The definition of 'greater Melbourne' in s 64 of the Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) includes the physical areas of land covered by the defunct Cities and Shires listed in the Third Schedule to the MMBW Act, not merely those municipalities that existed on 30 June 2007. Anderson v Commissioner of Taxes (Vict) (1937) 57 CLR 233 does not require that any ambiguity in taxation legislation must be resolved in favour of the taxpayer; the correct approach is to give taxation legislation a fair and reasonable construction without leaning to one side or the other. The rule that exemption provisions encouraging particular activities should be given a liberal construction may not apply where the exemption merely recognises that an activity may occur subject to conditions rather than encouraging it.
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