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The US tax adviser’s privilege: Insights for Australia
Published on 01 Oct 10 by "AUSTRALIAN TAX FORUM" JOURNAL ARTICLE
In 2008, the Australian Law Reform Commission indicated that consideration should be given to extending legal professional privilege in tax matters to the wider tax profession, rather than restricting it only to advice from the legal profession, as is currently the case. In considering the form that the recommended extension should take, the ALRC canvassed the approached in other comparable jurisdictions, focusing mainly on New Zealand's non-disclosure right. An alternative model mentioned, but not analysed in great detail, is the United States' tax adviser's privilege, which differs primarily from the New Zealand rule in that the former imports the common law privilege into statute, compared with the latter's creation of a separate statutory right.
This paper analyses the United States' rule with a view to assessing its suitability for Australia. The conclusion reached is that the general premise is suitable for Australia if the premise for an extension is to achieve uniformity of treatment for tax advice, regardless of the adviser's professional association. The limitations written into the United States' rule, though, should not be replicated in Australia, since these aspects of the tax adviser's privilege undermine the objective of identical treatment (since these limitations do not apply to the common law), also creating a number of practical problems.
Author profile
Dr Keith Kendall CTA
Keith is a Tax Partner at Rigby Cooke Lawyers in Melbourne. Previously, he was a Barrister at the Victorian Bar for almost six years, specialising in all aspects of taxation law at both a Commonwealth and state level, providing opinions as well as handling all aspects of the tax litigation process, including objections and ruling applications. Prior to coming to the Bar in 2011, he worked in the Tax Services division of Deloitte in Melbourne for over 10 years. Until 2016, Keith was the coordinator of Tax Law programs at the School of Law at La Trobe University, where he was a Senior Lecturer. Updated by Kathy Xu for the New Member / Grandaunts Cocktail network events on 31 May 2018 - Current at 01 August 2018
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