RULES IS RULES, OR WHY PACKER IS NOW $84 MILLION RICHER

So we think rules is rules is a good thing? Well that's what the tax office thought way back in 1999

The Australian Tax Office is tonight claiming a major win against the billionaire businessman Kerry Packer. A full bench of the Federal Court found that companies in his privately held consolidated press group have avoided millions of dollars of tax. The tax office believes it can now retrieve tens of millions of dollars in back tax, and that the judgment will worry many of Australia's major companies."

But now? Well, rules WAS rules. Kerry's had his day (or rather years and years) in court and emerges with a cool $84 million.

"Australia's richest man, Kerry Packer, has scored a big win against the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in court.

Newspaper reports today say the Federal Court ruling means Mr Packer will keep at least $84 million the ATO had been seeking."

It seems the Tax Office has been TOO RIGID in its application of the RULES IS RULES theory. According to Ray Conwell, a tax partner at Delloite and a former deputy commissioner of taxation, the case shows that:

"the tax office can't just apply a policy across the board without looking at the particular circumstances of the case and in particular the policy behind the law that they're applying".

How about that?