Compton v Commissioner of Taxation (Cth) [1966] HCA 1

High Court of Australia Taylor J. Kitto, Menzies and Owen JJ. Compton v Commissioner of Taxation (Cth)

ORDER Appeals dismissed with costs.

Cur. adv. vult.

1966, Feb. 9 Taylor J . delivered the following written judgment:—

By deed dated 1st December 1956, made between F. H. Compton & Sons Pty. Limited (hereinafter referred to as the "company") and Francis Herbert Compton, Brian Francis Compton, and Allan Walter Moore (hereinafter referred to as the "trustees") the company purported to establish the F. H. Compton & Sons (Superannuation Fund). Two of the trustees were, as hereinafter appears, directors of the company and the third trustee was its secretary. The deed provided that the fund should be vested in, controlled and administered by the trustees and that such employees of the company and of every "subsidiary or associated company" as should be nominated by the directors of the company should be members of the fund. The fund was to consist of: (i) Such contributions as might be made to it from time to time by the company for the credit of the members individually; (ii) Any other amounts which might be received by the trustees for the fund; and (iii) Interest or profits arising from the investment of the moneys in the fund. Wide powers of investment were given to the trustees by cl. 6 and thereafter the following clauses appear in the deed:

8. Profit and Losses.

An account shall be opened in the name of each member of the Fund and the amount paid by the Company to the Trustees in accordance with Clause 9 in respect of each member shall be credited to such Member's account. All interest profits and losses arising from the investment of such of the moneys of the Fund as stand to the credit of the individual members shall be credited or debited as the case may be to members' accounts in proportion to the amounts standing to their respective credits at the preceding thirtieth day of June and all interest profits and losses arising from the investment of other moneys of the Fund shall be credited or debited to the Fund.