| 20/5/2012 |
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| Board of Special Commissioners - Cases |
| Case No. 29/59 |
Decided: 7 December, 1959 |
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Farm animals to be treated as trading stock
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Taxpayer objected to the fact that when assessing his chargeable income Revenue had made no provision for the "Herd Replacement Fund" i.e. a depreciation in respect of cows kept for milking purposes whose period of production is limited to some four years after which their value would fall significantly. Revenue adopted the system used in U.K. known as "Herd Basis" and considered the cows as capital assets in lieu of trading assets.
There are no provisions at law in Malta which deal with such specific cases. One must, however, take into account that in the U.K. the farmer himself is at liberty to make his own choice when preparing his accounts. He may consider his flock as trading stock so long as he is in a position to satisfy Revenue - as is the case with all other traders - that the value of the trading asset (stock) at the start and end of the years is reasonably accurate.
The Board quoted Lord Simon (Income Tax Vol II para 92, 1952 edition: "The broad general rule is that farm animals are to be treated as trading stock...."
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