Tax practitioners have recently seen a pick-up in work, spilling over from the growing level of economic activity in the past six months.

“The double dip is looking less and less likely,” Greenwoods & Freehills managing director Andrew Mills said. “Clients are looking at new opportunities, especially M&A restructuring, expansion and organic business growth. We are already starting to see the spill over of activity into tax.”

Blake Dawson partner Duncan Baxter told ALB its tax practice had seen a similarly upward trend in the past 2-3 months. “Sydney is already back to normal, maybe even stretched,” Baxter says. “Melbourne is still a little short of pre-GFC levels.” 

The recovery follows a slowdown in the past 12 months, where both firms reported a drop in revenue for their tax practices of roughly 20%.

The pick-up in tax work is only likely to increase in the coming year. “Government budgets are under a lot of stress, they are over stretched, and most do not want to run a deficit like the US, so they will rely on their tax system,” Baxter forecasted. “They may tax more things and in a different way to drive up revenue.”

The hunger for government revenue may also translate into a more stringent ATO audit program. “The fiscal stimulus package costs a lot of money and the ATO is properly hungry to collect more revenue,” Mills Oakley partner Jack Stuk said.

More vigilant clients will mean more work for tax lawyers.

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