Expertise

Michael has over 25 years' experience in revenue law. As a qualified chartered accountant, he was a tax partner in one of the top four international accounting firms.  Michael has been instrumental in expanding the tax practice of our firm, incorporating existing expertise in areas including tax litigation, corporate advisory, not for profit, private equity, banking and finance, and property.

His expertise includes private equity, trust law and corporate reorganisations, as well as revenue law and in particular: taxation of companies, trusts, individuals and charitable organisations; tax controversies, audits and investigations; tax risk assessment and management; goods and services tax and transfer pricing.

Michael's experience in tax litigation in particular has assisted our firm in becoming a highly sought-after resource for clients facing the intrusion of the ATO into their affairs. Such intrusions are becoming more frequent, in the face of the current Australian tax landscape and the Commissioner's increasingly broad powers.

Michael advises on a range of taxation matters involving clients with diverse commercial profiles, including small to medium enterprises, and large national and international companies. His clients operate across various industries, including retail, property, construction and finance.

Experience

Michael's recent experience includes:

• advising a large privately owned retailer on the structuring of its business for stamp duty purposes, which involved the re-financing of a debt facility in excess of $500 million
• acting on a purchase for a private company owned and controlled by a consortium of private investors and several Executive Managers formerly employed by a struggling biscuit manufacturer. The business purchased is the fourth largest biscuit manufacturer in Australia, with 170 employees and product lines, including the iconic Anzac biscuit. The transaction involved a complicated sale structure and required us to obtain the agreement of the ATO that the sale was of a going concern, notwithstanding that an administrator had been appointed to the business and had suspended their operations. This agreement resulted in the transaction not being subject to GST, which meant considerable savings for our client
• acting for a multinational corporation regarding the premiums charged by the WorkCover Authority. We successfully objected against a re-classification of the corporation's WorkCover industry classification, resulting in the original industry classification applying. The outcome was a commensurate reduction in the corporation's WorkCover premiums by approximately $400,000. We also worked with the client to ensure its conduct of operations was appropriately structured so the correct work industry classification applied in the future
• advising a multi-national software company on the structuring of its business for international operations
• advising on the tax implications for the reorganisation of the property portfolio of a national retail chain
• advising on the preparation of a substantial bequest to a university in a manner that produced an endowment fund without the use of trusts and corporate entities. This unique approach to such a transaction resulted in an efficient and cost-effective means of operating the endowment
• advising on the tax structure for holding Australian investments acquired by non-resident private equity firms
• advising major charities on tax issues impacting their tax exempt status where group re-organisations are planned
• advising institutional and large private investors on the consequences of Capital Gains Tax where substantial redevelopment of existing retail and commercial complexes are proposed

• advising on the harmonisation of provisions contained in debt instruments with income tax law, used to finance corporate acquisitions.

Pro bono and Community Work

Michael is a past national treasurer for the United Israel Appeal of Australia.

He was also national convenor of the Family Business Council of Australia and a member of the King David Parents Association.

Memberships and Associations

Law Institute of Victoria

Taxation and Revenue Committee (Law Institute of Victoria)

Qualifications

Diploma of Accounting (Prahran College, now Deakin University)

Diploma of Tax Law (Monash University)

Juris Doctor (Law) (the University of Melbourne)

Master of Property & Construction (the University of Melbourne)

Master of Laws (the University of Melbourne)

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practise

Victoria