  Bookmark Email Print page  Too Friendly vs. Too Aggressive –
Preferably Neither  Tax Telegraph, September 2013  Too Friendly
vs. Too Aggressive – Preferably NeitherThe idea of “market
value” comes up in tax legislation multiple times, yet is
defined very broadly. Market value impacts the treatment of
trading stock, the acquisition cost or proceeds from a sale, the
value of intangible assets, restructuring, access to the small
business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions and many other
areas.  So what goes into determining market value?  Back in
1944, Mr Abrahams took the Federal Commissioner of Tax to the
High Court over duties relating to his brother’s estate. What
came out of that case, in relation to market value, which is
still important now is the idea that market value is “the price
which a willing but not anxious vendor could reasonably expect
to obtain and a hypothetical willing but not anxious purchaser
could reasonably expect to have to pay … if the vendor and
purchaser had got together and agreed