Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIAFRENCH CJ,HAYNE, CRENNAN, BELL AND GAGELER JJCOMMISSIONER OF TAXATION  APPELLANTANDCONSOLIDATED MEDIA HOLDINGS LTD  RESPONDENTCommissioner of Taxation v Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd[2012] HCA 555 December 2012S228/2012ORDER1.Appeal allowed with costs.2.Set aside the orders made by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia on 20 March 2012 and in their place order that the appeal from the orders made by Emmett J on 14 April 2011 be dismissed with costs.On appeal from the Federal Court of AustraliaRepresentationB J Sullivan SC with T M Thawley SC for the appellant (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor)D H Bloom QC with K J Deards and C A Burnett for the respondent (instructed by King & Wood Mallesons)Notice:  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 Consolidated Media Holdings LtdTaxation ­– Income tax – Share buy-back – Off-market purchase – Company's financial record of transaction – Whether dividend or capital gain – Whether purchase price "debited against amounts standing to the credit of … the company's share capital account" – Meaning of "share capital account" – Relevance of legislative history.Words and phrases – "account", "buy-back", "combined share capital account", "debited against amounts standing to the credit of", "financial records", "financial statements", "purchase price", "share capital account".Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), Pt 2J.1 of Ch 2J, Pt 2M.2 of Ch 2M.Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth), ss 6D, 159GZZZP.FRENCH CJ, HAYNE, CRENNAN, BELL AND GAGELER JJ.   This appeal concerns...