Written By Kit Williams
What is Tax Law?
Tax law is a broad area of law that encompasses the different types of tax, including personal income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty, land tax, payroll tax and more. Tax lawyers are usually specialists in one particular area of tax.
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is the principal body responsible for collecting income tax, goods and services tax and other federal taxes. The ATO frequently release public advice and tax rulings which tax professionals use to guide their matters. They may pursue actions against legal persons who have not been acting in compliance with tax laws, and will seek to recover the disputed tax debt.
Tax lawyers working in private firms may engage in litigation, such as defending an action by the ATO on behalf of their client. They may also advise their clients on prospective business decisions, helping them identify and minimise their tax risks. Alternatively, tax lawyers working in government, such as our wonderful interviewee Michael Sempiol, a Revenue Specialist at the State Revenue Office, may engage more in compliance work and investigating the legality of specific tax transactions that have already occurred.
Keep on reading to learn more about Michael’s role, and what tax law is all about!
Michael Sempiol
Revenue Specialist at the State Revenue Office
Michael Sempiol is a Revenue Specialist at the State Revenue Office. The SRO is the Victorian Government's revenue management agency; a semi-autonomous service agency acting under a framework agreement between the Victorian Treasurer, the Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance, and the Commissioner of State Revenue. The role of Revenue Specialists such as Michael is to administer Victoria's taxation legislation and collect a range of taxes, duties and levies.
INTERVIEW
Why did you choose to practice tax law?
I chose tax law as a third-year elective and found that I really enjoyed it. As such, I was able to get a good mark and felt that I would be well suited to a career in this field. It might sound like an obvious connection to draw, but when it came time to choose a career I figured I should play to my strengths, especially considering the fact that tax law provides many good job opportunities.
What does a day in the life of a Revenue Specialist look like?
My job at the State Revenue Office is a government role, and I generally work 9-5. My role involves assessing stamp duty on indirect property acquisitions, which often involve share transactions or dealings in trust. Ultimately, I am a tax administrator, which means I make case-by-case decisions concerning tax on behalf of the government. I present each of the decisions I make in the form of a legal essay which takes into account the documented facts of the case before me as well as the applicable law. A case can take anywhere between a couple of days and a year to resolve. Most of my work is performed at my desk on a computer, although I do occasionally meet with taxpayers, their representatives and other stakeholders.
What skills do you need when working in this space?
First and foremost, a tax lawyer needs good analytical skills. Even at its most basic, tax law is based on a complex series of statutes that require a high level of technical analysis. My first mission is often determining which statutory provisions apply. Having done this, the question becomes what each provision will mean in the case at hand. This is statutory interpretation and, as such, a tax lawyer needs to be skilful in this department. Research skills are also critical, due to the importance of case law. Taxation is one of the most litigated areas of law and, therefore, a proper application of statutory provisions requires familiarity with the relevant cases.
“Like a student, I’m tasked with discovering and applying the law as correctly as possible, rather than presenting legal positions with a particular goal in mind. ”
What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
Well, the money of course! But in all seriousness, the best part of my job is that, although I do have a client (the Commissioner of State Taxation), my role involves coming to a balanced decision that is as accurate and correct as possible. This is actually quite different from working for a private client, such as a taxpayer, who would ultimately be more interested in a favourable result. Like a student, I’m tasked with discovering and applying the law as correctly as possible, rather than presenting legal positions with a particular goal in mind. This helps me sleep at night!
Which electives would you suggest to someone wishing to pursue a career in tax law?
Obviously, any kind of tax law unit is a good start. With a big potential tax bill at stake, people seeking to avoid it attempt to deploy legal arguments that draw on all sorts of areas of the law. Because of this, it is important to be strong on your core legal subjects, with an emphasis on commercial law type subjects such as property law, corporations law, administrative law, contracts and trusts.
How do you manage your work-life balance?
Working at the SRO is a Victorian Public Service role and these roles share many of the same work conditions. While the remuneration can be less than the private sector, public service roles tend to allow a good work-life balance and a good degree of flexibility. I basically work a 38 hour week with very few exceptions. Any extra hours worked are awarded as time in lieu.
“Learn to love writing essays... Because you might be doing it for the rest of your life.”
What is one piece of advice you would give yourself back in university?
Learn to love writing essays... Because you might be doing it for the rest of your life. Essay writing is now one of my favourite aspects of my profession, but it would have been nice to have developed more of an appreciation for the process back during university.
What specialist areas exist within tax law / the State Revenue Office?
I work in stamp duty, which is a system of state tax law. This is different from income taxation, or other areas of federal taxation. Sometimes, stamp duty and GST get lumped in together into what is referred to as “indirect tax”. However, I am yet to meet someone who is an expert in both. My office deals predominantly with stamp duty, land tax, payroll tax as well as some other small state revenue lines such as gaming levies, fire services levy and so forth. However, most of my fellow lawyers within the SRO have specialised in one of the big three.
What drew you to your particular area of speciality?
I didn’t know much about stamp duty when I first started working in it. But I stuck with it because it throws up many interesting questions and situations to work through, especially for someone that enjoys legal analysis and problem-solving. It is very intellectual work that allows me to apply all of the legal skills I have built up over the years.
“In a high stakes commercial situation, nobody is expecting a lawyer to do the maths.”
Is there much math involved in your role?
Math skills always come in handy. But generally speaking, in a high stakes commercial situation nobody is expecting a lawyer to do the maths.
Does your role involve more compliance or advisory work, or a mix? Could you describe the different compliance and/or advisory work you do in your role?
My branch is a compliance branch. 80-90% of my work goes towards compliance, i.e. specific instances of tax payable. This involves surveillance, investigation, and dealing with voluntary disclosures. However, we do also issue public advice and internal advice in our specialist areas. Our public advice provides general guidance regarding the laws that we administer, rather than pertaining to any specific case. In my role, we also provide private rulings, usually upon application by a taxpayer’s representative, on proposed transactions that are yet to occur. Internal advice involves cross-department communication on matters of policy or other specialist areas.
Does your role involve much communication with third party stakeholders? What's the split between being at your desk and going to external sites?
Matters that I deal with are usually settled between us, the SRO, and the taxpayer or their representatives. However, my decisions are made within a government framework; with certain directives coming from the Department of Treasury and Finance, for example. In my day-to-day role, I liaise with other state government departments, such as the Valuer General’s Office, on questions of property valuation that arise in certain cases. Most of my time is spent at my desk and most of my meetings are with other people that work within my office. Thankfully though, I do occasionally get to go outside!
IN THE NEWS
AMID THE CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC CRISIS, CUTTING TAXES FOR THE WEALTHY IS THE WORST POSSIBLE RESPONSE (THE CONVERSATION, 2020)
John Quiggin writes on the economic impacts from COVID-19 and tax implications.
“The continuing problem with the pandemic is the loss of income faced by millions of workers. By definition, anyone in a position to benefit from a high-end tax cut doesn't have this problem.”
“That will bring about the kind of demand-deficiency recession the tax cuts are supposed to prevent, superimposed on the continuing constraints created by the pandemic.”
DONALD TRUMP’S TAXES ARE THE CENTRE OF A NEW YORK FEDERAL COURT FILING. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (ABC, 2020)
Emily Olson and Peter Marsh writes on the Federal Court case investigating Trump’s tax records.
“The Federal Court in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) began investigating Trump in 2017, following claims he paid two mistresses to keep quiet about their affairs in violation of campaign finance law.”
“Trump told reporters the investigation ‘is just a continuation of the witch hunt’.”
HOW A DIGITAL DEATH CERTIFICATE COULD HELP SORT OUT ESTATE AND TAX MATTERS WHEN YOU PASS (ABC, 2020)
Nassim Khadem writes on the legal and practical issues raised from not having a will.
“When someone dies, their tax debts don't disappear, leaving loved ones having to sort out the mess through a tricky legal system.”
“The area is so legally fraught that each year it results in about 430 complaints by taxpayers to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Inspector-General of Taxation.”
learn more about tax law
WHO ON EARTH WOULD WANT TO BE A TAX LAWYER? (LAW INSTITUTE, 2013)
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“Challenging? Yes. Technical? Very. Boring? Definitely not. Interesting? Every day.”
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TAX INSIGHTS: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN TAX (DELOITTE, 2021)
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