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Tax commissioner Chris Jordan is taking his own department to court as part of his defence in a defamation case brought against him by Sydney accountant Vanda Gould.
Key points:
- ATO boss Chris Jordan is fighting a defamation case brought by Sydney accountant Vanda Gould
- To fight the case, Mr Jordan is taking his deputy to court to obtain protected tax documents that could help his case
- The case follows previous long-running tax battles between the ATO and Mr Gould
Mr Gould commenced defamation proceedings against Mr Jordan in 2017.
Mr Gould is claiming that, in comments the tax commissioner made at the National Press Club in Canberra on July 5 that year, Mr Jordan alleged Mr Gould had engaged in money laundering, insider trading and tax evasion of the "worst kind".
Mr Jordan is now taking his deputy, second commissioner Andrew Mills, to court in a bid to access documents protected under the Tax Act that could help him fight the lawsuit brought by Mr Gould.
The defamation case follows a long-running legal battle between the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Mr Gould.
Mr Gould and other business associates have previously been the focus of the now-defunct Wickenby Taskforce, which was famously behind the pursuit of wealthy individuals including Australian actor Paul Hogan.
In November, 2016, Mr Gould lost a battle against the ATO in the High Court, when a series of companies he was associated with — and which were incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Samoa — were hit with a $16 million tax bill.
Mr Gould was also ordered to cover the ATO's costs, which were estimated at the time to have run into the millions.
A 'unique' case
The Federal Court case, which has the unique title of "Christopher Jordan, Commissioner of Taxation v Second Commissioner of Taxation & ANOR", lists both Mr Mills and Mr Gould as second respondents.
Law firm Clayton Utz is acting for the commissioner, and prominent lawyer Mark Ord is acting for the respondents.
A case management hearing was held before Federal Court Justice Richard White on March 8, who made orders that both parties report back with submissions by early June.
Mr Jordan had earlier filed an affidavit with the court on February 5, but the contents of that have been kept confidential.
A spokeswoman for the ATO told ABC News that Mr Jordan's application related to, and was in the context of the defamation proceedings brought by Mr Gould against Mr Jordan.
"In the context of those defamation proceedings, the commissioner has applied to the Federal Court for a declaration regarding the application of certain provisions of the Taxation Administration Act," the ATO statement said.
"These are unique circumstances, and second commissioner Mills, as head of law, is the appropriate respondent to those proceedings."
The battle Mr Gould lost
In 2016, the High Court upheld earlier judgements by the Full Court of the Federal Court and the Federal Court against Mr Gould.
One of the core issues in that case was regarding control of the companies associated with Mr Gould and whether it was in fact offshore.
The court rejected the argument that central management and control was situated abroad because the meetings of their boards of directors were held overseas.
The High Court also referred to the ruling, handed down in December, 2014, by justice Nye Perram, who had sent copies of the case decision to authorities including the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Federal Police.
"The facts I have found strongly suggest widespread money laundering, tax fraud of the most serious kind and, possibly in some instances, insider trading. The conduct revealed in this case is disgraceful," Justice Perram said in his judgment.
Following the High Court win, Mr Jordan noted running the case "was not an easy process", with a long and "substantial litigation history, including 19 challenges to the evidence and procedure at the Federal Court, followed by an appeal to the full Federal Court".
ATO under the spotlight
Mr Gould's lawsuit focuses on Mr Jordan's subsequent statements to the National Press Club in July, 2017.
In his statement of claim alleging defamation, Mr Gould cites Mr Jordan's comments to the Press Club that the Federal Court "referred the matter for money laundering, insider trading and tax evasion of the worst kind", and that "the other side is the court found that it was the most disgraceful behaviour they had ever seen involving money laundering, tax fraud and insider trading of Australian shares".
Mr Gould has also previously complained about his treatment at the hands of the ATO.
In July, 2014, he told a parliamentary inquiry into tax disputes that ATO officers had "no real knowledge of the relevant taxation principles governing the operation of non-resident companies".
Mr Gould had also complained in that submission that the ATO can issue someone with tax bills and that it can take "sometimes years before a taxpayer has an opportunity of having his grievance heard by a court or tribunal".
The tax ombudsman, the Inspector-General of Taxation, a position formerly held by Ali Noroozi, has also previously commented on concerns raised by taxpayers with its office over Project Wickenby.
The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce replaced Project Wickenby in July, 2015.
Topics: tax, fraud-and-corporate-crime, business-economics-and-finance, crime, courts-and-trials, australia
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