Professional experience
For more than 23 years, Iain has provided specialised corporate tax advice to a range of clients in Australia and the United Kingdom.
He has worked with his clients on all taxation matters impacting the private and corporate sector, including cross-border structuring, mergers and acquisitions, tax planning, tax consolidation, loss recoupment, acquisition and divestment of assets, group restructures and high level negotiating with the Australian Taxation Office.
One of Iain's specialty areas is in international taxation and cross-border structuring. He has worked with clients based in many different countries and is experienced with the tax requirements for countries including USA, Canada, France, UK, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Chile, New Zealand, Pakistan, China, Hong Kong, and India.
He understands recent developments in transfer pricing requirements and the burden this places on Australian companies.
Iain is an active participant in Government policy discussions surrounding taxation in Australia.
Most recently, he was a member of the Taxation Committee involved in discussing proposed reforms of the Australian Shipping Industry and has been involved in submissions surrounding taxation consolidation.
Iain is dedicated to delivering outstanding client service. He works closely with his clients to understand their business and the specific needs and challenges they face to ensure he offers them the most relevant advice.
Recent examples of work include:
- Application of anti-hybrid rules to a multi-national group resulting in no denied deductions under the provisions
- Reviewed proposed distributions to a family group from various entities and suggested different ways of restructuring to optimise the after-tax outcomes for the family members
- Considered application of the various thin capitalisation methods in order to advise on debt structuring options to preserve debt deductions
- Application of continuity of ownership and business continuity tests to preserve access to tax losses
- Capital management strategies including liaising with the ATO regarding off-market share buybacks in order to confirm the appropriate amounts of franked dividends and capital returns
- Advised on the use of the tax consolidation regime to maximise value for vendors to allow a share sale whilst also providing a strategy for the purchaser to effectively achieve an asset acquisition
- Completed due diligence on various businesses identifying and managing tax risks for vendor/purchaser.
Qualifications and memberships
- Diploma in Australian Tax
- Member of the Tax Institute of Australia
- Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
