Brendan Brown
Chris Harker
Sherryn Harford
Charlotte Garland
Jonathan Riley
Daniel Meikle
Mei Nah
Matthew Olsen
Cameron Peachey
Michael Pritchard
Will Tipping
Dave Wetherell

Brendan Brown

Partner since 2021.

Partner of another major law firm from 2003 – 2021.

Areas of expertise.

– Tax

Qualifications.

LLB (Hons), BCom, University of Otago
LLM, University of New South Wales

Contact.

ddi: +64 9 921 2231
mob: +64 21 245 6746

Overview.

Brendan specialises in corporate and international taxation. He has represented clients in respect of some of New Zealand’s most significant commercial transactions and tax disputes. 

He has spent his over 20 years in legal practice helping clients with a wide range of taxation matters and is well known as a leading tax lawyer in New Zealand. 

Brendan’s clients have included Westpac, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Spark, Cheung Kong Infrastructure, ExxonMobil and Deutsche Bank. Brendan’s experience includes advising on transactions, obtaining binding rulings from Inland Revenue and representing clients in tax audits, disputes and litigation. 

He is a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia, the Practice Council of the New York University International Tax Program and the New Zealand Branch Committee of the International Fiscal Association.  He has previously lectured part-time in tax and commercial law subjects at the Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Otago. 

Brendan is recognised as a leading tax lawyer by Chambers and Partners (ranked Band 1, 2023), Asia Pacific Legal 500 (ranked in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for New Zealand tax law (2023)) and Best Lawyers® 2021 (‘Lawyer of the Year’, NZ). He has been recognised as a Leading Adviser by Tax Controversy Leaders since 2017 and was named in Australian Lawyer magazine’s 2016 ‘Hot List’ as one of the top private practice lawyers working in the Australasian legal market. 

Highlights.

  • Major New Zealand banks (through the New Zealand Bankers' Association) on the tax consequences of the new Basel III based regulatory capital requirements (including working with Inland Revenue and Reserve Bank of New Zealand officials to obtain in principle guidance as to the tax consequences of the new requirements) (bank).
  • Westpac and BNZ on various issuances of Additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 regulatory capital (bank).
  • Westpac on the separation of its New Zealand retail banking business into a locally incorporated registered bank and on the subsequent transfer of its institutional business to the locally incorporated bank (effected by Private Acts of Parliament) (bank).
  • BNZ on the establishment of the first covered bond programme in New Zealand (bank).
  • Spark New Zealand on the acquisition by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP) of a 70% interest in Spark’s passive tower infrastructure business for NZ$900 million (telecommunications).
  • Spark New Zealand (as the majority shareholder in Southern Cross Cable Network group) in respect of arrangements for the financing and construction of a new cable (SX NEXT) and a restructure of the Southern Cross group (telecommunications).
  • Telecom New Zealand (now Spark) on the demerger of Chorus (which required the enactment of special legislation governing the transaction's tax consequences) (telecommunications).
  • Infratil on the sale of NZ Bus (transportation).
  • Cheung Kong Infrastructure on its acquisition of EnviroWaste (waste management).
  • Origin Energy on the sale of its shareholding in Contact Energy (energy).
  • Individuals on the tax consequences of gains and losses relating to property investments.
  • Queenstown Airport on its appeal to the Court of the Appeal concerning the ability to depreciate the costs of constructing a runway end safety area (Queenstown Airport Corporation Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2017] NZCA 20) (aeronautical infrastructure).
  • Westpac in its successful application for judicial review of the exercise of Inland Revenue's power to amend assessments (Westpac Securities NZ Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue (2014) 26 NZTC 21-118).
  • BNZ in litigation involving cross-border sale and repurchase arrangements (BNZ Investments Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue (2009) 24 NZTC 23,582) (bank).
  • Deutsche Bank in litigation concerning the tax consequences of a cross-border structured financing arrangement (Deutsche Finance New Zealand Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue (2008) 23 NZTC 21,758) (bank).
  • Several transfer pricing disputes, including cases in which proceedings have been filed in Court, as well as representing clients in the MAP (mutual agreement process).

Tax.

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