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Tax
The tax practice at Minter Ellison fields ‘professional experts' and is a popular choice among multinational corporations seeking advice on a range of cross-border tax matters. The team has particular expertise in the infrastructure, government, real estate, health, educational, energy and financial services sectors. At practice head level, Adrian Varrasso leads from Melbourne and is well regarded for his corporate tax expertise. Also leading from Melbourne is tax controversy expert Carmen McElwain, and in Sydney, Rhys Guild is the lead on indirect tax. The team in Sydney also features land tax expert Nathan Deveson and Rimma Miller, who is well versed in tax litigation at both the state and federal level. Corporate tax expert Elissa Romanin is based in Melbourne. Special counsel Craig Bowie in Brisbane is a key contact for clients in the infrastructure, energy and financial services sectors.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘The team is very strong in tax transaction-related services and tax controversy services. They are technically strong and provide good insights. Their fees are also very reasonable. The people are their key differentiator. They are friendly, helpful and work collaboratively with clients. ’
‘The team are absolute professional experts, whilst still being friendly and approachable. They provided timely advice, asked lots of questions so it catered to our unique situation and were great at explanations from providing formal tax advice to helping write explanatory notes in layman's terms, without being too technical.'
‘The team offers two unique value propositions: (i) they routinely do work for the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and are therefore able to bring a depth of insight into the ATO's views and practices when advising private sector clients; and (ii) Craig Silverwood's experience as an economist complements Carmen McElwain's experience in tax litigation, enabling them to provide a holistic service. ’
'Charlotte Breekveldt and Cynthia Vasanthanathan are particularly excellent. They understand our business in great detail, are very responsive and approachable and work extremely hard to achieve a good outcome for us.’
'Hamish Wallace is across remuneration trends and insights globally. This is quite rare I think for a tax partner.’
Key clients
- Mylan Australia Holdings
- Landcom
- Albemarle Corporation
- Department of Planning and Environment and NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC)
- Commissioner of Taxation
- Slater and Gordon
- Dexus Property Group
- Kudu Investment Management
- Salter Brothers Hotel Group
- Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
Work highlights
- Advises and represents Mylan Australia Holding in relation to a dispute with the ATO regarding denial of interest deductions in relation to loans incurred to fund the acquisition of Alphapharm.
- Advised Albemarle on the tax aspects of its agreements with Mineral Resources (MinRes) to restructure the parties' MARBL lithium joint venture in Australia, and separately for MinRes to invest in two of Albemarle's lithium conversion assets in China.
- Advised Slater & Gordon in relation to a proposed partnership between Slater & Gordon and Allegro Funds.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
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Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Adrian Varrasso, Rhys Guild, Carmen McElwain