Qualifications:
BCom, LLB (Hons), University of Otago

Admitted:
1980 New Zealand

Contact details:
DDI: +64 4 494 8519
Mobile: 027 594 8519
Location: L9, Craigs Investment Partners House, 36 Customhouse Quay, Wellington
Postal: PO Box 2558 Wellington 6140

Graeme Smaill – Tax and Commercial Lawyer

Graeme Smaill is a taxation and commercial law specialist.  He has specialised in taxation and commercial law since commencing full-time legal practice in 1980.  Graeme was a partner in Bell Gully, one of New Zealand's largest law firms, for 20 years.  Graeme also spent 18 months with the London law firm of Linklaters & Paines, gaining experience in United Kingdom and international taxation and managed funds law.  Since 1988, Graeme has also had an extensive legislative drafting practice.

In August 2006, Graeme commenced practise on his own account, as a lawyer specialising in tax and commercial law, and as a consultant to other legal services providers.

Recent experience

•  Advising on commercial and taxation law aspects of the Crown "Treelords" settlement with Central North Island iwi

•  Advising on securities and taxation law aspects of new property syndications

•  Advising on the taxation and commercial law aspects of property development joint ventures

•  Acting as a consultant drafting much of New Zealand’s taxation legislation, including in particular the trust regime, controlled foreign company regime, the foreign investment fund regime, the approved issuer levy (non-resident withholding tax) regime, the resident withholding tax regime, changes to tax loss groupings and carry-forward rules, treatment of inter-group transactions, the limitation on deductibility of entertainment expenditure, the changes to taxation legislation consequent upon the Companies Act 1993, the transfer pricing rules, the thin capitalisation rules, the foreign investor tax credit rules, the conduit taxation rules, the project for rewriting the whole Income Tax Act into a plain English style and the taxation aspects of the emissions trading scheme

•  Advising on taxation aspects of company acquisitions and mergers, including the takeover and combination of two listed companies

•  Advising various Maori groups on the taxation and commercial law aspects of establishment and operation of charitable and other trust structures

•  Advising on clarification of technical issues and resolution of disputes with Inland Revenue, including seeking formal and informal rulings and handling of challenge procedures preparatory to litigation

•  Taxation and commercial law advice on the joint venture acquisition of a fish products company

•  Advising on the taxation aspects of cross-border leasing of various assets

•  Advising various trustees and fund managers in relation to taxation and commercial aspects of the establishment and operation of unit trusts, open‑ended companies, group investment funds, life insurance products, superannuation schemes and other forms of managed funds