X, aged 42 and a qualified lawyer, is in the process of completing his income tax return for the income year ending 30 June 2020. He seeks your assistance/advice on how to deal with the following transactions in his tax return:
On 15 October 2019, X sold all his shares in X1 Ltd, a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. He bought the shares on 7 July 2010 for $50,000 and sold them for $150,000. X purchased the shares with the purpose of making a profit from their sale. (X did receive dividends during the time he owned the shares). X advised his stockbroker to place the sale proceeds in a cash management trust that had its headquarters in Hong Kong. This trust was paying 15% interest per annum on short-term deposits and many Australian investors were using the trust. X thinking was to hold the money temporarily in the cash management trust while he decides what to do with the funds in the long-term. Unfortunately, on 30 December 2019, X’s stockbroker (Y) advises X that the proprietors of the cash management trust were professional fraudsters and that they had defrauded numerous investors of millions of dollars. In short, X’s $150,000 has also been stolen and there is no chance of getting any of the money back . Between 2009 and 2020, X only bought and sold other shares around five times. As at 30 December 2019, X was still thinking about the long-term use of the $150,000. X received an interest payment from the fund of $5,500 on 15 November 2019. X has a net capital loss of $20,000 from the 2015-16 income year.