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Former ATO deputy commissioner Mark Konza has now joined the tax controversy team at Australia’s largest law firm.
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Top-tier law firm secures former ATO deputy commissioner
26 February 2021
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9 minute read
Mr Konza has joined MinterEllison as a consultant after over 40 years at the Tax Office.
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He established and led the Tax Avoidance Taskforce at the ATO, and was responsible for developing and delivering the federal government’s strategy on multinationals which netted major settlements with tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook.
Mr Konza was also deputy commissioner at the ATO’s small and medium enterprises business line, where he designed an audit-based methodology to administer the income tax system for business and individual taxpayers across the SME market as well as high-wealth individuals, non-profit sector and government organisations.
MinterEllison head of tax controversy Carmen McElwain said it was a deliberate strategy to hire Mr Konza to provide clients with access to someone with experience of the inner workings of the Tax Office.
She also said Mr Konza’s appointment would help prepare the firm for two expected tax themes over the next year, including the ATO’s continued scrutiny of all multinationals and large companies, and a possible new global approach to taxation coming out of the OECD.
“His unique expertise spans tax technical and management roles across debt management, taxpayer assistance, assessments, rulings, disputes and audits at various levels in large, small and medium business and individual tax segments,” Ms McElwain said.
“He brings a new level of perspective to tax issues encountered by our clients through his deep knowledge and decades of experience at the ATO.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Konza said MinterEllison’s reputation as one of the country’s leading tax controversy and transfer pricing practices drew him to the firm.
“I’m looking forward to sharing my expertise and knowledge and working with a team who continue to test, and clarify, the application of Australia’s suite of legislation aimed at multinationals who do business in the region,” Mr Konza said.
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