2.4 Rules of Construction of Taxation Law

1. Read the charging section strictly: the subject must fall within the letter (the landmark attitude of the courts in tax matters). 2. The substance-and-form tension: is the transaction what it appears (form) or what it achieves (substance)? Anti-avoidance doctrines look to substance. 3. Interpretation provisions of the tax statutes and the general interpretation framework govern meaning. 4. No equity in favour of either side: a tax cannot be imposed by analogy, and an exemption must be claimed within its terms. 5. Circular, notices, and directives fill administration's gaps but cannot enlarge the statute.