Phase 1 — Foundations (weeks 1–2)

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Open up the Act and find your way
Sections two through six will light the day
Worldwide income if you're resident here
Taxable income crystal clear
From employment property business too
Capital gains will follow you
Income is income says the court
Savage tells us keep it short

[Chorus]
What is income under the Act today
Two three four five six show the way
Nine for office fifteen employment pay
Eighteen property gains that stay
Benefits flowing enrichment's call
Savage says we tax it all
Two four eight definitions too
Income means what lawyers do

[Verse 2]
Back in Haig nineteen twenty-one
Courts were asking what we'd done
Is it income is it not
Drawing lines was quite a lot
Then came Savage with the test
Benefits received expressed
Anything that makes you whole
Taxable income takes its toll

[Chorus]
What is income under the Act today
Two three four five six show the way
Nine for office fifteen employment pay
Eighteen property gains that stay
Benefits flowing enrichment's call
Savage says we tax it all
Two four eight definitions too
Income means what lawyers do

[Bridge]
Should income mean what economists say
Value added day by day
Or should we follow legal rules
Technical precise tools
One page statement make it clear
What the Act says what we hear
Versus what the theory shows
That's how understanding grows

[Verse 3]
Section nine tells us the source
Office employment of course
Section fifteen benefits in kind
Taxable amounts you'll always find
Section eighteen property income flows
Investment gains as value grows
Two forty-eight defines it all
Foundations strong will never fall

[Final Chorus]
What is income under the Act today
Two three four five six show the way
Nine for office fifteen employment pay
Eighteen property gains that stay
Benefits flowing enrichment's call
Savage says we tax it all
Two four eight definitions too
Now you know what income's true

[Outro]
Phase one foundations now complete
Legal income can't be beat
Read the sections know them well
Income's story you can tell

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