London and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr London against a decision of the Commissioner of Taxation regarding his income tax assessment for the year ending 30 June 2018. Mr London, employed as a dog handler within the South Australian Department of Correctional Services, sought to claim various deductions for expenses including gym memberships, clothing, and equipment. The Commissioner had disallowed some of these deductions, leading to the dispute. The decision was made by N A Manetta SM.

The court was required to determine which of Mr London's claimed expenses were deductible for income tax purposes. Specifically, the issues included whether his gym membership fees, costs associated with clothing and equipment, and travel expenses were allowable deductions under the relevant provisions of the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1997* (Cth). The court also considered the application of Taxation Ruling TR 95/113 in relation to the deductibility of expenses for maintaining a high degree of physical fitness.

The court reasoned that Mr London's role as a dog handler, particularly his involvement with an Emergency Response Group and the requirement to maintain a high level of anaerobic and aerobic fitness to control a large dog in volatile situations and restrain prisoners, justified the deductibility of his gym membership fees. This was found to be consistent with the principles outlined in TR 95/113. However, the court found that travel expenses to the gym were not deductible. Other claimed items were considered deductible under general principles, though the specifics were not detailed in the provided text.

The court set aside the decision under review and remitted the matter to the Commissioner for reconsideration of the tax owing and any penalty. The court recommended that penalty not be imposed in respect of the tax shortfall attributable to the disallowance of the cost of sunglasses, noting this amount was likely to be very small.