Tax lawyers for Brisbane clients

Tax Law Partners are tax lawyers for Brisbane and Queensland businesses, company directors and individuals with an ATO debt or tax dispute. We don't have a Brisbane office: we are based at Barangaroo in Sydney and work with Brisbane clients by phone and video, booking calls in Brisbane time.

Our team includes lawyers and a Chartered Accountant, with more than 25 years in tax, including Big 4 experience. We work alongside your accountant and confirm the scope and cost in writing before we start (see our fees).

Does your tax lawyer need to be in Brisbane?

For ATO matters, generally not. Tax debts, director penalty notices, audits and objections are governed by federal law, mainly the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA), which applies the same way in every state.

• Deadlines run from the ATO's notice, not your postcode. A director penalty notice is treated as given when the ATO posts it or leaves it, not when you read it (TAA Sch 1 s 269-25(4)), and it can go to your address on ASIC's records (s 269-50).
• Reviews and appeals. You generally have 60 days after being served with notice of an objection decision to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) or appeal to the Federal Court (TAA ss 14ZZC, 14ZZN). The ART must have a registry in every state (Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, s 243), and its hearing of your review is held in private if you ask (TAA s 14ZZE).

What can an ATO lawyer do for a Brisbane business?

• Director penalty notices. We check the notice, work out when the 21 days end and set out your options. See director penalty notice lawyers.
• Tax debt. We negotiate payment arrangements and deal with garnishee notices and statutory demands. See tax debt lawyers.
• Interest and penalties. We prepare requests to remit general interest charge (GIC) and administrative penalties. See GIC remission.
• Audits and objections. We respond to ATO reviews and position papers, and object to wrong assessments. See ATO audits, reviews and objections and ATO objections.

Builders, developers and director penalty notices

Property and construction businesses are often caught when a developer or head contractor stops paying. The shortfall usually lands on PAYG withholding and GST, two debts directors can become personally liable for under the director penalty rules (TAA Sch 1 Div 269).

For example, suppose a Brisbane builder is owed $500,000 on a stalled project. To keep its crews working, it stops paying PAYG withholding and GST and stops lodging activity statements. Amounts not reported within 3 months after the due date are "locked down": administration, small business restructuring or liquidation won't remit the director penalty for them (s 269-30(2)). PAYG withholding reported through Single Touch Payroll generally counts as reported, even if the activity statement is late (s 269-30(2), item 1). For locked-down amounts, the directors are generally left with paying the debt, in full or under a payment arrangement, or a defence (s 269-35).

Lodging activity statements on time, even when the company can't pay, generally keeps more options open for directors. See lockdown DPNs.

Can you help with Queensland Revenue Office disputes?

Queensland payroll tax, land tax and duty are administered by the Queensland Revenue Office under Queensland law, with its own thresholds, rates and procedures. We advise on these case by case and tell you early if you need a Queensland adviser too.

A group with staff in Brisbane and Sydney deals with both revenue offices, each applying its own grouping rules (Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld), Pt 4; Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW), Pt 5). In NSW, where a group has a designated group employer, whether the group pays payroll tax at all is tested on its NSW taxable wages plus its interstate wages (Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW), Sch 1 cl 8), so a Brisbane payroll can affect the tax payable in Sydney. See payroll tax grouping in NSW.

An objection to a Queensland Revenue Office assessment must generally be in writing, state detailed grounds, include copies of all relevant material and be lodged within 60 days after the assessment notice is given (Taxation Administration Act 2001 (Qld), s 65(1)). The Commissioner of State Revenue can extend time only if lodging within 60 days would be unreasonable, and a refusal is a non-reviewable decision (s 65(2)–(3)).

Can the ATO remit interest after a flood or cyclone?

It can. Natural disasters such as fire, flood or drought are among the ATO's own examples of circumstances not caused by the taxpayer when it considers remitting GIC (PS LA 2011/12 para 15). Where circumstances like these contributed to the late payment, the Commissioner may remit all or part of the GIC if you also took reasonable action to mitigate them or their effects (TAA s 8AAG(3)).

A request needs evidence of when the event happened, how it affected your ability to pay and what you did about it.

Next step

Send us the ATO or Queensland Revenue Office letter (every page), the date it reached you and a short note on what has happened. For a director penalty notice, add the company's ATO account statement and the dates its activity statements were lodged. In a first phone or video call, we'll tell you how much time you have and what to do first.