Courtney Ensor and David Southwood appeared for the successful Commissioner of Taxation, led by Julianne Jaques KC, in South Seas Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2025] FCA 848.
Four corporate entities associated with former accountant Mr Vanda Gould brought tax appeals under Part IVC of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) to the Federal Court of Australia concerning 14 income years. The disputed tax related liabilities exceeded $21 million.
The case concerned a raft of historical transactions between related entities controlled by Mr Gould. The principal issues in dispute were: (i) deductions claimed by the entities in relation to management fees and interest on offshore and onshore loans; (ii) deemed dividends and franking credits; (iii) carry forward losses; (iv) the general anti-avoidance provisions in Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth); (v) whether the Commissioner was entitled to amend the relevant assessments on the basis that there was “fraud or evasion” by the taxpayers; and (vi) the imposition and quantum of shortfall penalties on the taxpayers. The Commissioner succeeded in respect of each issue in dispute.
The complex trial ran for four weeks and involved extensive documentary, lay and expert evidence (with the court book exceeding 40,000 pages in length). This called for meticulous and detailed trial preparation in order to expose the unreliability of the taxpayers’ documentary evidence and to forensically cross examine the taxpayers’ witnesses.
At the core of the case was the credibility of Mr Gould, the principal witness for the taxpayers. Mr Gould was cross-examined for over eight days in a “measured and detailed attack” that led Justice Colvin to find that “Mr Gould’s evidence was lacking in credibility at almost every turn”. Courtney and David cross-examined key lay and expert witnesses called by the taxpayers, with the taxpayers conceding that one of their chief witnesses had “sustained damage” under Courtney’s effective cross-examination.
A copy of the Court’s reasons can be found here.
Courtney has appeared in a number of other Federal Court proceedings in relation to entities controlled by Mr Gould. Copies of the Court’s decisions in those matters can be found at the following links:
- Melbourne Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 972
- Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd (Trustee) v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 971
- Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2021] FCA 1253
- Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2021] FCA 974
- Melbourne Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCA 641
- Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd (No 2) v Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 1028
- Anglo American Investments Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2019] FCA 1027.
Should you require further information about whether Courtney or David has availability to accept your brief, please contact the clerk of New Chambers, Angela Noakes.
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