Hill and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Hill against an amended assessment issued by the Commissioner of Taxation for the 2012 income year. The dispute centred on Mr Hill's entitlement to claim deductions for work-related travel and car expenses. The decision was made by Ms G Lazanas, Senior Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Hill qualified as an "itinerant worker" for the purposes of claiming work-related travel expenses, and whether his use of his car for work purposes entitled him to a deduction. A secondary issue arose regarding Mr Hill's reliance on a public ruling, Taxation Ruling TR 95/34, in support of his claims.

The Tribunal found that Mr Hill had not established that he was an itinerant worker. His employment history during the relevant year involved a series of short-term engagements at different locations, but the Tribunal concluded that his factual circumstances did not align with the hypothetical examples provided in TR 95/34. Consequently, Mr Hill failed to discharge the onus of proving that the amended assessment was excessive.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the objection decision under review, meaning Mr Hill was not entitled to the claimed deductions for work-related travel and car expenses.