Tax.

Mayne Wetherell advises on all types of New Zealand direct and indirect taxation. Our team of leading tax experts has advised many of New Zealand’s and Australia’s largest corporates, banks and financial institutions.

Our team has particular experience in cross-border arrangements, including investments into New Zealand by foreign companies, funds and high net worth individuals.

• Taxation of financing and capital raisings.
• Mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructures.
• Infrastructure and project finance (including public-private partnerships).
• Employee share schemes.
• Customs and excise.
• Online gambling and sports betting.
• Unclaimed money.
• Transfer pricing.
• Tax investigations and disputes.

Members of our tax team have acted for:

• Major New Zealand banks (through the New Zealand Bankers' Association) on the tax consequences of the 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).
• Westpac, BNZ and ANZ on Basel III compliant Tier 2 and Additional Tier 1 issues.
• 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).
• Avanti in respect of its securitisation programme (including issuances of residential mortgage backed securities), and wholesale A$ MTNs.
• Offshore financiers in relation to the securitisation financing provided to SG Fleet in relation to its acquisition of Leaseplan.
• 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.
• Spark New Zealand on its exit of Spark Sport (an online sports streaming service) through a content partnering agreement with Television New Zealand (TVNZ).
• 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.
• Telecom (now Spark) on its demerger into two separately listed companies.
• Genesis Energy and FRV (as participants in the Solar-Gen Joint Venture) on the acquisition of a fully consented, large scale solar site near Lauriston on the Canterbury Plains.
• Genesis Energy on the acquisition of an advanced, large scale solar project from Helios Energy Limited at Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty.
• Senior lenders on the establishment of the NZGIF Solar Finance Programme and investment in solarZero’s residential Power Purchase Agreements (recognised as structured finance and securitisation deal of the year by IFLR 2024).
• PPPs, including the ShapED consortium in connection with the ‘Schools 3’ PPP project, and the Future Schools Partners consortium in connection with the ‘Schools 2’ PPP project.
• The shareholders of solarZero in its acquisition by BlackRock through a scheme of arrangement.
• Ziwi on its acquisition of Freeze Dried Foods and Kiwigarden.
• Brockwell Capital and other insurers in relation to W&I insurance on various acquisitions.
• Fonterra on its $555 million sale of its China dairy farms.
• WEL Networks on the sale of its 85% stake in Ultrafast Fibre Holdings, as part of the sale of that entire infrastructure business to First State Investments for NZ$854 million.
• Advent International Corporation's (through its portfolio company Industria Chimica Emiliana) acquisition of New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Group.
• Infratil on the sale of NZ Bus.
• Cheung Kong Infrastructure on its acquisition of EnviroWaste.

Members of our tax team have acted for or on:

• 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).
• 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).
• Several transfer pricing disputes, including disputes in which proceedings have been filed in Court. We have also represented clients in the MAP (mutual agreement process).
• Property investors in cases settled prior to hearing in respect of the income tax treatment of investments in property.