As a Solicitor at Norton & Smailes, the type of work I
would undertake on a typical day is varied ranging from providing tax advice in
a variety of areas, working on tax litigation matters in the AAT and Federal
Court, drafting trust deeds, superannuation fund deeds and amendments to these
documents and estate planning and advice on estate administration matters.
I think my biggest highlight was getting my first favourable
private ruling for a non-commercial loss matter. It was a great result for the
client who was also delighted with our work.
My other highlight was working in a team on a large federal
court litigation matter concerning the deductibility of exploration
expenditure. Although it was daunting at times, as there was a mountain of
evidence to work through and a wide variety of research tasks, it was fantastic
experience to be a part of. In the end the client received a favourable
settlement before going to trial.
I have been involved with The Tax Institute as the “Firm
Champion” of Norton & Smailes, which involves keeping people at my firm up
to date with the latest Tax Institute news and events. I’ve always found The
Tax Institute to be a great source for tax research, with detailed seminar
papers and publications on useful areas of tax. Our firm encourages everyone to
join and get involved with the Institute’s events. I attended the Young Tax Professionals series in 2015, which I found really broadened my knowledge base,
especially coming from a non-accounting background.
