Is tax planning dead? Part IVA cases
Published Date: 12 Jun 2025
The answer is of course “no”—tax planning ain’t dead; nor is it resting on its perch. Rather, a survey of recent Pt IVA decisions speaks to the need for a sophisticated and nuanced approach to tax planning informed by the provisions of the general anti-avoidance rules. The distinction between permissible and impermissible tax planning is best described as the difference between the tax planning influencing the form of the transaction and tax planning directed to maximising the taxpayer’s after-tax returns being the dominant driver of the form of the transaction. This article is a reproduction of a paper presented at a conference held by The Tax Institute on 27 February 2025. It states the law as at that date. Notably, the taxpayer’s recently decided appeal to the Full Federal Court in Merchant was a “wipeout” (see [2025] FCAFC 56).
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- Published By: Chris Peadon FTI
- Published On:12 Jun 2025
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