Hogan arrives in Sydney as his court trial starts
Crocodile Dundee star goes to Sydney ahead of the court trial into his tax affairs
Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan arrived at Sydney today ahead of the Australian Federal Court’s hearing of the Australian Crime Commission’s claims against the actor’s tax affairs.
ACC has been investigating Hogan for five years as part of its $A300m (?117m) Operation Wickenby, but has not charged him. The court will tomorrow hear submissions from both sides in relation to the awarding of costs but Hogan is not expected to appear, The Australian reports.
During its investigation, ACC seized documents from Hogan’s accountants Ernst & Young (E&Y) which reportedly refer to legal advice Hogan obtained about his tax, claiming Hogan has been using a complex scheme of overseas trusts to avoid paying tax, and that he has misrepresented his residency status.
However, in a win for Hogan, the crime commission recently was forced to agree to return the E&Y documents seized in its investigation and not to use them as evidence.
The parties still have to establish who will pay for the legal battle over the documents, which has been going on for the past two years, and also what measures are needed to ensure the information in the documents is not used by any of the ACC officers.
Further reading:
Croc Dundee star loses fight with Oz taxman
E&Y behind Crocodile Dundee star’s tax advice