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Who We Help
For accountants and advisers
We do not lodge returns, we do not do compliance and we do not take your client. We do the tax law work you need done properly and hand it back.
Most of our work comes from accountants. That relationship only works on one condition, so we will state it plainly: Norton & Quay Tax Law is not a tax agent. We do not prepare returns, we do not do compliance and we do not solicit the rest of your client’s work. Where a matter finishes, the client goes back to you.
What we add is the part that sits outside compliance: a written legal position you can put on the file, legal professional privilege where it matters and the ability to run a dispute through objection and beyond.
What we are usually asked for
The work
- A second opinion on a position before it is lodged
- Written advice on a point that needs to be defensible if it is looked at
- Trust deed review and year-end trustee resolutions
- Division 7A and section 100A analysis on a private group
- A private ruling application, drafted and lodged
- An audit or review response, once it stops being a routine information request
- An objection against an assessment, amended assessment or ruling
- Restructure advice, including rollovers and the small business CGT concessions
- Duty, land tax and payroll tax questions on a client transaction
- A quick sanity check on a scenario
Common situations
Why accountants bring us in
Privilege. Legal professional privilege can attach to confidential communications made for the dominant purpose of legal advice or litigation. It is not automatic and the accountants’ concession is an administrative practice, not a privilege. Where a matter is sensitive, that difference matters and the engagement should be structured so the claim is available.
An independent view. There are positions it is uncomfortable for the compliance adviser to form a view on. An external legal opinion resolves that and protects the relationship.
The matter has stopped being about numbers. Once a position paper, a penalty assessment or an objection is involved, the work is legal work with a legal deadline attached.
Capability without headcount. Most boutique and mid-size practices do not have a tax lawyer on staff. Having one available matter by matter is cheaper than not having one.
How we work with you
How it works
- You stay in the relationship. We copy you on everything and we are comfortable with you as the primary contact throughout.
- No compliance, no poaching. We do not hold a tax agent registration and we do not want your compliance work.
- Fees quoted up front. You get a fee estimate you can pass on to the client before work starts, usually a range, with a fixed fee where the scope allows.
Common questions
Will you take my client?
No. Norton & Quay Tax Law does not do tax compliance, does not hold a tax agent registration and does not solicit compliance work from clients referred by accountants. When the matter is finished, the client goes back to you.
Can you present to our team or our discussion group?
Yes. We present on technical tax topics to accounting firms and professional discussion groups: trust resolutions, Division 7A, section 100A, state tax exposures and recent decisions.
Related insights
Further reading
Trusts
Trust distributions: the exposure that is not tax
Why trust distribution resolutions matter beyond the tax outcome, the traps that create exposure and a practitioner checklist. Published note.
Disputes
What actually happens in an ATO review or audit
How the ATO compliance process works, the difference between a review and an audit and the practical lessons for advisers. Published note.
Have a matter you want a straight answer on?
Most engagements start with a short conversation about the issue and the exposure.