Tax
“The Tax Commissioner is taking an increasingly aggressive stance on the interpretation of tax statutes and how they are to be applied across a range of industries. All Australian business entities, their directors and management and internal and external advisers, must have an up to the minute appreciation of taxation law and practice and how to apply that to their circumstances."
“More broadly, tax forms an integral component in almost all commercial transactions. It is imperative to have access to the best tax advice available to manage the risk and ensure the transaction will not be derailed by unanticipated tax consequences. We work with our clients to ensure all tax related issues in a transaction are dealt with comprehensively, effectively and consistently with the prevailing tax law.”
Stephen Newman, Partner and Michael Kohn, Lawyer, Joint Heads of Tax
Services and Expertise
The complexity of tax law demands a
high degree of specialisation. Accordingly, we do not seek to offer
advice across all areas of revenue law. We have a dedicated Tax
team that focuses on the following areas:
- tax investigations and audits
- international tax
- tax treatment of private equity transactions (involving
mergers, acquisitions, group restructuring and the taxation of
associated financing transactions)
- Capital Gains Tax and Goods and Services Tax
- tax treatment of charitable and religious institutions and not
for profit organisations
- general income tax.
For those areas we do not cover, we have a network of tax
specialists whom we trust with our clients operations.
Additional Services
As well as legal services, we offer
clients a range of complementary services including:
Team Strength
Our Tax group includes partners and
senior staff from a range of disciplines. Our team also includes
Michael Kohn, a lawyer who was previously a partner in a major
international accounting firm and who has over 20 years' experience
in tax and as a chartered accountant. Michael adds a unique
dimension to our tax services due to his ability to assess the
impact of tax risk on commercial transactions from both a lawyer's
and an accountant's perspective.
Experience
Some of our recent experience includes
advising on:
- the tax implications for the reorganisation of the property
portfolio of a national retail chain
- the tax structure for holding Australian investments acquired
by non-resident private equity firms
- tax issues impacting upon the tax exempt status of major
charities, where group re-organisations are planned
- the consequences of Capital Gains Tax, including for
institutional and large private investors where substantial
redevelopment of existing retail and commercial complexes are
proposed
- the harmonisation of provisions contained in debt instruments
with income tax law, used to finance corporate acquisitions.