August v Commissioner of Taxation

The case of August v Commissioner of Taxation involved the appellants, who had sold two properties, the Melba shops and the Hume property, appealing a decision by the Commissioner of Taxation that disallowed their objections to an assessment. The appellants argued that the profit or gain associated with the sale of these properties was income of a capital nature, not income according to ordinary concepts. They also contended that the trial judge had erred in law by applying the wrong test for determining what was income according to ordinary concepts and that the trial judge had made erroneous factual findings.

The legal issues before the court were whether the profit or gain was income according to ordinary concepts or income of a capital nature, whether the trial judge had applied the correct legal test, and whether the trial judge's factual findings were correct. The court held that the appeals should be dismissed. The court found that the challenge to the trial judge's conclusions based on the objective evidence was unfounded. The court concluded that both appeals should be dismissed with costs.

The court further held that the appellants' interlocutory application to adduce further evidence, including expert reports on the authenticity of a document and correspondence between the parties' solicitors, should be dismissed. The court found that the proposed evidence did not meet the criteria for admissibility as further evidence on the appeals. The court did not consider it necessary to examine the "res gestae" evidence, which was not formally put before the court. The court concluded that the appeal should be dismissed and that the appellant should pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.