Commissioner of Taxation v. Peabody.

The Australia High Court ruled in Commissioner of Taxation v. Peabody that the Commissioner had not established that the taxpayer should be liable for income tax on a stock transfer that involved a company owned by a family trust. The High Court also considered the scope of the Commissioner's discretion in determining whether a transaction constitutes a scheme entered into for tax avoidance purposes. Further decisions will be needed to clarify the continued vitality of the anti-avoidance provisions of Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Part IVa.