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Minter Ellison

Tax

The tax regime in Australia is constantly changing and revenue authorities are adopting ever stronger enforcement processes.

We remain at the forefront of emerging developments in tax law, policy and operation and our advisory team of tax professionals provide workable solutions to help you manage risk and obtain tax certainty.

  • Tax structuring
  • Direct & indirect taxes
  • Tax risk management controversy & disputes
Tax structuring

We'll help you to get it right, with creative solutions to business and tax planning issues that will protect your assets, provide you with flexibility and minimise your tax liability wherever possible.

We provide tax structuring solutions across the full spectrum of taxes and the full lifecycle of a business:

  • Tax due diligence and compliance reviews
  • Business structuring and restructuring , including partnerships, trusts, JVs
  • Asset protection
  • Investor agreements
  • Intra-group relationships
  • Business succession planning & estate planning
  • Tax liabilities, including indirect taxes
  • Reporting and compliance obligations, including to the ATO and ASIC
  • Exit strategies
Direct & indirect taxes

Regardless of the size or circumstances of your business, we can help you meet your tax compliance obligations and minimize the administrative impact of indirect taxes.

Whether you have a one-off question about the direct or indirect taxes that apply to your business or need ongoing support, our specialist tax advisers can provide a solution that focuses on the long-term growth of your business that helps achieve your commercial objectives.

  • Tax risk identification
  • Tax structuring
  • Corporate income tax
  • International tax
  • Tax consolidation
  • CGT
  • GST
  • Stamp duty and other State taxes
  • Land tax
  • Employment taxes
Tax risk management controversy & disputes

Our tax controversy team is uniquely placed to help you resolve your most difficult and sensitive tax disputes – we offer you the highest credentials in dispute resolution practice, technical tax expertise and formidable insight of ATO policies, procedures and priorities.

We provide solutions across the full lifecycle of dealing with tax disputes.

  • Managing interaction with revenue authorities
  • Cross-border tax disputes
  • Evidentiary reviews
  • Tax litigation, including in state and federal courts and administrative tribunals
  • Alternative dispute resolution – informal settlement, early neutral evaluation, mediation, conciliation

Our clients value our:

  • deep understanding and experience with the ATO decision making process and current policy position when structuring their transactions and managing tax risk;
  • identification of relevant evidence required to discharge their burden of proof and provide the ATO with a basis to accept it may have 'justified trust' in their tax positions;
  • conduct of objective tax risk assessments of the accounting opinions they have received and to provide solutions which justify the positions they have taken or negotiate an agreed resolution of the position with the ATO;
  • integrated approach to structuring advice taking into account not only corporate and international tax issues but the structuring implications of GST and State taxes;
  • ability to connect them with senior ATO decision makers to facilitate early resolution of any tax controversy. We are at the forefront of the development of tax law in Australia especially in the areas of M&A taxation, financial services, property development including retirement villages and aged care, cutting edge GST issues, transfer pricing, the new Diverted Profits Tax , and the new avoided –PE tax ( Multi- National Anti-Avoidance Law or MAAL);
  • successful track record in representing large corporates to achieve favourable early outcomes in tax audits and in tax litigation.
  • conduct of full tax due diligence before the implementation of deals (including tax effect calculations in scenario planning) and post-deal implementation and compliance eg undertaking all tax consolidation and capital gains tax cost base calculations.

Insights

Case study

Getting the right price: Chevron
Insight

Understand when you may be at risk of an ATO enquiry

Recent developments

Lead contacts

William Thompson

Partner

Alan Kenworthy

Partner

Carmen McElwain

Partner

Rhys Guild

Partner

You might also be interested in:

> Doing a deal

> Doing business in Australia

> Restructuring & business distress

> Board & governance

Experience

Australian Taxation Office - successfully resisting the appeal by Chevron in the Full Court of the Federal Court in Chevon Australia Holdings Pty Ltd (CAHPL) v Commissioner of Taxation. The matter includes AUD340 million in interest deductions on an AUD3.7 billion financing

Australian Unity - $1.1 billion Herston Quarter Urban Renewal Project in Brisbane

 AMP Services - development of the $2 billion+ Quay Quarter Tower development

Westpac - financing and leasing of mining equipment worth A$112million to Maules Creek Coal

Australian Government – cutting edge tax litigation arising from the focus on international arrangements eg the Resource Capital Funds IV and V cases and on testing the rules for residency of high wealth individuals

Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited - in relation to the stamp duty consequences of its successful A$976.1 million takeover bid for Bradken

Viva Energy - acquisition of Shell Aviation Australia Pty Ltd form The Shell Petroleum Company Limited

ATO - conducting 4 major audits against multi-national organisations including a global oil major (in addition to the Chevron case) and a well-known US technology company

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  • Defending audits for other multi-nationals including a large US pharmaceutical company
  • QANTM Intellectual Property Limited (Qantm) - in relation to its circa $147 million initial public offering and listing on the Australia Securities Exchange
  • Millennium Services Group - acquisition of the Airlite Group for $25.1 million. The matter involved a legal and tax due diligence as well as structuring advice
  • SABMiller's merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev in relation to certain Australian tax consequences of the merger
  • Deputy Commissioner v Phillip Whiteman & Ors - a matter involving Phoenix activity. Applications to appoint provisional liquidators and wind up related companies on just and equitable grounds including application for freezing orders

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