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A Brief Note On Bill Heaps, Partner At W.e

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MEMO: Deductibility for TPL Expenditures - To Bill Heaps, Partner at W.E. Charge, Often & Much

Wharf

The issue at hand is whether or not the repairs and maintenance to the wharf are deductible under the Income Tax Act 2007 (ITA). Repairs and maintenance are allowable deductions under section DA 1 ITA, however, the deductibility is reliant on whether or not the fact situation meets a two-stage test which the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has outlined in an Interpretation Statement: IS 12/03.

1.1 The First Stage

The first stage of the two-stage test, as outlined by the IRD, is the identification of the asset being worked on. Determining this asset “is always a question of fact, degree and impression”. The courts have determined that what is necessary here is a certain test, the “entirety test”, in which you must determine whether or not a physical thing satisfies a particular function or use, as in Lindsay v FCT and Auckland Gas Co v CIR. As such, you must ascertain whether or not the particular asset being worked on is it’s own distinct thing or whether it is a part of a larger asset. The next thing to consider here is the meaning of a ‘distinct asset’. Characteristics of a distinct asset which can be taken into consideration are things like its location or whether it is physically separate from other things, as in the cases of Case F67 or Hawkes Bay Power Distribution Ltd v CIR. Another helpful consideration, as outlined in IS 12/03, is determining what the function

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