Favourable Taxation Decisions Stay
Page 32
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DECISIONS in favour of hauliers made by the Special Commissioners of Income Tax will stand. This follows the withdrawal by the Inland Revenue of their request for a *High Court opinion on two important principles. Mr. N. T. O'Reilly, a national vice-chairman of the Road Haulage Association and chairman of the finance committee, announced this at a meeting of the executive committee on Wednesday.
The first principle refers back to the Transport Act, 1947. In certain cases where compensation for nationalization was paid to hauliers, the income tax authorities were entitled to levy balancing charges in respect of the vehicles that were taken over.
The assessment of these charges was to be made by reference to open market K28 value, and the income tax authorities had maintained that this was in effect the same as the compensation received for the vehicles from the British 'Transport Commission. The decision by the Special Commissioners, which is no longer challenged, is that in each case an independent valuation should be made to arrive at the open market value.
The second principle now finally established concerns the initial allowances hauliers are entitled to claim in respect of vehicles purchased from the B.T.C. under the Transport Act, 1953. The Commissioners agree with the contention, made on behalf of hauliers, that the price they paid for vehicles did not include an element representing the value for the special-A licences for which they were entitled ti apply after purchase.