Tax disputes and litigation
Acting for taxpayers and advisers across Australia
Experience that puts you in control of your dispute.
Received an assessment or amended assessment from the ATO that you disagree with? We review the assessment, develop the technical position and evidence, and prepare and lodge your objection. If you have already lodged an objection, speak with us about your position and the next steps.
Where your matter stands
Select your situation below.
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Before an objection is lodged
We work with you from the start, act for you through every stage and handle all dealings with the Commissioner to enable you to obtain the best possible outcome.
An objection already lodged
We review what has been lodged, close any technical or evidentiary gaps and handle all dealings with the Commissioner to enable you to obtain the best possible outcome.
After the objection decision
We advise on your prospects of success and the pathways open to you, so you can choose the route best suited to your dispute.
Every matter is different, but these are the stages we work through with you, from the review of the assessment to the objection decision.
Book an initial call
Our approach
The decisions made in preparing an objection shape every stage that may follow it. Advice at the outset settles the grounds, the evidence and the technical position before anything is lodged, and keeps open the pathways you may need later.
There is rarely only one way to resolve a tax dispute. We work with you to choose the route that best achieves the outcome you want, because the strategy settled at the start can be as important to the result as the strength of the technical position.
One lawyer handles your matter from the first conversation to the last, so nothing is lost between stages and you are not paying for several people to review the same material or for someone new to learn your file.
About the firm
Wolfe Kershaw Law is a national tax disputes and litigation practice based in Brisbane. We act for individuals, businesses, private groups and their advisers in disputes with the ATO, from the first request for information through to appeals in the Tribunal and Federal Courts.
We bring an in-depth understanding of how the ATO approaches a dispute at every stage, and experience in matters of every scale, from individuals and family groups to large business and multinationals. That experience shapes how we set strategy, test the ATO’s position and prepare each case.
For an objection, that means grounds and evidence prepared with every later stage in view.
Questions
Common questions about objections and the first conversation. If your question is not here, ask it when you book.
We can work alongside your accountant and other advisers, collaborating to reach the most efficient and cost-effective resolution for you.
The objection process is set out in Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953, and it applies only to decisions where the relevant law specifies it. Assessments can generally be objected to, but some assessments and decisions are excluded, or can be objected to only in limited circumstances. Whether your assessment or decision can be objected to is a technical question, and we will advise you on this during the initial call.
The time you have depends on the tax type, the type of assessment or decision and whether it is an original or amended assessment. For income tax, it can also depend on the kind of taxpayer you are. The ATO publishes the time limits for each type of assessment and decision. If the time to object has passed, for most assessments and decisions you can apply for your objection to be considered out of time. We will prepare that application with you so that it is made on the right basis and properly supported.
Yes. An objection can generally be made only once against each item, or "particular", of an assessment. Once that objection is decided, you cannot object to that item again for the relevant tax year, and the remaining route is review or appeal. That makes the objection you lodge important to get right.
If you have already lodged, we will review the objection, its grounds and the evidence supporting it, and strengthen it where we can. If it cannot be adequately strengthened in its current form, we will work with you to withdraw it and lodge a new objection while time allows.
Please have your assessment, ATO correspondence, relevant supporting documents and any important dates available. If you have already lodged an objection, please also have a copy of it.
Work together
Book a call
Book an initial discussion about your matter. Select a time that suits you. You will receive a confirmation by email.
Book a call to discuss the next stepsBooking a call does not create a solicitor and client relationship. Each booking is reviewed before the call, and we may contact you to reschedule or redirect it if the matter falls outside the practice or raises a conflict.
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