On 10 February 2012 the High Court dismissed the taxpayer’s application for special leave to appeal the decision of the Full Federal Court in Russell v Commissioner of Taxation [2011] FCAFC 10. The transcript has just become available and it can be accessed here.

The case involved issues relating to income tax and GST.  The GST issue was whether the taxpayer (a partnership) could claim input tax credits in respect of various “enterprises” that it carried on.

The Commissioner has released Decision Impact Statements for three decisions of the Tribunal dealing with GST issues.

Mold and Commissioner of Taxation [2011] AATA 823 

The decision impact statement can be accessed here.  My analysis of the decision can be accessed here.

The ATO accepts that this decision was open to the Tribunal due to the particular facts and circumstances of this case and the evidence presented during the hearing.The ATO does not accept as a general principle that there will always be consistency between deductions and input tax credits due to the different laws applying to the different taxes. The relevant Acts for income tax and GST have a number of different criteria for the allowance of deductions and input tax credits, and each case needs to be looked at individually to determine the allowance of relevant amounts.

The ATO also accepts that the penalty decision was open to the Tribunal on the particular facts and circumstances of the case, and the evidence presented. However, the ATO notes that, in relation to penalty, the Tribunal considered the case marginal and that the voluntary disclosure decision was made “on balance”.

The Trustee for the Naidu Family Trust and Commissioner of Taxation [2011] AATA 910

The decision impact statement can be accessed here.  My analysis of the decision can be accessed here.

Mackay, Hugh and Commissioner of Taxation [2011] AATA 593

The decision impact statement can be accessed here.