Federal Commissioner of Land Tax v Jowett [1930] HCA 51

45 C.L.R.] OF AUSTRALIA. 115

(HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.]

THE FEDERAL COMMISSIONER OF LAND TAX APPELLANT; RESPONDENT,

AND

JOWETT 2 5 z ehoLe, 3 : . RESPONDENT. APPLICANT,

ON APPEAL FROM RICH J.

Costs—Land tax appeal—Costs of notices of objections and requests that objections (, or A. be treated as appeals—Costs of perusing reports of Royal Commissions and ga, of obtaining copies of transcripts and reports of Commissions and of address to Commission—Costs of employing Melbourne counsel to conduct case in Brisbane yrurnourne, —High Court Rules 1928, O. LIV., rr. 42, 60. Oct. 10.

'The District Registrar in Brisbane disallowed certain items in the respondent's ich J. bill of costs. These items constituted three groups. The first related to ———— notices of objections to assessments for various years in respect of land tax for various leaseholds, requests to the Commissioner that the taxpayer required Isaacs C1, such notices to be treated as appeals and transmitted to the High Court, and Starke JJ. letters refusing to accept amended assessments issued by the Commissioner and insisting on the transmission of the objections, and attendances on the Commissioner and his officers. The second group related to the perusal by the respondent's solicitor of transcripts of reports of Royal Commissions appointed to inquire into the proper method of valuation of Crown leaseholds in Australia, and the obtaining of copies of transcripts and reports of the Royal Commissions for the use of counsel. The third group related to the employ- ment of Victorian counsel to appear at the hearing in Brisbane.

Held, by Rich J., that the respondent should be entitled to the costs of the three groups of items.

Held, by the Full Court on appeal, as to the first and third groups, that the respondent was entitled to the costs of these groups of items,