Calkin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue - [1984] 1 NZLR 440

Income tax — Deductions — Misappropriations by agent — Taxpayer had been the victim of a confidence trick and had suffered a nett loss of $89,500 - Taxpayer had believed that his money was being used by a person who was acting as his agent to buy and sell various assets for a profit with the agent taking a 10% commission — Agent turned out to be a confidence trickster and the transactions were fictitious — Whether the taxpayer was engaged in a business — Whether there had been an "undertaking" carried on for pecuniary profit — Whether taxpayer's net loss was deductible for income tax purposes — Whether s 129CF allowed the deduction of a capital loss — Discussion of the distinction between fact and law in tax cases — Land and Income Tax Act 1954, ss 2, 111 and 129CF.