Areas of Practice
TAX
Bridget Riley is a recognised New Zealand tax expert with over 30 years’ New Zealand tax experience. At BR & Associates, we provide concise, practical and commercial New Zealand tax law advice to create efficiencies, minimise tax risk and maximise shareholder returns.
We provide tax advice to individuals, families, and corporates on optimal structure, international expansion, inbound investment, transfer pricing, profit repatriation, and the taxation of foreign investments. We also provide tax advice on employee share schemes, acquisitions, disposals, restructures, and the land taxing rules.
Our tax advice also includes succession and asset planning for family-owned businesses, tax risk management, and resolving disputes with Inland Revenue. As tax lawyers, all our tax advice provided to you remains strictly privileged and confidential.
We often work alongside law firms and accountancy practices to provide tax advice to their clients – we advise their clients on the tax issues only and don’t take over their wider client relationship.
We assist international advisors and provide New Zealand tax advice relevant to their clients moving to New Zealand, expanding their operations into New Zealand, acquiring land in New Zealand and in relation to their inbound structuring.
CERTAINTY OF TAX POSITIONS
Uncertainty about tax can hold up transactions and lead to unexpected costs.
We help clients obtain certainty on and confidence in their tax positions through Inland Revenue binding ruling applications, advance pricing agreements with Inland Revenue and filling voluntary disclosures or notices of proposed adjustment to correct filed tax positions.
We also carry out tax risk reviews and tax due diligence, provide formal tax opinions, and peer review advice prepared by other advisers.
TAX DISPUTES
An Inland Revenue risk review, investigation, audit or dispute can be stressful and costly. We employ our deep tax expertise in all areas of New Zealand tax to guide clients through each stage with a clear strategy.
We manage the review process, respond to information requests, represent clients in meetings with Inland Revenue, and prepare strong technical responses to dispute notices to negotiate settlements in relation to income tax, GST, withholding taxes, PAYE and tax arrears. Throughout, we work to minimise tax penalties and protect our clients' tax position if the matter escalates.
STRUCTURING
The right structure is the basis for tax efficiency, commercial flexibility and long-term growth. We design and review structures that allow tax efficient profits be returned to owners, ensure cross-border transactions are compliant with transfer pricing rules, protect intellectual property and other assets, and minimise double taxation.
We also work with charitable organisations to ensure philanthropic purposes are met and tax concessions are correctly applied.
The result is a structure that is fit for purpose now and can adapt as your business grows.
