Guardian and Tax Notes report on continued use of controversial tax schemes by accountancy giants, as ATO threatens action

Consultancy giants EY and KPMG will not follow other “big four” firms and ban the use of controversial tax minimisation scheme, which allows partners to legally divert some of their income to family members.

Quoted in the Guardian Australia, Jason Ward, CICTAR’s Principal Analyst, commented:

“These types of arrangements are not in line with public expectations, but are no surprise given the broader problems with the big four that have now been well identified.”

In a seperate piece in tax notes Ward was quoted again, saying that there doesn’t appear to be any good public policy justification for allowing potential benefits under an Everett assignment. “If the Everett assignment dramatically reduces tax liability for partners, it is a loophole that should be closed,”