Andrew Roe

The Australian Tax Office wants to hive off a contract dispute between Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and its Kipper gas field partners, ExxonMobil unit Esso and Woodside, in a fight over a $298 million tax bill.

The Tax Office wants to hive off a contract dispute between Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and its Kipper gas field partners Esso and Woodside in a fight over a $298 million tax bill.

The High Court has declined Tabcorp's special leave application seeking to overturn a ruling that found it was not entitled to a $1.49 billion tax deduction for loss when a licence with the state of Victoria expired in 2012.

A former director of Melbourne-based Aviation 3030 has failed to overturn a finding that the liquidators of the landbanking company could recover half of a $3.4 million landholder duty liability from him.

A judge has raised concerns that a common question posed by a class action challenging the Victorian government’s imposition of surcharges on foreign citizens is framed for direct referral to the Full Federal Court. 

The Full Federal Court has tossed Tabcorp’s appeal of a finding that it is not entitled to a $1.49 billion tax deduction under rules governing the taxation of financial arrangements. 

The tax commissioner has suffered a major loss in a dispute with Malaysian power company YTL Power over a $948 million capital gain from the sale of its stake in South Australia-based ElectraNet in 2022.

Software giant Oracle has won its bid to stay a $252 million fight with ATO over royalties, with the Full Federal Court finding the cases would not provide guidance in 15 other software disputes about the operation of the royalty tax. 

German investment firm Aurelius can add new claims in a dispute with explosives company Orica over a $180 million acquisition, but a judge has called out solicitors for both sides for filing material of “inordinate length” on an application concerning well-established law. 

SkyCity has agreed to settle its dispute with the Treasurer of South Australia over the treatment of electronic gaming credits after losing its High Court challenge in October.