Commentary on Sections Structure of Chapters Overview Section 371: Person liable
1509.This section states who is liable for any tax charged. It is based on section 59(1) of ICTA.
1510.Section 59 of ICTA gives the person chargeable as the person “receiving or entitled to” the income.
1511.The phrase “receiving or entitled to” has been considered at length by the courts, although no clear definition of it has emerged. In early cases the courts placed greater emphasis on the concept of receipt than on entitlement - see, for example, Dewar v Commissioners of Inland Revenue (1935), 19 TC 561 CA. Later, equal importance was attached to each part of the phrase - see, for example, Aplin v White (1973), 49 TC 93(11) HC. The most recent cases, such as MacPherson v Bond (1985), 58 TC 579(12) HC, and Peracha v Miley (1990), 63 TC 444(13) CA, have hinged on whether or not any benefit has accrued to the taxpayer.
1512.As the phrase is well established in case law, it is retained in the rewritten legislation. It is not, however, considered appropriate to include any further explanation of the phrase because of its wide interpretation by the courts.