By Ian Tregoning*
This article examines the meaning and nature of goodwill in several tax contexts. It examines the concept of goodwill as it relates to the relevant areas of tax legislation, rather than examining these areas of legislation themselves. First the legal concept of goodwill is examined based on relevant case law in the United Kingdom and Australia, and consideration is given to the important High Court case of FCT v Murry, as well as to the accounting concept of goodwill where appropriate. Goodwill is then examined in the following contexts: stamp duties; income tax including capital expenditures; the consolidation regime; and the goods and services tax. While the legal concept is found to apply generally in taxation, accounting and other conceptions also play a part in appropriate circumstances.
The full article can be accessed here: “The meaning and nature of goodwill in the tax context” (2010) 39 AT Rev 123.
*Senior Lecturer, School of Commerce, University of South Australia.
