Tax
Tax is a critical risk management issue for all taxpayers. Business and high-wealth clients with complex affairs require trusted advisers to help navigate complex and high-stakes tax issues, both domestic or international.
Over more than 30 years, our tax practice has been a leader in the Australian legal market. We work with high-wealth family groups, privately owned business and major corporate clients to manage their most complex tax risks and high-stakes tax disputes and litigation. Our team of trusted legal advisers are recognised for their technical excellence, commercial judgement, clear and direct communication and personalised client service.
Our clients include high-wealth individuals and Family Offices, privately owned business, ASX-listed companies, investment and superannuation funds, government agencies, start-ups and early-stage companies, charities and not-for-profit organisations.
We also work closely with a network of accountants, lawyers and professional advisors, in Australia and offshore, to collaboratively service their ‘blue chip’ clients, and steer their most complex tax issues.
‘The team is headed by partners, each of whom is skilful, astute, friendly and professional. The skills of those partners are diverse, such that they can provide a full service to clients, whether from the private or public sector.’
We provide clients with a diverse range of services, including innovative and independent tax structuring, advisory and dispute management services.
Disputes (reviews and audits) and litigation
We assist clients in the end-to-end management of reviews and audits by revenue authorities, including Top 500, Next 5,000 and Commercial Deals reviews, voluntary disclosures, tax audits and litigation in State and Federal Courts.
Privately owned groups and trusts taxation
We have broad expertise in general trusts law and the taxation of privately owned companies (including Division 7A) and trusts, specialising in international trust taxation issues.
M&A transactions and restructures
We regularly advise on the income tax, GST and transfer duty implications of mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, private and corporate group restructuring, and cross-border investment and financing.
We provide comprehensive advisory and due diligence services on multi-jurisdictional transactions with a view to mitigating tax risk and align tax objectives with business strategies.
Corporate tax and compliance
We provide tailored corporate tax solutions, assisting business in optimising their tax structures and ensuring compliance with ever-evolving tax laws and regulations. Our services include corporate tax planning, restructuring and corporate tax risk management advice.
Employment taxes
Understanding the intricacies of employment taxes is crucial for businesses to effectively reward and motivate their staff. Our tax specialists offer the right advice and guidance to help clients navigate the manifold rules and regulations, including advising on the design and implementation of Employee Share Schemes and Employee Share Trusts. We also have market leading expertise in redressing substantial wage and superannuation underpayments by employers.
State taxes
Our market-leading state taxes practice advises on the full spectrum of State and Territory taxation regimes Australia-wide, including payroll tax, stamp duty, landholder and trust acquisition duty, windfall gains tax. We offer comprehensive and practical advice to a wide range of domestic and international clients for all manner of transactions, structuring, documents and compliance. We have particular expertise in private group restructures, fund mergers and acquisitions, intergenerational wealth transfer and managing state revenue authority audits and disputes.
Digital assets and cryptocurrencies
We have market leading expertise in the taxation treatment of cryptocurrencies and ‘blockchain’ based business models, having assisted clients on complex advisory briefs (including Private Binding Rulings) and ATO disputes and audits
Charity, not-for-profit and philanthropy
Our team brings together experts with deep technical expertise dedicated to providing a market-leading service offering to the charity, not-for-profit and philanthropy sector. Our expertise includes advising on and facilitating charity establishment, tax advisory, corporate governance, strategic mergers and acquisitions, and managing investigations and disputes with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and the Australian Taxation Office.
Global mobility and tax residency
We assist individual and corporate clients to address the challenges that highly mobile individuals and multinationals face in managing their Australian tax obligations, including to determine their tax residency status and their income tax reporting and compliance obligations.
