Robert O'Keefe
Qualifications
B.Bus (Accountancy) (RMIT 1976); LLB (Melbourne 1982); Dip. Taxation Law (Monash 1989)
Robert provides taxation and commercial advice, predominantly to small-to-medium enterprise clients. His work in this area involves advising on the tax implications of all commercial activities. He also advises on ATO audits, tax objections and appeals.
Before entering legal practice in 1987, Robert held the position of Senior Advising Office in the Australian Taxation Office in Melbourne where he had almost 18 years experience in all technical areas of that office.
Professional experience
Robert advises on taxation implications associated with all commercial activities, including:
- buying, selling and leasing property, including addressing income tax, CGT, GST, FBT, stamp duty and land tax issues
- business restructuring, including advising on shares issues, using trusts and creating partnerships
- buying and selling businesses, including advising on business acquisition structures and addressing CGT small business concessions issues
- business succession planning, including addressing income tax, CGT, FBT, GST and superannuation issues, and
- retirement planning, including advising on self-managed superannuation funds and the drafting of wills, which may include testamentary trusts.
Highlights of his recent experience include advising:
- two brothers on a tax dispute resulting from an ATO audit relating to the sale of their farm property, which involved their eligibility for CGT small business concessions, in particular the CGT retirement concession. After making a detailed submission to the ATO, their position was accepted and the brothers were able to make substantial contributions to their superannuation fund, resulting in a significant reduction in CGT.
- Gordon Brothers Industries Pty Ltd, an industrial refrigeration manufacturer, on the $30 million sale of the business to the Hastie Group Ltd, a publicly listed company. This sale, which included business assets and leasing rights, involved discreetly managing the due diligence and contract negotiations to minimise staff disruption before the sale was announced.
- Impact Printing (Vic) Pty Ltd on its $30 million plus sale of business assets to a NZ group, which involved contract negotiations including addressing management agreement, retention payment, and profit incentive issues. Robert also negotiated consulting arrangements for his clients’ continued involvement in the business and advised on subsequent business structure and taxation issues.
- an investor on the structure he should use to purchase an investment property, addressing issues including CGT and the recently introduced surcharge on land tax for land held by trusts.
- a client on the stamp duty exemption in the transfer of land from a unit trust to a self-managed superannuation fund, where the superannuation fund held all of the units in that trust – this involved negotiating with the State Revenue Office, including the lodging of objections against duty assessments that were ultimately allowed in the client's favour.
Advising the management group of a large drilling enterprise on a management buy out of that business - this involved advice and documentation on the preferred business structure , financing arrangements, sole agreements, deeds of charge, chattel lease, consultancy agreement, option agreement and shareholder and unit holder agreements.
Typically, Robert works closely with his clients' other advisers, especially accountants, to ensure tax and legal issues are addressed in a way that also achieves broader commercial objectives. A recent example of this approach was in the commercial advice and documentation he provided to the owners of FCL Interstate Transport Services Pty Ltd, on its $150 million sale of property and shares to the Linfox Group. This sale involved liaising with the client, and its financiers, accountants and merchant bankers, to negotiate and address all contract issues, including taxation warranties, retention payments and environmental issues.
Robert also advises on ATO audits, tax objections and appeals. Recently, his work in this area includes:
advising clients on a number of employee benefit arrangements involving employee share plans, employee benefit trusts and superannuation funds, and
acting for a number of clients at the objection level with the ATO and in appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Other information
Robert is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria, the Taxation Institute of Australia and a number of CPA tax discussion groups.
He has presented to various CPA discussion groups on topics including income tax and CGT.
Admissions
Supreme Court of Victoria, High Court of Australia.
