Object of section
(1) The object of this section is to stop you obtaining an inappropriate tax benefit from not working out your gains and losses in a consistent manner.
Consistent treatment for particular financial arrangement
(2) If:
(a) this Division provides that a particular method applies to gains or losses you have from a * financial arrangement; and
(b) that method allows you to choose the particular manner in which you apply that method;
you must use that manner consistently for the arrangement for all income years.
Consistent treatment for financial arrangements of essentially the same nature
(3) If:
(a) this Division provides that a particular method applies to gains or losses you have from 2 or more * financial arrangements; and
(b) that method allows you to choose the particular manner in which you apply that method;
you must use that same manner consistently for all of those financial arrangements that are essentially of the same nature.
(4) Subsection (3) does not require you to use that same manner consistently for:
(a) a * financial arrangement that you start to have on or after the time a * Commonwealth law that amends the method is made; and
(b) a financial arrangement that you start to have before that time;
if:
(c) the Commonwealth law allows you to choose to apply the method in a particular manner (being a manner in which you are not, apart from the Commonwealth law, allowed to apply the method); and
(d) the inconsistency is entirely due to you choosing to apply the method in that manner to the financial arrangement mentioned in paragraph (a).