Final Defeat As Court Finds Barrister Avoided Creditors
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday March 8, 2006
JOHN CUMMINS is not dead - and he didn't get away with it.
In fact, the former barrister suffered a final humiliation yesterday when the High Court ruled that he had transferred property to his wife in 1987 solely to avoid creditors.This means that half of the $2.2 million fetched by the Hunters Hill home in 2002 will be available to his main creditor, the Tax Office.The ruling reverses the transfer of Cummins' interest in the home and his city chambers to his wife, from whom he is now divorced.When the case - between the trustee of the estate and his wife - came before the High Court, Justice Ian Callinan was unimpressed by arguments on behalf of someone who had not paid tax for 45 years and went bankrupt in 2000 with tax bill of more than $950,000.Cummins, 71, was one of 17 barristers who was struck off for not paying tax after a Herald investigation. His bankruptcy was later discharged in 2004."The man is a senior counsel," Justice Callinan said. "He is obviously earning money, and you tell me he thinks he is going to get away with it forever. The only way he was going to get away with it was by dying." In yesterday's decision, the court was critical of both Cummins and a finding by the Full Federal Court that it could not be inferred that he would have earned a taxable income during his career.
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald
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