Service

Tax Disputes, Investigations & Litigation

When the tax authorities come knocking, your accountant being a lawyer is your best defence.

An audit. A complex investigation. A disputed assessment you need to fight, and may have to litigate. These are the moments where it pays to have someone who knows the law cold and is qualified to argue your case all the way, not hand you off to a barrister at the first sign of a courtroom.

Dr Maheswaran Sridaran is a chartered accountant and a lawyer. He taught Australian tax law and commercial law at Macquarie University and led a national tax practice before founding MS Accountants. He does not just know the rules; he understands the reasoning behind them, and where that reasoning is weaker than it looks. Because he is qualified on both sides, your matter can go from the first audit query to the courtroom in the same hands. He has represented clients in tax disputes before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and, with leave, the New South Wales District Court. That is what it takes to push back on the tax authorities and be taken seriously.

What we help with

ATO and state revenue audits

guiding you through the process, managing the correspondence, and protecting your position from start to finish.

Complex tax-authority investigations

handling the hard, high-stakes investigations the tax authorities reserve for the cases that matter, with a lawyer's eye on every step.

Challenging assessments

building and arguing the case, through objections and appeals, when the tax office gets it wrong.

Tax litigation

running the dispute through to the tribunals and the courts when it has to go that far, argued by someone qualified to do it.

Private ruling applications

getting certainty from the ATO before you commit to a transaction, so you act with confidence rather than hope.

Why us

Arguing a tax position is part technical, part advocacy. Few accountants have taught the law, published on it, and argued the disputes; fewer still are also lawyers, qualified to take a matter all the way to litigation. Dr Sridaran is, and he has questioned in print whether the High Court, the Full Federal Court and the Commissioner got it right. The tax authority's position is not the last word; it is an argument, and arguments can be answered, and if necessary, litigated. You want someone who works that way before you respond, not after.

Proof under pressure

Two ATO matters. Two independently described outcomes.

Each reference describes a different business and a different ATO matter. Both are published in the client's own words.

Read the complete client collection

01 / Client reference

“Sridaran had been a friend of my husband for at least the past 12 consecutive years. After a hiatus of a few years, in 2025 my husband approached Sridaran for help with a highly complex matter he was working through with the Australian Taxation Office, one which our accountants at the time had advised offered no legal scope for mitigation. Sridaran accepted the professional responsibility of exploring the prospects for mitigating that matter, and did substantially mitigate it, in a manner that was entirely transparent and therefore legitimate. Sridaran's firm, MS Accountants, now serves as accountants to both my husband and myself. Both my husband and I regard Dr Sridaran to be a professional with a high degree of versatile expertise who is also highly reliable.”

02 / Supporting voice

“Sridaran managed the entire process on my behalf with exceptional professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail. His handling of the review ensured that it concluded without any adverse outcome for my business.”

Other services

Tax Advisory & Planning

The hard questions: capital gains, restructures, succession, transaction tax. Studied to doctoral level, applied to your situation.

Tax Compliance & Returns

Every return, every obligation, handled accurately and on time.

Business & CFO Advisory

The strategic financial support of an in-house CFO, without the headcount.

Self-Managed Super

Your SMSF compliance work done properly.

All services

Book a conversation

When the tax question is hard, who do you call?

A boutique Sydney firm led by a chartered accountant and lawyer who also holds a doctorate in Australian tax law and has spent his career on the hardest tax questions. His team builds every file. He reviews every one.

Book a conversation with Dr Sridaran