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The Australian revenue minister and assistant treasurer, Helen Coonan, has described in a statement the responsibilities that the inspector general of taxation will have when appointed. She explained that her key priorities were to improve the responsiveness of the tax system to genuine concerns of taxpayers and to keep the tax system fair. She explains: ?A vital part of the government's election platform to improve the tax system is the establishment of the inspector-general of taxation as a new advocate for taxpayers and an independent adviser to government on tax administration issues.?

Irish law firm A&L Goodbody has set up a value-added tax (VAT) group in Dublin with a former KPMG tax partner. John McGlone joined the firm at the end of August as head of VAT. McGlone worked with KPMG for just under four years until 1998 when he joined GE in Dublin as European VAT manager. He left GE last year and spent 12 months working as an independent tax consultant.

The Cayman Islands is not planning any change in government policy regarding foreign tax evasion activities, according to the Cayman Net News. According to the news service, the leader of the Islands' government business committee, McKeeva Bush, confirmed that the islands have always been tax neutral and no legislation has been passed to change this.

McDermott Will & Emery has expanded its US tax group with two lateral partner hires. Michael Gosk and Thomas Sykes have joined the Silicon Valley and Chicago offices respectively. The firm has also hired two associates for the Washington and New York offices.

Australia's long-awaited reform of business taxation has taken a small step forward with the release by the Treasurer of a consultation paper Review of International Taxation. Business has been unhappy with the existing system for some time, and critics argue that the tax regime is holding back the development of Australian enterprises and even driving companies out of the country. The decisions of companies including Brambles and James Hardie Industries to relocate offshore have added weight to these criticisms.

The Pata Package proposed uniform transfer pricing rules and guidelines to ease the compliance burden on members. However, the opposite may in fact be achieved, claims an international coalition responding to the proposals. Summarized by John Lyons and Albertina M Fernandez, Deloitte & Touche, Washington DC.

France’s R&D tax credit regime offers substantial benefits for foreign investors. Make sure the relevant qualifying expenditure is properly documented from the outset, advise Isabelle MacInnes and Pascal D’Hont of Ernst & Young’s French Tax Desk, London.

The UK government has published proposals aimed at further reform of UK corporate tax. In the future, it seems likely that all gains and losses from capital assets will be taxed in the same way as income. By Eric Tomsett, Deloitte & Touche, London.

Baker & McKenzie has dramatically enlarged its Paris tax group by hiring a team of 11 tax lawyers from Andersen Legal. The team includes one international partner, Véronique Millischer, one local partner, Patrick Philip, and four senior associates. Millischer, who joined the law firm at the beginning of September, is leading the group.

Versatel, the Dutch telecom network company, is restructuring its debt. About ?1.7 billion in Versatel bonds will be converted into cash and common shares, and exchanged for debt. Approval by a court in Amsterdam is expected in October. Shearman & Sterling is representing Versatel, with tax partner Bernie Pistillo and associate Lars Jensen advising. Both lawyers are in the London office.