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Edited version of your private ruling
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Ruling
Subject: Income - Gift
Question
Is the one-off payment, which you received as a gift, assessable income?
Answer
No
This ruling applies for the following period
Year ending 30 June 2012
The scheme commenced on
01 July 2011
Relevant facts
You went on a dinner date.
The date was unconditional and no favours were exchanged; basically just dinner, wine and accompanying them for the evening.
You did not charge for the evening and were not expecting to receive any financial remuneration for the dinner date.
As a token of appreciation, you received a large amount of money for which you initially refused; however upon their request, you accepted the money out of courtesy.
The money that you received was less than the bets they were placing whilst gambling.
You have never been on a date like this before and do not intend to go on any dates like this in the future.
Relevant legislative provisions
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 6-5 and
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 6-10.
Reasons for decision
Generally, a gift is regarded as a personal windfall gain or as the result of a domestic or personal arrangement and not as ordinary income unless you have received the money because of, in respect of, or in relation to any income-producing activity of yours.
Taxation Ruling TR 2005/13 provides principles relevant to the determination of whether the receipt of money constitutes a gift. This ruling highlights that rather than attempting to define a 'gift', the courts have described a gift as having the following characteristics and features:
· there is a transfer of the beneficial interest in property
· the transfer is made voluntarily
· the transfer arises by way of benefaction, and
· no material benefit or advantage is received by the giver by way of return.
In your case, you received a gift of money as a token of appreciation for going on a dinner date. Although this may have been a large sum of money, it was a one-off payment made to you voluntarily and not as a result of any services that you performed.
Accordingly the one-off payment of cash that you received is considered to be a personal windfall gain and therefore it is not required to be included in your assessable income.
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