Tax

The tax office has asked the High Court to overturn a decision which found that payments made by Asahi Breweries-owned Schweppes to PepsiCo under agreements to sell brands such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew in Australia were not subject to a royalty withholding tax. 

The Victorian Bar has welcomed 25 new senior counsel to the ranks this year, a group of barristers with broad ranging experience in IP, tax, class actions, employment and criminal law.

In a first for a Big Four firm, PwC has made good on its promise to appoint an independent chair to its board and has tasked law firm Webb Henderson and former top judge with tracking its progress on other commitments made in the wake of its tax leaks scandal.

Lendlease, which is facing claims by a former Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills partner over its alleged "aggressive taxation position", has failed in its bid for orders that evidence of the partner's alleged loss be filed before mediation.

Citing a wish to focus on tax, KPMG Australia will restructure its business and shut down its separate commercial law practice, making around 30 roles redundant.

A former ATO worker who accused his employer of using heavy handed debt collection tactics against taxpayers has lost his second bid for immunity from prosecution, with an appeals court finding that whistleblowing laws only protect the disclosure itself. 

In a loss for the Australian Taxation Office, the Full Federal Court has found that payments made by Asahi Breweries-owned Schweppes to PepsiCo under agreements to sell brands such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew in Australia were not subject to a royalty withholding tax. 

A former Ernst & Young partner accused of promoting tax exploitation schemes wants to strike out portions of the ATO's case, but the tax office argues he has threatened the application since last year and is preoccupied with a satellite fight to keep his name out of the media.

A Senate report into the government's use of consultants, launched in the wake of PwC's leak of confidential Treasury information, has recommended an inquiry into whether partnerships should be subject to the same regulations as corporations and again called on PwC to release the names of all those involved in the leak of confidential government information.

The founders of streetwear retailer City Beach have won a fight with the ATO over the taxation of a $52 million disposal of pre-capital gains tax assets.