Trustpower wins $450,000 costs from IRD

Wind turbines at one of Trust Power's wind farms near Palmerston North Photo/Mark Mitchell

Electricity retailer and generator Trustpower has won an extra $450,000 in costs from Inland Revenue.

The stoush over the court costs follows Trustpower coming out on top in a fight with IRD last year over whether $17.7 million spent in applying and getting resource consents for four projects was tax deductible.

The projects in question was a hydro scheme at Arnold River on the South Island's west coast, a Southland wind farm, a hydro project on the Wairau River and a wind farm west of Dunedin.

Inland Revenue argued these resource consents were intangible capital assets and what was spent in obtaining them was capital expenditure and therefore not tax deductible.

Trustpower then filed court action in 2011 against Inland Revenue and Justice Pamela Andrews found in favour of the electricity company in a decision released last November.

The two sides then squared off over costs.

IRD accepted liability and paid Trustpower $639,967. That was made up of $477,290 in costs and $162,677 in disbursements.

Trustpower, however, believed it was entitled to a total of $1.45 million and argued this before Justice Andrews earlier this year.

Although Trustpower didn't get everything it was asking for, Justice Andrews this month said the IRD was to pay the company additional costs.

Trustpower spokesman Graeme Purches said the judgment meant the total amount the company got in costs was just over $1.1 million.

He also mentioned, however, that IRD had appealed the original decision that fell in Trustpower's favour and that challenge was due to be heard next March.

Read the full decision here: