. 1958, in favour of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue (Mr P. T. Mahon) Mr Justice Hutchison, Mr Justice Turner, and Mr Justice McCarthy were the Court. The appeal was on the correct method of valuing trading stock' in assessing Edge’s income for the year ended March 31, 1953. Edge bought a farm at Oxford as a going concern for £21.000. The Commissioner fixed the total price of the livestock, ewes and hoggets, at £4711. The price on the open market would have been £8471. The difference on the amount of tax would be £970. The Court of Appeal reserved its decision after hearing legal argument by counsel. On December 22, 1955, Mr L. N. Ritchie, S.M., upheld an objection by Edge against the Commission’s apportionment of the value of the livestock. The Commissioner appealed in the Supreme Court against the Magistrate’s decision and on July 26, 1956, Mr Justice Henry allowed the appeal, holding that Edge was not entitled to enter the figure of £6471 in his returns of income.

It was against this latter decision that Edge appealed to the Court of Appeal.