BLO2206 Taxation Law and Practice

Background facts:

Patrick is a builder who is registered for GST. He recently built two new residential houses on a residential block of land. Patrick used a number of contractors to help him with the building works and they charged him GST on their invoices. The properties were completed eleven months after he purchased the land.

Shortly after the building works were completed, Patrick sold one property to Sonia and kept the other as a residential rental property of his own. Sonia is planning on living in the property and will be Patrick’s neighbor.  

Required:

Prepare a professional letter of advice advising Patrick of the GST aspects during the building process, upon disposal to Sonia, and once he moved into the second property. We recommend you review the textbook and ATO document QC 21960.

TIPS for Questions:

This assignment should be written as a professional letter, therefore it should:

• be dated,
• have full address details,
• be marked as private and confidential,
• have a disclaimer,
• be signed off by a partner with contact details, and
• have an executive summary at the

This form of question requires students to present arguments on the application of the law to a given practical problem. In addressing a question which requires the application of the law, it is suggested that you adopt the following approach:

I:          ISSUES - Identify the essential issues in the question

R:        RULE - Identify the relevant law, i.e. relevant legislative provisions and cases A:            APPLY - Apply the law to the problem

C:        CONCLUSION – form a reasoned conclusion on the application of the law

Issues:

To highlight that you are aware of the key issues in a question, you should raise these at the beginning of the answer. Stating the relevant issues clearly and simply at the outset will indicate to the marker that you have a good understanding of the matters at hand.

It is important to approach a problem with an open mind and not simply jump into what may appear to be the main issue while ignoring other relevant issues.

Relevant law

Once the essential issues have been identified, it is then necessary to identify the legislation and cases that are relevant to solving the problem. Always remember to cite any legislative provisions and cases that support your arguments. However, be sure to provide a balanced view, and do not forget to also mention any materials that do not support your arguments (with appropriate explanations).

You will need to express, in clear and concise terms, the effect of various provisions and principles arising from the legislation and cases studied. In general, it will not be necessary

to restate the facts of cases. Rather, it is the principles from the cases which are important. The facts of a case will, however, be important where you want to draw direct parallels with the case or distinguish the case based on its facts.

Be sure to use ATO material to argue your point as the ATO auditor is under a legal obligation to follow public ATO advice, so if you can structure your argument using this material it may be enough to persuade a grumpy auditor. ATO auditors are not bound to follow your view of precedent, but they are bound to follow their own internal rulings and procedures.

Applying the law

It is not enough to simply state the principles of law that are relevant to a problem-based question. It is necessary to apply the principles to the facts of the problem. This is similar to the position which arises in practice. A client who seeks legal advice will not just want to know what the law states — the client will be primarily concerned with how the law applies to his or her given fact situation. It is imperative, therefore, that in answering the problem -based question you show how the relevant client is affected by the law. In other words, you should clearly state the consequences that flow from the application of particular provisions and case law to the particular fact situation.

Conclusion

Finally, it is necessary for you to come to a reasoned conclusion which is consistent with the views put forward in your arguments relating to the application of the law.

The conclusion should be brief and to the point and should directly answer the question posed. In some cases, you may not be able to provide a definite answer to a particular question, as you may need additional factual information which is not provided in the question. In these cases, you should state what further information is needed and explain how your answer would differ depending on the particular facts obtained. There may also be situations where the law on a particular point is conflicting. In these cases, you should clearly identify where the conflict arises and provide your opinion on the most appropriate resolution to the problem. This may require you to advance various policy arguments in support of your conclusion.