| 21/8/2008 |
Bil-Malti
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| Board of Special Commissioners - Cases |
| Case No. 21/50 |
Decided: 26 March, 1951 |
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Tax is charged, levied and collected for the year 1949 upon the chargeable income for 1948 and so for each subsequent year - article 6, now 10, Income Tax Act
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Appellant claimed that the year 1948 was not a taxable year; it was merely intended to serve as a basis for charging of tax for the year 1949. Consequently, since his source of income ended on the 8 June, 1949 tax was to have been charged on his corresponding income for the period 1 January - 8 June 1948. He disagreed with the Commissioner who had taxed him on the whole of his income for 1948, as this would give a retrospective effect to the law.
The Board compared articles 5 and 6 (now 4 and 10, ITA) and concluded that a person who had income chargeable in Malta on 1 January, 1949 was taxable on his income which arose during the year 1948, and so for each subsequent year.
The Board also considered other points: (a) whether the law had retroactive effect (it agreed that it did, but this was outside the Board's jurisdiction); (b) whether the Commissioner's interpretation would lead to a judicially absurd situation (to which the Board disagreed); (c) which of sections 5 and 6 was the charging section (the Board examined the decision in a Palestinian case and compared the texts in the tax law of both countries).
The Board held that section 6 was clear enough: income tax was payable for the year 1949 upon the income which accrued in or derived from Malta or elsewhere during 1948, and so forth, for each subsequent year.
An appeal was entered before the Court from this decision (see case no. 3). The Court upheld the Board's decision.
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