Tax laws are constantly changing and becoming more complex. Currently the resources industry is facing much of the burden.
The Mining Resources Rent Tax (MRRT), the proposed carbon tax, new Australian Taxation Office views on farm-out arrangements or the impact of proposed changes to duty on mining tenements in New South Wales can all have significant impacts on resources projects and how they should be structured.
The interaction between tax consolidation rules, rollovers and taxing mining rights as depreciating assets as well as the different duty treatments of mining projects in different states makes resources industry taxation a speciality in itself.
We have a dedicated team of resources tax and duty specialists. Our lawyers advise early stage explorers on tax efficient financing of exploration and development through farm out, joint venture sell down and vending into listed entities under scrip for scrip arrangements.
We understand the importance of getting the structure right for inbound investors, or groups acquiring interests in projects and the need to balance the impacts of income tax, duty and MRRT to successfully complete mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions.
Our resources tax specialists work collaboratively with our resources team to ensure we meet both the requirements of resources and taxation legislation and the commercial objectives of our clients.
In addition to the usual joint venture establishments and sale transactions, we have advised on taxation and duty aspects of more complex transactions such as:
- converting incorporated joint venture to tradition unincorporated joint ventures
- tenement swap and access arrangements
- separation of infrastructure and mining joint ventures
- project financing through hybrid instruments and convertible notes, and
- demerging subsidiaries from larger corporate groups.
We also act on behalf of our resources clients in liaising with both the Australian Taxation Office and state revenue authorities, regarding rulings, audits, objections and tax disputes.
