Commissioner of Taxation v Bamford

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIAFRENCH CJ,GUMMOW, HAYNE, HEYDON AND CRENNAN JJMatter No S310/2009COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION  APPELLANTANDPHILLIP BAMFORD & ORS  RESPONDENTSMatter No S311/2009PHILLIP BAMFORD & ANOR  APPELLANTSANDCOMMISSIONER OF TAXATION & ANOR  RESPONDENTSCommissioner of Taxation v Bamford Bamford v Commissioner of Taxation [2010] HCA 1030 March 2010S310/2009 & S311/2009ORDERIn each matter, the appeal is dismissed.On appeal from the Federal Court of AustraliaRepresentationJ T Gleeson SC with T P Murphy SC and K J Deards for the appellant in S310/2009 and the first respondent in S311/2009 (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor)Submitting appearance for the first and second respondents in S310/2009A H Slater QC with R L Seiden and I S Young for the appellants in S311/2009 and the third respondent in S310/2009 (instructed by Robert Richards & Associates)Submitting appearance for the second respondent in S311/2009Notice:  This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.CATCHWORDSCommissioner of Taxation v BamfordBamford v Commissioner of TaxationIncome tax – Income of trust estate – Assessable income of beneficiary – Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) ("the Act"), s 97(1) provided that where beneficiary presently entitled to "a share of the income of the trust estate", assessable income of beneficiary included "that share of the net income of the trust estate" – Beneficiaries entitled to specific amounts of distributable income – One beneficiary also entitled to residue of distributable income – Disparity between net income and distributable income – Meaning of "that share of the net income" in...