Former deputy tax commissioner had ‘affectionate relationship’ with son, court hears

Former deputy tax commissioner Michael Cranston has argued he had a legitimate reason to contact a high-ranking colleague after the Australian Taxation Office began freezing the bank accounts of Plutus Payroll.

Former deputy tax commissioner Michael Cranston has argued he had a legitimate reason to contact a high-ranking colleague after the Australian Taxation Office put the squeeze on a company linked to his son.

Cranston pleaded not guilty to two counts of using his position as a commonwealth public servant to gain information and to exercise his influence to benefit his son Adam Cranston and his District Court trial began on Wednesday.

Crown barrister Peter Neil SC said Adam reached out to his father in February 2017, in search of information about an ATO audit into Adam’s associate Simon Anquetil.

Michael Cranston arrives at the Downing Centre court in Sydney. Picture: Dan Himbrechts

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Cranston is accused of tasking his subordinate, assistant commissioner Scott Burrows, to look into it.

“The accused agreed to make those inquiries and instructed one of his staff members, an assistant commissioner Mr Scott Burrows to undertake a search of the ATO computer records,” Mr Neil told the jury.

He said Mr Burrows tried to access the information but it was classed as restricted.

“That information was told by the accused to his son,” Mr Neil said.

“He should have recused himself from that request immediately … he should have simply said ‘sorry there’s nothing I can do’.”

In April 2017, Mr Neil told the jury Adam came to his father again after the ATO froze the Commonwealth Bank accounts of Plutus Payroll, in which Adam and Mr Anquetil shared an interest in.

The ATO wanted more than $46 million from Plutus at the time, the court heard.

Michael Cranston has pleaded not guilty. Picture: Dan Himbrechts

“The son was saying look, in effect the freezing of the accounts means that there’s something like 2000 subcontractors who can’t be paid,” Mr Neil said.

The court heard Michael Cranston then approached another assistant commissioner Tony Poulakis about Plutus Payroll.

“In discussing the matter with Mr Poulakis and in asking him for assistance … the accused exercised influence,” Mr Neil said.

Michael Cranston’s barrister David Staehli SC argued his client had a professional interest in the garnishee orders which had frozen the Plutus Payroll accounts because they were issued from the ATO with his own signature on them.

“They were sent from the tax office under the printed signature of this man,” Mr Staehli said.

He also said the ATO was undergoing “something of a reinvention” in the eyes of taxpayers at the time and media reports were surfacing about workers who had not been paid by Plutus Payroll.

“Part of Mr Cranston’s responsibilities at the express instruction of the commissioner was to make sure the tax office didn’t get this publicity where it could be seen to have abused its powers,” Mr Staehli said.

The trial continues in the Downing Centre District Court.