ASIC paid top legal firm for Shipton opinion
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has been revealed as having paid for independent legal opinion to validate its payment of the tax advice bills of currently stood-aside chairman, James Shipton.
Documentation provided to a Parliamentary Committee has confirmed that ASIC paid top tier law firm, Minter Ellison, to deliver an independent opinion on the appropriateness or otherwise of ASIC paying Shipton’s tax advice bills from KPMG which amounted to over $118,500.
ASIC sought the opinion from Minter Ellison after the appropriateness of ASIC meeting Shipton’s advice costs was challenged by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).
And Minter Ellison offered the opinion that there was nothing unusual about ASIC paying Shipton’s tax advice bills stating: “In our experience, it is standard practice for an employer to cover the reasonable cost of tax advice (including tax filings) where an executive is relocating countries to take up a position. Typically, the employer would arrange that advice themselves, through their own advisers, and would validate the expenses (and their reasonableness) through their usual processes”.
The documents provided to the Parliamentary committee by ASIC show that in August this year it was asking the ANAO to take the Minter Ellison legal opinion into account together with advice from the Australian Government Solicitor which it said had found that it was “reasonable for ASIC to treat the Tax Expenses as expenses incurred on relocation within the mean of a (Remuneration Tribunal) determination”.
The validity or otherwise of ASIC’s payment of Shipton’s tax advice expenses is currently the subject of an independent inquiry by the former inspector general of intelligence, Vivienne Thom.
In the meantime, the remaining ASIC deputy chair, Karen Chester has become acting chair of the regulator.
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