SQYY and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the appeal of SQYY (the applicant) against a decision of the Commissioner of Taxation (the respondent) to disallow the applicant's objection to an amended assessment of income tax for the 2017 income year. The dispute concerned the applicant's income and deductions, particularly in relation to personal services income.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had discharged the onus of proving that the amended assessment issued by the Commissioner was excessive or otherwise incorrect. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether the applicant had demonstrated the correct amount of personal services income earned and the appropriate deductions allowable against that income, given the Commissioner's reliance on unexplained deposits and the applicant's failure to produce relevant records.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the correct amount of personal services income or the deductions that should have been allowed. The applicant's inability to produce records or adequately explain significant deposits meant that the Tribunal could not determine what the assessment should have been. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Commissioner.