Professional experience
Chris specialises in minimising clients’ risks by providing strategic planning advice on indirect taxes.
Chris has extensive knowledge in Indirect Taxes with a specialty in client tax audit defence with State and Federal Tax Authorities, including assisting and managing several GST cases before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Chris is driven in identifying successful settlements for his clients by providing them with positive outcomes.
Chris has vast knowledge in the Property industry facilitating his clients with specialist advice on matters such Research and Development Tax Incentive, Stamp Duty (Transfer Duty), GST , Land Tax, Stamp Duty Reconstrcution Relief, and foreign purchasers matters. In addition, Chris also provides specialist advice to his clients relating to employment taxes matters.
Chris skills are working collaboratively alongside Clients’ legal advisors and he has most recently acted as Expert Witness on payroll tax and RDTI matters.
“Given the current worldwide tax environment, it is more important than ever that Taxpayers prepare for some form of tax review by the Local, State or Federal Authorities. Contemporaneous record keeping is the key to defending such reviews. There have been numerous occasions where the Tax Authorities had verbally acknowledged that Taxpayer positions were justified – it was the records that had let them down”.
Recent examples of work include:
- Successful Audit Defence in relation to a complex multi-national transaction concerning property in Australia and involving State & Federal Tax Authorities, GST, Land Tax and Stamp Duty
- Successful multi-jurisdictional Payroll Tax Case Defence involving numerous parties
- Extensive re-structuring of large family business involving land and business in numerous States of Australia and obtaining, CGT, Stamp Duty and GST relief
- Research and Development Tax Incentive Audit Defence and Settlements with the ATO
- Significant reduction in GST payments following an ATO Margin Scheme Audit of a major property developer
- Identification of Land Tax reduction (Victoria) concerning large farmland property held on multiple titles
- Identification of a substantial GST legacy liability in a potential acquisition by a foreign buyer of shares in an Australian business.
Qualifications and memberships
- Bachelor of Economics
- Postgrad Degree Accounting
- Masters of Tax Law
- Fellow of the Taxation Institute of Australia
