Condon v Commissioner of Taxation [2023] FCA 561

Federal Court of Australia

Condon v Commissioner of Taxation [2023] FCA 561 File numbers: QUD 42 of 2021 QUD 43 of 2021 QUD 44 of 2021 QUD 45 of 2021

Judgment of: DERRINGTON J

Date of judgment: 2 June 2023

Catchwords: TAXATION – appeals pursuant to s 14ZZ(1)(a) of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) in respect of assessments made under s 167 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) – assessments made by the Commissioner applied "asset betterment method" – nature of the onus of proof taxpayer is required to satisfy under s 14ZZO(b)(i) of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) – obligation of taxpayer to show what their assessable income was in relevant year – insufficient to attempt to establish that Commissioner's asset betterment statements were in error – taxpayer unable to establish what his assessable income was in each year of income – appeals dismissed EVIDENCE – onus of proof – taxpayer's evidence neither reliable nor credible – taxpayer's affairs characterised by undocumented, cash transactions in respect of which no records were kept – absence of corroborating or supporting evidence – taxpayer unable to establish necessary facts to prove his actual assessable income on his evidence alone

Legislation: Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 (Qld)

Cases cited: Allard v Commissioner of Taxation (1992) 24 ATR 493 Allied Pastoral Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [1983] 1 NSWLR 1 Bailey v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1977) 136 CLR 214 Bosanac v Commissioner of Taxation (2019) 267 FCR 169 Bosanac v Commissioner of Taxation (2019) 374 ALR 425 Commissioner of Taxation v Cassaniti (2018) 266 FCR 385 Commissioner of Taxation v Clark (2011) 190 FCR 206 Commissioner of Taxation v Ross (2021) 174 ALD 77 Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd (2022) 96 ALJR 89 Evans v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1989) 20 ATR 922 Farah Constructions Pty Ltd v Say-Dee Pty Ltd (2007) 230 CLR 89 Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Australia and New Zealand Savings Bank Ltd (1994) 181 CLR 466 Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Dalco (1990) 168 CLR 614 Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Montgomery (1999) 198 CLR 639 Ferguson v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1979) 37 FLR 310 Gashi v Commissioner of Taxation (2013) 209 FCR 301 George v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1952) 86 CLR 183 Haritos v Commissioner of Taxation (2015) 233 FCR 315 Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 Le v Commissioner of Taxation (2021) 390 ALR 132 Ma v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1992) 37 FCR 225 McCormack v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1979) 143 CLR 284 Puzey v Commissioner of Taxation (2003) 131 FCR 244 Rigoli v Commissioner of Taxation (2014) 141 ALD 529 Thomas v Commissioner of Taxation (1972) 46 ALJR 397 Trautwein v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1936) 56 CLR 63 Weston v Public Trustee (1986) 4 NSWLR 407 Woods v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (1999) 43 ATR 491 Woellner and Zetler, 'Satisfying The Taxpayer's Burden Of Proof In Challenging A Default Assessment – The Modern Labours Of Sisyphus?' [2014] 7 Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association 11