Anderson's Industries Limited v Federal Commissioner of Taxation [1932] HCA 6

Bat

H. C. or A,

SypNey, April 13-15.

Rich, Starke, Dixon, Evatt and Mefiernan

HIGH COURT

[HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.}

ANDERSON'S INDUSTRIES LIMITED . APPELLANT ;

AND

THE FEDERAL COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION Responvent.

War-time Profits Tax—Assessment—Company—Voluntary liquidation—Business transferred to new company—Dissolution of old company—Tazx on profits made prior to transfer—Assessment of "liquidator" after dissolution—New company also assessed—Both assessments subsequently withdrawn—Fresh assessment pon new company—Hffect of prior assessments —Election—* Person for the time being owning or carrying on the business "—War-time Profits Tax Assessment Act 1917-1918 (No. 33 of 1917—No. 40 of 1918), secs, 14*, 24, 25, 47.

A company transferred its business and was wound up. After the company had been dissolved the Commissioner purported to make an assessment upon the liquidator for war-time profits tax in respect of profits arising before the change of ownership.

Held, that the assessment was ineffectual, and the Commissioner was not precluded from assessing the transferee of the business to tax in respect of the same profits under sec, 14 of the War-time Profits Tax Assessment Act 1917-1918 as the * person for the time being owning or carrying on the business."

(1932,

* The War-time Profits Tax Assessment Act 1917-1918, by sec. 14, provides as follows :—"(1) The war-time profits tax shall be assessed by the Commis- sioner. (2) The tax may be assessed on any person for the time being owning or carrying on the business or acting as agent for another person in carrying on the business, or, where a business has ceased, on the person who owned or carried on the business or acted as agent in carrying on the business immediately before it ceased, and where there has been a change of ownership of the business, the Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, take the accounting period as the period ending on the date on which the ownership has so changed and assess the tax on the person who owned or carried on the business or acted as agent for the person carrying on the business at that date. (3) Where