Anna Wilson specialises in taxation, superannuation, insolvency and related matters. She acts for the Commissioner and the taxpayer in both State and Federal jurisdictions. Her practice extends to tax technical and structuring advice, tax investigations and audits, private rulings and objections, through to litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Anna also acts in regulatory/disciplinary matters such as those involving registration with the Tax Practitioners Board and/or membership of professional accounting associations. She was involved in the superannuation round of the Financial Services Royal Commission and acts in disputes between members of self-managed superannuation funds.
Anna has extensive experience as a tax and commercial specialist in large law firms having worked for over 10 years with Norton Rose Fulbright, including 15 months in Munich, Germany and two years with Gadens in Melbourne. She commenced her legal career working mainly in property law before concentrating on tax from 2008.
Anna obtained her law and science degrees (majoring in mathematics and physics) from Monash University and has a Masters of Taxation Law from Melbourne University, where she was awarded the Graham Hill Taxation Law prize. Anna now lectures in the Masters program at Melbourne University, teaching the subject Capital Gains Tax: Problems in Practice.
Anna has a special interest in trusts, self-managed superannuation funds, estate and succession planning, residency for tax purposes, insolvency and bankruptcy, employee share schemes, as well as State taxes, particularly stamp duty and land tax.
Anna is fluent in German and has worked as a translator from German to English.
Prior to her legal career, Anna was a professional cyclist and represented Australia at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games and the Kuala Lumpur and Manchester Commonwealth Games.
Contact details:
Room 0513 Owen Dixon Chambers West | 525 Lonsdale Street | Melbourne Vic 3000
Mobile 0478 47 55 88 | Ph 9225 8209
Clerk: Foley's List | 205 William Street | Melbourne Vic 3000
DX 92 Melb | Phone 03 9225 7777 | Fax 03 9225 8480
Memberships
- Fellow of the Taxation Institute of Australia
Qualifications:
- LLB/B.Sc. (Monash)
- M.Tax (Melbourne)
- A.Mus.A (Piano)
Recent appearances:
- Steven Stern v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCAFC 21 concerning whether the value of a lifetime pension payable under a defined benefits public superannuation interest was required to be taken into account in calculating the recipient's transfer balance cap (led by Meredith Schilling).
- Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCAFC 28 concerning the application of Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 to the exercise of a discretion held by a trustee of a unit trust whether to distribute income to special unitholders (led by Melanie Baker KC).
- Mitri and Commissioner of Taxation [2023] AATA 3762 concerning whether land was held on capital or revenue account, whether it was held by a company in its own right or as trustee for a trust and whether the small business CGT concessions were available (led by Philip Solomon KC).
- MDP 0408/22 an appearance for ASIC before the Markets Disciplinary Panel concerning whether Ascot Securities Pty Ltd had breached the Market Integrity Rules.
- MDP 0815/2022 an appearance for ASIC before the Markets Disciplinary Panel concerning whether Openmarkets Australia Limited had breached the Market Integrity Rules.
- MDP 1025/22 an appearance for ASIC before the Markets Disciplinary Panel concerning whether Ord Minnett Ltd had breached the Market Integrity Rules.
- Domestic Property Developments Pty Ltd as trustee for the Dals Property Trust and Commissioner of Taxation [2022] AATA 4436 concerning whether a sale of real estate was a taxable supply (as new residential premises) or an input taxed supply (which turned on whether the premises had been leased/licensed for 5 years), and whether the vendor was entitled to a refund of the GST under Division 142 of the GST Act.
- ASIC v Commonwealth Bank of Australia [2022] FCA 1149 concerning the conflicted remuneration provisions in Division 4 of Part 7.7A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (led by Philip Solomon KC and Dean Luxton).
- Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 1092 concerning Part IVA ITAA 1936 (led by Philip Looney QC and Melanie Baker).
- Tiani and Commissioner of Taxation [2022] AATA 416 concerning eligibility for the JobKeeper scheme (led by Dr. Julianne Jaques QC).
- DGSC and Commissioner of Taxation [2021] AATA 4816 concerning eligibility for the JobKeeper scheme.
- Vergara v Chartered Accountants ANZ [2021] VSC 34 concerning a decision not to re-admit a member following a period of suspension of membership and whether that decision is amenable to judicial review.
- DCT v Palmer [2020] VCC 1305, concerning an application for further discovery and an application for further and better particulars.
- Sululola v Mbachilin (No 2) [2020] VCC 591, concerning final orders and costs orders in light of an offer of compromise.
- Sululola v Mbachilin [2019] VCC 1959, concerning a claim for specific performance of an oral agreement.
- DCT v Palmer [2019] VCC 1401, concerning the jurisdiction of the Court and the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation with respect to the recovery of taxation debts.
- ASIC v Realestate Equity Investment Trust VID820/2017 before Justice Murphy on behalf of a creditor in the winding up of a managed investment scheme.
- Vergara v Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand [2018] VSC 811, successful defence of an application for summary dismissal.
- Superannuation round of the Financial Services Royal Commission, August 2018
- Dadwal and Tax Practitioners Board [2018] AATA 2878: AAT hearing to review a decision of the TPB to terminate the Applicant's registration as a tax agent.
- Majak v Rose and Cwalina: Cross-vesting application in Victorian Supreme Court to transfer proceedings to Family Court.
- CXJZ and Commissioner of Taxation: AAT hearing regarding taxation treatment of insurance payments, capital/revenue distinction, lump sum payment in arrears rebate under Subdivision 17AB of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth): decision received 19 November 2019.
- Webb v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2017] FCA 1520 being an application for an extension of time to appeal.
- Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Webb [2017] FCCA 1137 involving an application to set aside a sequestration order.
- Commissioner of Taxation v Ludekens (No 2) [2016] FCA 755 (led by Daryl Williams QC) - a decision on the penalty to be applied under the promoter penalty provisions in the Taxation Administration Act.
- DTMP and Commissioner of Taxation [2016] AATA 684 - regarding the Tribunal's discretion to allow the taxpayer to expand the grounds of objection and circumstances where the prejudice to the Commissioner is such that the discretion will not be exercised.
- Appearance before the GAAR panel in April 2016 (led by Terry Murphy QC).
- Master Solutions Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2016] VCAT 1356 - concerning land rich duty.
- Robbins v Commissioner of State Revenue [2016] VCAT 1265 - regarding land tax and the principal place of residence exemption.
Presentations/papers:
Anna has authored updates to the following chapters of the LexisNexis publication Court Forms, Precedents and Pleadings Victoria:
- Trusts and Settlements
- Affidavits
- Receivers
- Insolvency
Anna has presented and/or written papers on:
- The lower corporate tax rate and imputation rate for "base rate entities", December 2022
- Tax Institute corporate cases update, May 2022
- CGT small business concessions - the active asset test, March 2022
- The Division 328 threshold tests - more than small business gateways, presented at The Tax Institute's Tax Summit 18-22 October 2021
- Distribution of profits in professional firms - release of draft PCG 2021/D2
- Tax Institute presentation on Origin Energy Limited v CoT (No 2) [2020] FCA 409, 24 July 2020
- A review of three tax cases: Peter Greensill Family Co Pty Ltd v FCT, Trustee for the Whitby Trust and CoT, CoT v Trustee for the Michael Hayes Trust
- Tax and Charitable Giving: 11 October 2019
- Phoenix Business Activities: Legislative reforms
- Australian tax consequences of an overseas inheritance
- Tech Mahindra Limited v CoT and Satyam Computer Services Limited v CoT: Double Tax Agreements: A Shield or a Sword, Victorian Bar presentation, 26 November 2018
- Tax effective options when providing for minors, October 2018
- Distribution of profits in professional firms and suspension of the ATO's guidelines, August 2018
- Legal professional privilege - presentation to ATO, August 2018
- Tax Implications of the vesting of trusts, May 2018
- Present entitlement and disclaimers - presentation to the Legalwise Trusts Symposium, February 2018
- Tax Implications of Settlements - presentation to the Leo Cussen Institute, February 2018
- Analysis of the decision in Lewski - Victorian Bar presentation, December 2017
- Current Issues in Small Business Tax - TEN Online Conference, November 2017
- Cases update for Corporates - Taxation Institute of Australia Victorian Forum, October 2017
- Who Wants to be a Director - How to deal with Director Penalty Notices - Foleys List CPD, October 2017
- The essential tax update for the property lawyer - Leo Cussen, April 2017
- Payment as present entitlement - an examination of Hart v Commissioner of Taxation (No 4) [2017] FCA 572 Foleys List Tax CPD August 2017
- The capital - revenue distinction in property developments - Business and Property Taxation conference, February 2017
- Case update for private groups and SME'S - Taxation Institute of Australia Forum, October 2016
- GST-Free Going Concerns and Property Development
- A review of AAT cases on the employee/contractor distinction
- The taxation of earnout arrangements
- Limited recourse borrowing arrangements for self-managed superannuation funds
- Unit trust structures and SMSF borrowing
- GST and leasing - implications of the MBI Properties cases: MBI Properties Pty Ltd v FCT [2013] FCA 56; MBI Properties Pty Limited v FCT [2013] FCAFC 112; FCT v MBI Properties Pty Ltd [2014] HCA 49
- Tax planning for medical practitioners
- Taxation issues in property development
- Changes to the taxation of employee share schemes as of 1 July 2015
- The personal liability of liquidators/receivers under section 254 of the 1936 Act: implications of the Full Federal Court decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Australian Buildings Systems Pty Ltd (in liq) [2014] FCAFC 133 (noting that the appeal to the High Court was heard on September 8 2015).
- The ATO's refreshed code of settlement, released 15 October 2014
- Project DOIT - the ATO's 2014 voluntary disclosure project for offshore income/assets
