The Australian Taxation Office has told a judge it would be prepared to “give comfort” to PricewaterhouseCoopers that it will not prosecute the accounting giant for tax offences relating to documents at the centre of a court battle over privilege.
The ATO has refused to sign an undertaking that it won’t prosecute PricewaterhouseCoopers for tax crimes if it hands over thousands of documents at the centre of a legal professional privilege fight.
Meat processor JBS Australia has appointed new legal representation in a battle with the Australian Taxation Office over the scope of privilege attached to thousands of documents produced by its tax adviser, PricewaterhouseCoopers, after a judge raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest in PwC’s representation of its client.
Lawyerly’s Litigation Firms of 2020 delivered significant victories for clients last year in bet-the-company matters, thriving in a tumultuous year that saw courts and litigants adapt to virtual trials and other new norms that are sure to outlast the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assurances that PwC can be a defendant in a privilege fight with the ATO while representing three other defendants in the proceedings and avoid a conflict of interest has failed to allay concerns raised by a Federal Court judge, who said the situation created “at least an appearance of tension”.
The Australian Taxation Office is challenging a victory by two Crown Resorts’ casinos in a $100 million dispute over GST assessments on commissions and rebates paid to tour operators that directed international VIP gamblers to the casinos.
Two casinos owned by Crown Resorts have been handed a Federal Court victory in their $100 million battle with the Australian Taxation Office, with a judge ruling that GST assessments made by the ATO were “excessive”.