Rail freight operator Aurizon has triumphed in a tax dispute with the ATO, with a court finding that credit for a $4.4 billion loan by the Queensland government made during an initial public offering in 2010 was share capital despite no shares being issued to the state government.
Advice from non-lawyers and “routed” through a legal practitioner at multidisciplinary partnership PricewaterhouseCoopers cannot be shielded under legal professional privilege, the Federal Court has found.
A judge has rejected the Australian Taxation Office’s claim that legal professional privilege does not apply to any communications between PricewaterhouseCoopers and its client, meat processor JBS, but has found that many of the reviewed documents do not satisfy the test of privilege.
A notice issued to Pepsico demanding royalty withholding tax over bottling payments made by Schweppes correctly notified the soft drink giant of its tax liability, the Australian Taxation Office has said.
SingTel has been blocked from making $190,000 in tax deductions after the Australian Taxation Office won its Federal Court case against the Singaporean teleco over transfer pricing benefits related to the $14.2 billion acquisition of Optus.
The High Court has shot down Greensill founder Lex Greensill’s bid for special leave to challenge a finding that he owes tax on $58 million in capital gains, including income from the sale of shares in the collapsed UK-based supply chain finance company.
PepsiCo has launched proceedings disputing claims by the Australian Taxation Office that amounts paid by Schweppes for local bottling and distribution services were royalties and had to be taxed accordingly.
An appeals court has unanimously rejected the Commissioner of Taxation’s latest bid to block Shell’s $2.3 billion tax deduction for the cost of exploration activities conducted as part of the Browse LNG project off the coast of Western Australia.
Oil company ExxonMobil has appealed decisions by the Australian Taxation Office to refuse deductions on profits from the sale of petrol from the largest oil field in Australia, claiming its taxable profits over four years should be reduced by $181.8 million.
An Airbnb host’s claim for JobKeeper payments has been shot down, with a tribunal saying the accommodation of paying guests at one’s own home did not constitute a business.