Ian’s primary area of practice is tax law, particularly the taxation of financial and international transactions and trusts including superannuation funds. He is also regularly briefed in matters involving administrative law, trust law, corporations law and matters involving the application of accounting and auditing standards including disciplinary and corporate criminal law matters.

Ian’s expertise has been recognised in the 2017 to 2022 editions of Doyle’s Guide to tax barristers in NSW and in the 2020 and 2021 editions of Best Lawyers in Australia.

With more than 30 years’ experience in commercial, tax management and advisory roles, and with a deep understanding of financial accounts and the banking and finance industry, Ian is well placed to analyse the commercial law and taxation implications of complex transactions.

Ian is a qualified chartered accountant. He started his professional career with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) in London and Sydney where he specialised in the taxation implications of cross-border transactions. He then spent 13 years in the banking industry. At Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Ian was a member of the Group Tax team and in that capacity assessed and managed tax risk on a wide range of transactions. As a Managing Director in the Wholesale Banking and NAB Capital Divisions of National Australia Bank, Ian led or contributed to the development of a number of capital markets transactions. In 2012, Ian joined Ashurst Australia and was involved in advising on the tax implications and documentation of many large financial and corporate transactions.

Ian is the author of the chapter on the taxation of trust income in Ford and Lee: The Law of Trusts, and of chapters on the taxation of trusts, debt and equity, financial transactions, asset-based finance, tax planning and multi-jurisdictional tax measures in the Thomson Reuters Australian Tax Handbook. He also publishes articles on tax matters and is a regular speaker at tax conferences.

Rankings

Doyle’s Guide to Leading Tax Barristers

Best Lawyers in Australia