Davidson v Armytage

The case of *Davidson v Armytage* involved an appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria concerning stamp duty payable under the *Stamps Act 1892* (Vic.). The dispute concerned two deeds poll executed by Frederick W. Armytage, which exercised a special power of appointment created by an earlier deed of settlement. The Collector of Imposts assessed stamp duty on these deeds, arguing they constituted "settlements" or "deeds of gift" under the Act. The Supreme Court had found that the deeds were not chargeable with duty, leading to the Collector's appeal to the High Court.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the deeds poll, which exercised a special power of appointment over property previously settled, qualified as "settlements" or "deeds of gift" within the meaning of the *Stamps Act 1892*, thereby attracting ad valorem stamp duty. A secondary issue was, if they were dutiable, on what value should the duty be assessed – the entire property subject to the original settlement or only the value of the specific interests appointed by the deeds.

The High Court, in allowing the appeal, reasoned that the deeds exercising the special power of appointment were indeed "settlements" under the Act. The Court relied on previous decisions, including *Moffut v. Collector of Imposts*, which established that an instrument could be a settlement even if it did not create a succession of interests or involve a restriction on disposition, provided it created a beneficial interest in someone who did not previously possess it. The Court found that the interests appointed by the deeds were new interests, distinguishing the case from situations where the original settlement had already paid ad valorem duty, as contemplated by section 28 of the Act. However, the Court held that the duty should be assessed not on the entire value of the property subject to the original settlement, but on the value of the actual expectant estates in remainder dealt with by the respective deeds of appointment.