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| Alan
Robertson is a new entry this year |
Shortly after the judgement in Altera (see Paige
Marvel), the Chevron case in Australia became the
second decision to grab the attention of transfer pricing
professionals everywhere.
Judge Alan Robertson, of the Federal Court of Australia, was
the man in the hotseat, handing down his decision on October 23
last year. He ruled that the US multinational energy group had
not provided enough proof that the credit facility agreement
under which Chevron Australia had borrowed A$2.5 billion ($1.7
billion) from a US subsidiary was at arm's-length. The case
covered the issue of arm's-length consideration where a
taxpayer had acquired property under an international
agreement; the cross-border transfer pricing rules; and the
transfer pricing rules in Australia's double tax agreements,
particularly that with the US.
It was a moment in the spotlight for Robertson, who joined
the Federal Court bench in April 2011 after 28 years at the New
South Wales bar, where he practised mainly in public law
including constitutional law, administrative law and revenue
law.
Probably nowhere have the issues of appropriate corporate
tax planning and tax avoidance been argued more fiercely in
public than in Australia. Media interest is at an all-time high
and the Senate undertook a public inquiry into corporate tax
avoidance in 2015. The Chevron case, which is under appeal, is
another ingredient in the mix.