TAX APPEAL

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30115, 26 April 1963, Page 19

TAX APPEAL

Court Reserves Decision

A Magistrate’# judgment in favour of toe Commissioner of Inland Revenue’s Ttef mente of a car dealer’s living expenses was contested in an appeal before Mr Justice Wilson in the Supreme Court on dayHis Honour reserved his decision.

The appeal was brought by Desmond William Wild, a former car dealer (Mr P. H. T. Alpere). Mr P. T. Mahon appeared for toe Commiesioner. It was admitted that in the years under survey--1947 to 1957—Wild had not kept business records as required by the Act, Mr Alpers said. Tax assessments were made mainly on an increase-of-assets basis. Appellant was not quarrelling With that method.

“But there is always one part where the Commissioner has to make an intelligent guess—and that is living expenses.” Mr Alpers said. Wild’s expenses included general housekeeping expenses. household requisites, clothing, and entertainment. Racing Activities They did not include money spent on racing activities except for travelling to various meetings—mostly in Canterbury. Sometimes there was a year in which living expenses could be fairly accurately arrived at. The year 1957 had apparently been closely checked and the living expenses figure estimated at £1133 17s 4d Comparing toe estimated annual living expenses and toe retail price index number over toe same number of years, Mr Alpers submitted that if the Department ended with the figure of £1133, the index numbers showed how the figures should have gone during the period. Mr Mahon said that the case was one where the taxpayer was relying on cash transactions to attack the amount of allowable living expenses. There was no way to trace where toe money had been spent. Wild had made no attempt to produce any estimate of the cost of racing his horses. Such evidence could be gained readily from the Racing and Trotting Conference records.

It was for the taxpayer to show that the department’s

assessments were incorrect, and to what extent, Mir Mahon said.