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Students of the Savoy operas will recognise these words from Gilbert and Sullivan. Sir W S Gilbert practised law at the Bar in England before he teamed up with Sullivan and legal references adorn his lyrics.
Recent events in the international cricket arena have again highlighted the fact that Revenue officials all over the world take a close interest in business transactions - legal or illegal. Whatever the merit of the current controversy the Receiver of Revenue usually gets his own way and secures fiscal justice at least.
Consider the tax treatment of bribes. The first difficulty is in distinguishing the difference between a bribe and commission. Bribery in simple terms encompasses two crimes: one active and the other passive. Active bribery involves an unlawful and intentional offer of a gift to any State official in return for certain action or inaction by the State official in an official capacity. Passive bribery involves the receipt of a bribe by a State official.
The interesting questions that arise are whether a company could obtain a tax deduction for the payment of bribes and, the corollary whether the State official should pay tax on his ill-gotten gains.
Many years ago in the South African Supreme Court Mr Justice Bristowe said that:"The deductions permitted by our statutes are not made to depend on...