Antony Sage loses fight for legal advice, documents in tax fraud audit
A judge has thrown out former Perth Glory owner and mining entrepreneur Tony Sage’s bid to access ATO criminal investigation reports linked to fraud claims.
Former Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has failed in his bid to get copies of criminal investigation reports released amid an ongoing stoush over tax office fraud or evasion claims against him.
On Thursday, Federal Court Justice Craig Colvin dismissed Mr Sage’s case and ultimately, he will not get access to external legal advice and other reports linked with an Australian Taxation Office audit into his tax affairs between 2006 and 2013.
After conducting an audit, the tax office issued notices of assessment and penalties relating to alleged income tax liabilities. Mr Sage objected to the assessments, and appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in July 2020 to review the ATO’s dismissal of his objections.
During his case with the tribunal, Mr Sage asked for copies of the external legal advice and information given to the tax office by members of the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce amid the audit.
The request was declined, and Mr Sage appealed to the Federal Court in the hope the documents could be released.
But on Thursday, Judge Colvin dismissed Mr Sage’s application for review.
“The claim of jurisdictional error must be rejected,” Judge Colvin reported in his judgement.
“There was no error by the tribunal as to the extent or nature of its power to require the Commissioner to produce documents. In consequence, the application must be dismissed.”
“The applicant (Mr Sage) for review of an objection decision has the burden of proving that the assessment is excessive or otherwise incorrect and what the assessment should have been,” the judgement reads.
Meaning, there is no obligation for the tax office to divulge legal advice in this matter.
A finding in the tribunal’s case, handed down in November last year, revealed Mr Sage’s lifestyle was funded by “a number of sources, including credit cards” paid by funds from the trustee company or mining companies.
It also revealed the tax office made a “finding about fraud or evasion”, which prompted the issue of amended assessments.
A covert audit was prompted by the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce, and the tax office slapped Mr Sage with penalty assessments.
External legal advice was secured in this audit, along with documents provided to the tax office from the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce and the Australian Crime Commission.
Mr Sage has asked for access to this advice and documents. After the tribunal refused access, he took his fight to the Federal Court.
According to the tribunal decision, the legal advice “was quoted in an audit report which prompted the issue of default assessments”.
“The applicant also wants to see documents in the Commissioner’s possession that were provided by the Australian Crime Commission (the ACC) and the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT),” the tribunal decision read.
“The audit report confirms a referral from the CACT precipitated the audit; ACC and CACT documents may also have been used by the decision-maker when the assessments were issued.”
Mr Sage relinquished Perth Glory’s licence this year, after the club was placed into receivership. The Australian Professional Leagues announced Mr Sage would “cease” his ownership of the club, and guaranteed the future of the club.
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