I am a lawyer specialising in tax and tax litigation, and have been for the last 10 years or so. In my experience I noticed that the people who fall foul of the ATO or State Revenue are the honest working small to medium business who are just trying their best to run and help the economy. These are the people who generate wealth and employment for the country but are the most vulnerable to negative tax assessment and worse, penalties and interest. Not to mention Directors Penalties when you are dealing with GST and Superannuation. I believe the tax was not designed to go after these small business who are just doing their best and sometimes living week to week paying bills, wages and taxes with no much left for themselves.

No doubt you would have noticed the significant increases in prices lately. We need to also be mindful of the impact more generally to businesses as these are our clients and it affects their ability to pay.

The significant increase in the demands on time and on costs needs to be actively challenged and kept in check. If we are to keep some semblance of everyone being given a chance to do well, we need to start representing the regular lawyer. The whole point of having an association is so our collective voice can be heard.

But in doing something it needs to be something that can actually work. This is why I think the law society should focus on where it can make a difference. Some large expenses like insurance costs are where I think the law society can make a real difference. Pushing back on regulations is another. A representative attitude is a third, and also critical. The law society is us. It is up to us to do something. If you have read this far, I thank you. If you are willing to support, then I thank you even more. Please reach out on (02) 7200 8200 or our website https://www.specialistlaw.com.au