Ashurst strengthens Tax offering with partner hires in Sydney

Ashurst has announced the hire of two new partners in its Tax practice as part of a plan to expand the firm’s tax controversy offering. Colin Little and Vanja Podinic will join Ashurst’s Sydney office, focusing on tax disputes and helping clients manage tax risk and governance frameworks.

Colin Little

Colin is an experienced tax practitioner with over 25 years in the field. For the past 19 years, he has focused on assisting public and private sector clients resolve complex disputes, ranging from audit negotiation and resolution to litigation. He provides advice on managing tax risk on significant transactions and has successfully resolved a range of matters across a variety of taxes.

Colin joins from Deloitte, where he was a partner. Prior to joining Deloitte, Colin held senior roles at other Big 4 firms as well as the Australian Government Solicitor.

Vanja Podinic

Vanja is an expert in tax controversy with a focus on income tax and transfer pricing. She has over 14 years of experience in Australia and the UK, advising a broad range of global clients across sectors including technology, mining and pharmaceuticals. She assists multinational clients with managing and resolving complex reviews and audits, as well as evidentiary issues in dealings with both Australian and foreign tax authorities.

She joins Ashurst from Deloitte. Prior to joining Deloitte, Vanja was with Baker & McKenzie.

Ashurst’s Australian Tax Practice Head, Costa Koutsis, commented:

“We are thrilled to welcome Colin and Vanja to Ashurst. With their combined significant experience in tax controversy work, Colin and Vanja will help grow the firm’s existing offering to clients in Australia and abroad. With ever increasing audit and review activity, we expect demand for complex advice to continue to grow in an environment where revenue collection will be key in implementing governments’ post-pandemic budget repair and where reviews are being conducted in a co-ordinated manner by a variety of tax offices.”

Colin said:

“I am excited by the opportunity to join Ashurst, which has the global reach and top tier capability needed to deliver solutions to clients. Throughout my career, I have seen that my clients’ needs are international in scale and they require assistance resolving tax and legal disputes across multiple jurisdictions and legal disciplines. Ashurst’s global footprint places the firm in the best position to advise on matters across the tax dispute lifecycle. The firm’s strong offering in corporate law, dispute resolution and tax bring compelling advantages for clients with complex needs.”

Vanja said:

“I am delighted to join Ashurst, which provides an ideal global platform to grow my practice serving clients across the entire tax disputes lifecycle – from transaction stage to audit defence and through to litigation. I am also excited by the opportunity to draw on Ashurst’s broad range of practices to deliver innovative and collaborative legal solutions to my clients, who face the pressures of an ever-changing and complex tax landscape and increased public and government scrutiny.”