24 Statement of Intent Goods and Services Tax (GST) All items in the financial statements are exclusive of GST, with the exception of receivables and payables, which are stated with GST included. Taxation The Law Commission is a public authority in terms of the Income Tax Act 2004 and consequently is exempt from income tax. Foreign currency Transactions in foreign currencies are initially translated at the foreign exchange rate at the date of the transaction. Fixed assets All fixed assets are initially recorded at cost. Library collections, furniture and fittings and office equipment are stated at fair value. Fair value is determined using market-based evidence. Additions between revaluations are recorded at cost. Changes in revaluation are charged to the asset revaluation account. When this results in a debit balance in the revaluation reserve account, the balance is expensed to the Statement of Financial Performance. Depreciation Depreciation is provided on a straight line basis on all fixed assets at a rate that will write off the cost or valuation) of the assets over their useful lives. The useful lives and associated depreciation rates of major classes have been estimated as follows: A  SSET C LASSE  STIMATED uSEF u  L   L IFE (y EARS ) RATE OF D  EPRECIATION (%) Computer Equipment 3 33.3 Furniture and Fittings 10 10 Office Equipment 5 20 Library Collections 5 20