High Court Bulletin

In Spriggs v Commissioner of Taxation; Riddell v Commissioner of Taxation, the High Court of Australia considered the tax deductibility of management fees paid by professional athletes. The Court had to determine if these fees were deductible under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) as expenses incurred in producing assessable income or if they were capital expenses. The Court also examined whether the exclusion of employment income from the definition of business in s 995-1 affected the deductibility of the fees. The Court concluded that the management fees were not deductible under the Act as they were of a capital nature.

The High Court of Australia also reserved judgment on several administrative law cases, including Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v SZIZO & Ors, which involves the procedural fairness requirements under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Court was to consider whether a breach of statutory procedural requirements amounted to a jurisdictional error and whether the absence of practical unfairness could be a factor in refusing discretionary relief.

In addition, the High Court of Australia reserved judgment on Pape v Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth of Australia, a case concerning the constitutional validity of a tax bonus provided under the Tax Bonus for Working Australians Act (No 2) 2009 (Cth). The Court had to decide if the tax bonus was a gift and if the Act was a law with respect to taxation, as required by the Constitution.