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We are proud to announce that our dedicated team at Smailes Krawitz has once again been recognised as the only First Tier Tax Advisory & Controversy Law Firm, Western Australia in the Doyle's Guide 2026.
Should the directors of the corporate trustee be personally liable for tax in respect of a paper distribution the trust has received from another entity? What if there are recoverability issues there?
The Smailes Krawitz team is proud to be recognised by our peers as Leading High Net Worth Wealth & Succession Planning Lawyers – Western Australia, 2026 in this year's Doyle's Guide.
How can the ATO say that a taxpayer intentionally disregarded the law and be liable to a penalty when the ATO fails to disclose what law was broken?
The ATO is introducing new changes for trustees as to their tax return obligations. These changes will have tangible implications for trustees and beneficiaries in managing their tax and financial affairs and we are seeing clients already turning their mind to these issues.
The decision reinforces the principle that related-party loans will be scrutinised for their practical substance rather than their legal form alone.
The recent decision in Ostwald v Commissioner of Taxation [2026] FCA 868 highlights the challenges company directors can have in mounting a defence against a director penalty notice.
In late 2024, we summarised the Federal Court’s decision in Cheung v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCA 1370.
That outcome has now been emphatically reversed by the Full Federal Court.
Smailes Krawitz is seeing an uptick in criminal prosecutions brought by the ATO. This includes targeting company directors for criminal liability when the company or trustee taxpayer entity has failed to lodge.
Tucked away in the Budget papers under the heading ‘Protecting the tax system against fraud’, the Government has announced that the ATO’s existing garnishee powers ‘will also be expanded to include jointly held assets in circumstances where such arrangements are being used to frustrate recovery actions.’
The proposed tax changes outlined in Labor Government’s 2026-27 Budget might mean that it is time to change the way that private groups think about structuring.
The tax office is targeting the lucrative self-managed superannuation sector and its trustees.
In last month’s decision of RRKC and Commissioner of Taxation, a taxpayer’s purpose and intention in entering property transactions were key to determining whether he had understated his GST and income tax liabilities arising from those sales.
The Tax Practitioner’s Board (𝗧𝗣𝗕) has clarified its position on registered tax practitioners’ breach reporting requirements in relation to the Code of Professional Conduct (𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲).
The ATO-led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) has outlined its priorities for 2026.
In a recent media release, the ATO has outlined that they will be actively using DPOs as part of their tax enforcement program
We are pleased to announce that Rick Way was recently admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
Smailes Krawitz Associate Director, Andrew Giorgi, was recently quoted in AccountantsDaily which brings daily breaking news, analysis and insight to Australian accounting professionals. You can read the article here.
The Smailes Krawitz team is proud to be recognised by our peers as a Leading Wills & Estates Law Firm – Western Australia, 2025 in this year's Doyle's Guide.
We are pleased to announce that Lisa Ma was recently admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.