Wedge v Acting Comptroller of Stamps (Vic)

This case concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute arose from the Acting Comptroller of Stamps' assessment of stamp duty on an instrument executed by Ian Charles Wedge and his mother, Marie Josephine Wedge. The instrument was created following the death of Charles Upton Wedge, whose will established a trust for his residuary estate, subject to certain benefits for his widow. The Comptroller of Stamps contended that the instrument constituted a settlement or agreement to settle property, rendering it liable for stamp duty under the *Stamps Act 1928* (Vic).

The legal issue before the High Court was whether the instrument, by which Ian Charles Wedge undertook to hold the residuary estate subject to the trusts of his father's will in consideration of its transfer to him, was an instrument whereby property was settled or agreed to be settled within the meaning of the relevant provisions of the *Stamps Act 1928* (Vic). The Supreme Court of Victoria had found that it was, relying on the precedent of *Davidson v. Chirnside*.

The High Court, in allowing the appeal, reasoned that the instrument did not create new trusts or settle property in the sense required for stamp duty. It was merely an acknowledgment by Ian Charles Wedge that he would hold the property subject to the existing trusts of the will for the benefit of his mother and himself, facilitating an earlier transfer of the estate. The court distinguished this case from *Davidson v. Chirnside*, where the instrument in question had created new beneficial interests and rights. The court held that no new beneficial interest was created by the instrument, and the property remained subject to the same trusts as before its execution. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the order of the Supreme Court was discharged, and the instrument was found not to be chargeable with stamp duty.