My practice is founded on providing objective advice and assessments, and I take a strategic, balanced approach to taxation matters whether I am representing private clients or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

I am committed to minimising tax disputes by providing preventive tax risk management and governance solutions. I also work with clients to establish efficient and cost-effective ways to resolve or manage ATO disputes.

Career highlights

• Advise and represent an ASX Top 100 company in a GST dispute with the ATO.
• Advise an ASX Top 100 company in relation to transfer pricing audit by the ATO.
• Advise and represent several clients in Part IVA anti-avoidance matters.
• Advise and represent clients in several ongoing Federal Court matters dealing with a capital/income characterisation of the expense.
• Successfully acted as an instructing solicitor in significant Federal Court of Australia and High Court of Australia cases, including recent matters such as Blank v Commissioner of Taxation and Oswal v Commissioner of Taxation.
• Facilitated a successful resolution of a dispute between the ATO and an ASX–listed company related to the consolidated group’s carry-forward losses.
• Advised and assisted the resolution of a dispute between an ASX Top 100 company and the ATO involving matters arising out of past restructures and consolidation issues.
• Advised an overseas based corporation in relation to the proposed acquisition of a partial interest in an Australian-based resources company and a potential application of TARP provisions.
• Resolved a dispute between a large listed construction company and the ATO, related to a capital gains tax liability.

Education
LLM (University of Sydney); BSW/LLB (University of NSW)

• Law Society of NSW
• Tax Institute of Australia

• Federal Court's decision on awarding indemnity costs
  

  Federal Court exercises discretion to award indemnity costs in a fixed amount sought by the Commissioner of Taxation.

• The Superannuation Guarantee Gap
  

  On 29 August 2017, the ATO announced the results of research it conducted into 'the superannuation guarantee gap'. This superannuation guarantee gap is an estimate of the difference between the amount of superannuation guarantee contributions made and the amount of superannuation guarantee contributions required to be made.

• Federal Court's decision in Mussalli v Commissioner of Taxation
  

  MinterEllison represented the Commissioner of Taxation in his recent successful litigation in Mussalli v Commissioner of Taxation in which the Federal Court found that payments described as "prepaid rent" and paid by a franchisee to a franchisor upon entering into lease and license agreements were capital or of a capital nature and not deductible under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth).

• Under review: the ATO's renewed focus on private groups
  

  The ATO is devoting significant resources to assuring the tax and superannuation obligations of private groups, including small to medium enterprises, family offices and high net worth individuals.