A recent UK Supreme Court judgment has confirmed that the common law right to claim legal privilege over legal advice attaches solely to advice provided by legal professionals, and can only be extended to other professionals by legislative enactment. The Commissioner of Taxation provides for some exceptions when exercising his statutory right to access taxpayers’ documents allowing certain documents prepared by external tax advisers, who are not legal practitioners, to remain confidential.
This paper covers:
- an overview of when privilege applies
- circumstances in which privilege is waived
- how the accountants concession operates
- how to deal with ATO questions requesting documents that may be privileged.