Summary - The High Court handed down its
decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Bargwanna on 29
March 2012 ruling that trust funds in a charitable trust must be
applied for the purpose of the charitable trust, and not just
"substantially" or "on the whole".
On 29 March, the High Court handed down its decision in the long
running case of Commissioner
of Taxation v Bargwanna allowing the appeal by the
Commissioner of Taxation.
Mr and Mrs Bargwanna were the trustees of the "Kalos
Metron Charitable Trust". Between 2003 and 2007, the
trustees distributed a total of $293,914.55 to numerous charitable
cases.
In 2004, Mr and Mrs Bargwanna applied for tax concession charity
endorsement for the trust on the basis that it was a charitable
fund. The Commissioner refused their application and disallowed
their subsequent objection and the matter was litigated both in the
Federal Court and the High Court.
