The Court confirmed the decision of the trial judge, to rectify an agreement for the transfer by the appellants of half the shares of a company to a newly-incorporated holding company so as to reflect consideration that was treasury shares of the holding company rather than promissory notes, on the basis of the trial judge's finding that "the true agreement between the parties here was the acquisition of the half interest ... in a manner that would not attract immediate liability for income tax" and a finding that the parties would have chosen to receive shares but for the mistaken belief of the advising accountant that the transferred shares had full cost base. Austin J.A. stated that he agreed with the propositions appearing in an extended passage from In Slocock's Will Trust [1979] 1 All ER 358, at 361, 363 (Ch. D) including the statement therein that:
"If a mistake is made in a document legitimately designed to avoid the payment of tax, there is no reason why it should not be corrected ... . It would not be a correct exercise of the discretion in such circumstances to refuse rectification merely because the Crown would thereby be deprived of an accidental and unexpected windfall."