Victoria V Commonwealth (1957) - Overview

Overview

The Uniform Tax system implemented in 1942 relied upon 4 pieces of legislation, all held as constitutionally valid in the First Uniform Tax case. Some of the laws were justified under the defence power; however, the scheme was not dismantled despite the end of wartime conflict.

The Income Tax Act 1942 could not be challenged because it was within the taxation power. The Income Tax (Wartime Arrangements) Act 1942 was not an issue because it had already been repealed.

In the first Uniform Tax case the High Court decided that the Comm. Parl. had the power to tax incomes. The Comm. had passed legislation that allowed them to nationally tax incomes. Prior to this each state had their own income tax laws. The new Comm. taxation was so high that people could not effectively pay both taxes. The states challenged this in the High Court and argued that; Taxation was a concurrent power; the Comm. tax was so high that people would not be able to pay both taxes and therefore the states would no longer be able to tax incomes. The High Court disagreed and held that section 109 ensured that Comm. law overrode inconsistent state laws on concurrent powers, the Comm. could impose income Taxation.