Meet the 2022 winners
Congratulations to this year’s winners in the Tax Adviser of the Year Awards.
Chartered Tax Adviser of the Year
Kenneth Woo, CTA
PwC, Partner
Ken was admitted into partnership at PwC in 1999 and for over 20 years has held subject matter and industry roles with the firm, and has been extensively involved in working groups, committees and private consultation with Government and industry bodies.
Emerging Tax Star of the Year
Mark Peters, ATI
Herbert Smith Freehills, Solicitor
Mark advises on the stamp duty implications of a broad range of commercial transactions and provides specialist resettlement and trust law advice to trustees. He also assists clients to implement transactions and attend to compliance with duty lodgement obligations.
In-house Tax Adviser of the Year
Chris Merjane, FTI
ResMed, Senior Tax Counsel
Chris holds a global inhouse leadership role covering all areas of income tax law. Chris focuses on tax authority engagement, M&A, finance and cross-border arrangements. He has helped ResMed achieve certainty on its Australian tax affairs through the resolution of a long-standing dispute. Chris is a thought-leader at ResMed, helping the business with its evolution from a medical device company to a consumer-centric digital healthcare company. He has led several legislative submissions on behalf of ResMed and has appeared before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee. Chris has also championed a suite of digital transformation projects for the tax function.
Tax Adviser of the Year - Lawyer
David Earl, FTI
PwC Australia, Partner
David is a Partner in the Corporate Tax group of PwC Melbourne and is a member of The Tax Institute’s National Council and Victorian State Council. David’s focus is on M&A and international tax, and he has 20 years experience servicing both inbound and outbound multinational groups across a broad range of industry sectors. David was previously also seconded to the International Tax Services group of PwC Netherlands where he provided a mix of Dutch, Australian and European tax advice to a broad range of international clients.
Tax Adviser of the Year - Accountant
Stephen Holmes, CTA
WMS Chartered Accountants, Partner
Stephen has been practicing as an accountant since he was 1987 and has had a focus on tax since 1994. He specialises in all SME tax matters with a particular interest in the CGT small business concessions, tax effective restructures and Division 7A.
Commuity Champion
Sandra Farhat, FTI
EY, Partner
Sandra recently joined EY as a Partner in the Tax Controversy and Policy group after a 20-year career at the Australian Taxation Office. She brings a wealth of experience in managing ATO engagements across all key tax areas with a specialisation and focus on transfer pricing and international tax issues.
Sandra’s voluntary contribution is extensive, and our tax community is the beneficiary of her expertise and generosity. Key highlights from this year include:
- The Tax Summit – Co-chair of the Program Committee
- The Tax Summit – Speaker and Facilitator
- NSW Tax Forum – Member of the Organising Committee
- NSW Tax Forum – Speaker
- International Masterclass – Program Chair
- Tax Disputes Masterclass – Speaker
- NSW Engagement Committee – Committee Member
