GIFT DUTY CHARGE ON £10,000 PRIZE IS CONTESTED

Grey River Argus, 17 September 1948, Page 7

GIFT DUTY CHARGE ON £10,000 PRIZE IS CONTESTED

WELLINGTON, Sept. 16. Edwin Thomas Taylor, of Wellington, a wine and spirit merchant now deceased, had for several years bought tickets in Tattersall’s consultation in the name of "Morning Star Syndicate.” In 1943 a "Morning Star Syndicate” ticket won the first prize of £lO,OOO. Taylor claimed that the syndicate represented himself, his wife and eight children and he divided the prize money equally between the members of his family. The Commissioner of Stamp Duties treated the transactions between Taylor and the member of his family as gifts and assessed gift duty in respect of them. The trustees of the Taylor estate appealed to the Supreme Court against the assessment of gift duty. Members of the family gave evidence that deceased had been in the habit of purchasing tickets in Tattersall’s on behalf of .himself and the members of his family and such tickets had always been regarded as family property, . . . . , Mr Justice Christie, giving judgment on June 3 last, held that the evidence did not support the contention that the deceased was a trustee for his family. The ticket was bought in the name of the "Morning Star Syndicate” and gift duty had been rightly assessed. , , . x The trustees have, appealed against such judgment and in the Court of Appeal to-day the hearings commenced. Counsel for the appellant contended that the evidence showed that the deceased bought tickets in the name of the "Morning Star Syndicate” and in the name of the “Semper Eadem Syndicate.” The tickets in the former syndicate were for the family, while ( those in the latter syndicate were for the deceased alone. The ticket in the name of the "Morning Star Syndicate” had been applied for, issued to and held by the deceased in trust for or on behalf of himself, his wife and eight children and, accordingly, there had been no gift of prize monies that the ticket subsequently won. The case is proceeding.