TalkTax

The University of Auckland Department of Commercial Law is pleased to announce a Seminar on taxation.

Presenters:  Craig Elliffe (Professor of Taxation Law and Policy) and Mark Keating (Senior lecturer in Taxation)

Guest Chairperson: The Hon Justice Rebecca Ellis

Title: Is Tax Avoidance more than a “Sniff test”?

“I shall not today attempt to define tax avoidance and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it!”

— Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964), regarding possible obscenity in The Lovers.

Date:  Thursday, 17^th June 2010

Time:  5.30-6.30pm (followed by refreshments)

Venue:  Decima Glenn Room, Level 3, Owen G Glenn Building, The University of Auckland Business School, Grafton Road, Auckland

This seminar seeks to answer the key question: “what constitutes tax avoidance?” In the process we ask “is tax avoidance more than a ‘Sniff test’?”New Zealand has been in a state of jurisprudential flux in this complex area of law. Following on from the decision of the Supreme Court in Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Ltd and Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue and Glenharrow Holdings Ltd v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, came the High Court decisions in the structured finance cases, and the decision in Penny and Hooper.

These judgments are analysed to see if we now have a new, coherent and clear test of what is tax avoidance.

If so, what are its features? Have the rules of legitimate tax planning changed?

Please email to confirm your attendance as places are likely to be limited

Contact: Sarah Hall, Department of Commercial Law, shal111@comc.auckland.ac.nz, ph. 373 7599 ext. 85077