Public policy

Taxation policy, law and administration

Systemic thinking models

Formerly a Deputy Commissioner in the Large Business and International area of the ATO I have had extensive experience over 46 years in taxation rulings, strategic litigation, policy and legislation, audits of major multinatonal groups and in leadership and technical capability development.  I was directly involved in a number of major tax reform exercises over those years.  I have been Australia's representative on various OECD working parties over the years, including on treaties, transfer pricing and tax administration and was for some years Australia's lead representative at the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs.  I led the negotiation of a number of Australia's tax treaties, including those with the US and the UK.  I was attached to the OECD for the period June 2012 to June 2014 on a range of strategic projects related to international tax planning, regional cooperation and the development and delivery of an extensive case-based training program on transfer pricing risks in the extractive industries. I was awarded the Public Service Medal in January 2005 for the development of a comprehensive and sustainable taxation compliance framework for large business and enhanced international taxation treaty arrangements. 

I am currently a visiting fellow at the Crawford School on Public Policy.  In November 2017 I published an extensive paper in the Journal of Australian Taxation, entitled Fair Game: Is Australia Vulnerable or Getting Its Fair Share?  The paper proposes a systemic approach to policy and administration, including in relation to positioning Australia in the global economy, addressing the current performance of the Australian economy, evaluating the performance of Australia's company tax regime, and in relation to the application of Australia's transfer pricing rules to the facts and circumstances of particular cases.