50 Essential Thought Leaders on Tax Strategy in Australia and New Zealand

Introduction

If you work in tax, finance, accounting, or business leadership in Australia or New Zealand, the single most consequential thing you can do right now is follow the right people. Tax strategy in the ANZ region is undergoing its most significant transformation in a generation. The 2026-27 Federal Budget delivered sweeping changes that have reshaped how Australians think about capital gains, discretionary trusts, negative gearing, and superannuation. Inland Revenue New Zealand is simultaneously finalising its long-term insights briefing on fiscal sustainability, and both jurisdictions are navigating the implementation of OECD Pillar Two global minimum tax rules. The decisions being made right now by legislators, regulators, academics, and advisers will define the tax landscape for the next decade.

The challenge for anyone trying to stay across this conversation is not a shortage of content. It is the opposite. There is more tax commentary, analysis, and opinion available in 2026 than any previous period. The real question is which voices are worth your time. Which people have the technical depth to give you insight you cannot get from a standard firm update? Who is doing original thinking, not just summarising what others have already published? Who is engaging with the structural questions rather than the compliance checklist? This list was compiled to answer those questions. Each person on it was selected on three criteria: a documented contribution to the substance of tax strategy in Australia and New Zealand, a record of sharing that thinking in public, and a genuine presence in the field rather than a historical one.

The tax small business gap in Australia stands at $27.2 billion according to the ATO, reflecting the sheer scale and complexity of what advisers, educators, and policymakers are working to address. With Australia's corporate tax rate now among the highest in the OECD, and with the Pillar Two global minimum tax reshaping how multinationals plan across ANZ jurisdictions, the technical and policy landscape has never been more demanding for practitioners and their clients. The 50 people on this list represent academics shaping the intellectual framework for reform, regulators setting the standards for administration, practitioners navigating the daily complexity of advising boards and families, advocates pushing for systems that serve everyone, and innovators reimagining how tax processes work.

If your leadership team needs help with communication, team alignment, or the organisational dynamics that accompany major tax transformation, Jonno White, Certified Working Genius Facilitator and bestselling author of Step Up or Step Out, works with leadership teams across finance, professional services, and the corporate sector to build the frameworks that turn strategy into results. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Why Tax Strategy Matters Right Now

The 2026-27 Federal Budget introduced what the Treasurer described as the most significant tax reform package in over a quarter of a century. The replacement of the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with cost-base indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax rate on net capital gains, the limitation of negative gearing to new builds, the introduction of a minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trust income, and the confirmation of Division 296 on superannuation balances over $3 million have collectively reshaped the planning landscape for millions of Australian taxpayers and advisers.

In New Zealand, the Inland Revenue's 2026 Long-term Insights Briefing projects government debt reaching 200 per cent of GDP by 2065 under unchanged policy settings, framing tax reform not as a political preference but as a fiscal necessity. The simultaneous implementation of Pillar Two global minimum tax rules in both jurisdictions, the rollout of the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework, and the ATO's increasingly sophisticated data-matching programs have made tax compliance and strategy more technically demanding than at any previous point. McKinsey research consistently shows that organisations that invest in strategic alignment and clear decision-making processes achieve materially better outcomes when navigating regulatory change.

Understanding who is shaping the conversation around these changes, from the academics defining the policy options to the practitioners advising clients through the transition, is one of the most practical investments of attention any tax professional, finance leader, or business owner can make.

If your team is navigating organisational change alongside tax transformation, engage Jonno White to facilitate the leadership and communication conversations that determine whether your people execute well under pressure. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.

How This List Was Compiled

Every person on this list was selected on three criteria. First, a documented contribution to the substance of tax strategy in Australia or New Zealand, through published research, keynote presentations, policy submissions, practitioner advocacy, or technology innovation. Second, an active engagement with the public conversation on tax, through LinkedIn, media commentary, conference appearances, or academic publishing in 2025 or 2026. Third, a deliberate inclusion of voices the reader may not yet have encountered alongside those who are well-known within the profession. The list deliberately moves past the most prominent household names in global tax policy to surface voices doing consequential work in the ANZ context specifically. It brings together 50 people from across Australia and New Zealand, spanning academia, regulators, private practice, corporate tax, tax technology, and policy advocacy.

Category One: Setting the Regulatory Agenda

The people who shape how tax law is administered, interpreted, and enforced in Australia and New Zealand do not just implement rules. They make consequential decisions about priorities, data use, enforcement posture, and system design that affect every taxpayer and every adviser. Following their public statements and strategic priorities is essential for any serious tax practitioner.

1. Rob Heferen

Appointed as Australia's 13th Commissioner of Taxation on 1 March 2024 for a seven-year term, Rob Heferen brings a distinctive background to the role. He led the secretariat for the Australia's Future Tax System Review (the Henry Tax Review) and served as Deputy Secretary of the Revenue Group at the Commonwealth Treasury between 2011 and 2016, giving him one of the deepest combinations of tax policy and administration experience of anyone ever to hold the Commissioner position. His corporate plan for 2025-26 focuses on ensuring all taxpayers meet their obligations through both support and enforcement, with an emphasis on innovation, capability development, and improving the taxpayer experience.

Heferen has spoken publicly about the importance of honest internal feedback cultures and the risks of organisational insularity, drawing on the APS Capability Review of the ATO. His emphasis on moving the ATO toward a more risk-stratified, technology-enabled approach to compliance makes him the single most consequential administrative voice shaping how Australian businesses and individuals experience the tax system. For practitioners, tracking his public addresses and the ATO's corporate planning documents is as important as tracking legislative changes.

2. Karen Payne

Karen Payne was appointed Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman commencing 6 May 2019 and has built the office into a genuinely influential force for system improvement. A former partner at MinterEllison specialising in corporate and international tax, and the inaugural CEO of the Board of Taxation, she brings both deep technical knowledge and institutional experience to a role that sits at the intersection of taxpayer advocacy and systemic review. Her thought leadership article published by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand on how tax complaints can improve tax administration reflects a consistent focus on using data to drive structural rather than case-by-case improvements.

Her presentations at the Tax Summit and in academic settings, including her January 2024 appearance at the Australasian Tax Teachers Association annual conference, signal a voice that moves comfortably between the technical and the systemic. Payne consistently challenges the profession and the ATO to think more rigorously about what data-driven tax administration actually means in practice, and her published papers on tax governance and transparency represent some of the most useful reading for any adviser working with private group clients.

3. Jeremy Hirschhorn

As Second Commissioner of the ATO with overall responsibility for the Compliance and Engagement Group since April 2020, Jeremy Hirschhorn is the person most directly responsible for how the ATO engages with Australia's largest and most complex taxpayers. With more than 20 years' experience managing complex tax matters, and as former Deputy Commissioner of Public Groups and International, he has direct oversight of the ATO's work with large public groups, multinationals, and the private wealth sector. The ATO's areas of focus for 2025-26, including transfer pricing, cross-border transactions, trust arrangements, and crypto asset reporting, are priorities his division drives.

Hirschhorn's public speeches and ATO guidance documents on the Justified Trust program, country-by-country reporting, and the Voluntary Tax Transparency Code are essential reading for any adviser or in-house tax professional working in the corporate or large private space. His ability to translate the ATO's enforcement philosophy into practical compliance guidance makes him one of the most influential practitioner-facing voices in Australian tax administration.

Category Two: Academic Voices Shaping the Policy Debate (Australia)

Australia's tax academic community punches well above its weight in the international policy conversation. The people in this category are not theoretical. They publish in major journals, advise government, contribute to policy processes, and translate their research into accessible public commentary that shapes how legislators and practitioners think about the big questions.

4. Miranda Stewart

Miranda Stewart is one of the most influential voices in Australian and international tax law and policy, now serving as Professor of Tax Law and Director of the International Tax Program at New York University School of Law from Fall 2025, while retaining her position as Honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne Law School and the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the ANU. Her 2022 book Tax and Government in the 21st Century, published by Cambridge University Press, provides one of the most comprehensive frameworks available for understanding how tax systems can and should respond to population ageing, inequality, and the energy transition. She has been appointed President of the 78th International Fiscal Association Annual Congress, to be held in Melbourne in October 2026.

Stewart's public writing on AustaxPolicy, including her 2025 pieces on fixing Australia's outdated family payments system and on the proposed super tax, demonstrates a consistent ability to connect technical tax analysis to questions of social equity and democratic legitimacy. Her advisory work with the Australian Treasury, international bodies, and NGOs gives her insights that go well beyond what most academic tax commentators offer.

5. Kerrie Sadiq

Kerrie Sadiq holds the position of Professor of Taxation in the Faculty of Business and Law at Queensland University of Technology, and is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow for the period 2022-26, with a funded project titled "International Tax in a Digital Era" worth over $1 million. She is the co-editor of Australian Tax Review, a Fellow of the CPA, a Chartered Tax Adviser, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Her 2025 book Taxing Income and Consumption: The Development of International Tax Law and Policy, co-edited with Chris Evans and Na Li and published by Edward Elgar, represents one of the most authoritative multi-author surveys of where international tax law has come from and where it is heading.

Sadiq's research on BEPS, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, capital gains tax, and tax expenditures is regularly published in leading journals and translated into accessible commentary for The Conversation and AustaxPolicy. Her November 2025 piece on formulary apportionment for developing nations and her co-authored work on corporate tax transparency reflect a practitioner-relevant research agenda that consistently stays ahead of the policy curve.

6. Robert Breunig

Robert Breunig is the Director of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute (TTPI) at the Australian National University and one of the most productive contributors to the Australian tax policy debate. His policy briefs and AustaxPolicy commentary range across superannuation, road user charging, productivity, and intergenerational tax fairness. His October 2025 piece, following the Economic Reform Roundtable convened by Treasurer Chalmers, argued that the Chalmers super tax backflip provides a genuine second chance for reform. His September 2025 brief on road user charging as a pathway for Australia represents the kind of specific, policy-actionable recommendation that distinguishes his work from general commentary.

Breunig's combination of empirical economic methodology and willingness to engage with politically contested topics makes him one of the most valuable voices for understanding where Australian tax reform is genuinely heading, as opposed to where the political debate says it is heading. His research on tax evasion using round-number bunching in ATO data is a good example of the kind of micro-level analytical work that should be on every serious tax professional's reading list.

7. Sonali Walpola

Sonali Walpola is an Associate Professor at the ANU College of Business and Economics, Academic Lead of the ANU Tax Clinic, and a co-editor of AustaxPolicy. Her research focuses on taxation law and policy, with a particular emphasis on the capital gains taxation of trusts, double tax agreements, and the Australian High Court's approach to the common law. Her 2025 Australian Tax Forum paper on justice and the Australian income tax base, co-authored with John Minas, addresses the equity dimensions of capital gains and trust taxation at a moment when both are central to the policy debate following the 2026-27 Budget.

Walpola's role as Academic Lead of the ANU Tax Clinic, which she co-founded in 2019, gives her a direct connection to how the tax system operates for low-income and vulnerable taxpayers, a perspective that is often missing from practitioner-dominated tax commentary. Her publications on R&D tax incentive reforms and on the interpretation of residence tiebreaker rules in tax treaties reflect a research agenda that is directly relevant to the issues being debated in 2026.

8. John Minas

John Minas is an Associate Professor at Monash University's Department of Business Law and Taxation, heads the Tax Law and Policy Research Group, and became a co-editor of AustaxPolicy in August 2025. His co-authored 2025 paper on justice and the Australian income tax base, with Sonali Walpola, and his contribution to the 2025 Blueprint for Individual Taxation Reform in a Globalized World, published by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, reflect the international dimensions of his research. His July 2025 paper on the allocation of professional firm profits in the Australian Tax Forum addresses one of the most hotly contested areas of ATO compliance focus for 2025-26.

Minas's role at Monash's Research Group gives him a platform for coordinating multiple research threads simultaneously, and his editorial role at AustaxPolicy means he is directly involved in shaping what research reaches the broader policy and professional audience. For practitioners advising professional service firm clients navigating the allocation of professional firm profits rules, his published research is among the most practically useful available.

9. Chris Evans

Chris Evans is Emeritus Professor at UNSW Sydney's School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation and Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria, with one of the most extensive publication records in Australian tax law academia. His 2025 co-edited book with Kerrie Sadiq and Na Li, Taxing Income and Consumption: The Development of International Tax Law and Policy, published by Edward Elgar, provides a landmark survey of the field. He is also a co-leader of the 2026 International Colloquium on Managing Tax System Complexity. His Asprey Tax Review anniversary paper examining whether Haig-Simons comprehensiveness remains relevant, published in early 2026, revisits the foundational intellectual framework for Australian tax reform at a moment when that framework is under acute political pressure.

Evans's consistent output across global minimum tax, simplification, and international tax design makes him one of the most cited Australian tax academics in international circles. His willingness to engage with politically contested reform questions in public forums distinguishes him from researchers who confine their contributions to specialist academic channels.

Category Three: Academic Voices Shaping the Policy Debate (New Zealand)

New Zealand's tax academic community is smaller but no less consequential. The voices in this category are directly connected to policy processes, Inland Revenue engagement, and the international fiscal conversation that will shape New Zealand's system for the coming decade.

10. Craig Elliffe

Craig Elliffe is a Professor at the University of Auckland Law School and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in April 2026 in recognition of his work on complex international tax issues. He is the first New Zealander to serve on the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association, and his 2025 paper on a "quiet revolution" in international tax law was one of six shortlisted globally for the prestigious Frans Vanistendael Award for International Tax Law. His books Taxing the Digital Economy: Policy, Theory and Practice and International and Cross-Border Taxation in New Zealand have been described by leading international tax experts as essential reading.

Elliffe's combination of 14 years as a tax partner at KPMG and nine years at Chapman Tripp, followed by an academic career focused on digital economy taxation and multinational profit shifting, makes him one of the few people in the ANZ region with both deep practitioner and deep research credibility on the questions of international tax design that matter most in 2026. His LinkedIn engagement on issues including the wealth of New Zealanders and the tax system reflects a willingness to participate in public policy debates that goes beyond what most tax academics are prepared to do.

11. Lisa Marriott

Lisa Marriott is Professor of Taxation and Associate Dean (Research) at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, and Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria. Her research is distinctive in its consistent focus on social justice, inequality, and the behavioural impacts of taxation on different population groups. Her October 2025 paper in AustaxPolicy, co-authored with Adrian Sawyer, examining New Zealand's tax reform experience and its parallels with Australia, provides one of the most useful comparative frameworks available for understanding how both systems have evolved and where structural pressures are similar.

Marriott's earlier research on the politics of retirement savings taxation, white-collar and blue-collar financial crime, and the behavioural effects of tax enforcement on different demographic groups has shaped how New Zealand Inland Revenue thinks about equity in its administration approach. She is one of the few researchers in the Australasian region whose tax research is consistently grounded in a social equity framework rather than a pure efficiency framework.

12. Adrian Sawyer

Adrian Sawyer is Professor of Taxation at the University of Canterbury Business School in Christchurch, holding an SJD from the University of Virginia. His research spans tax reform, legislative drafting, international tax implementation, and compliance. His October 2025 co-authored paper with Lisa Marriott on New Zealand's tax reform experience appeared in AustaxPolicy, and his contribution to the 2025 Taxing Income and Consumption volume edited by Sadiq, Evans, and Na Li reflects his standing in the international tax research community. He also presented at the SMU Centre for Commercial Law in Asia in December 2025 on New Zealand's approach to tax policy and the use of incorporation by reference in tax legislation.

Sawyer's unique focus on tax legislative drafting, including New Zealand's distinctive approach to tax legislation design, gives him a perspective that is often underrepresented in the reform conversation. For practitioners working on cross-border ANZ compliance, his insights on how the two systems differ structurally, not just in rates, are essential.

Category Four: Policy Advocates and Public Voices

Some of the most valuable people to follow in tax are not in firms or universities. They sit in think tanks, professional bodies, and government advisory roles, translating complex tax issues into accessible policy arguments and ensuring the profession's voice reaches where decisions are actually made.

13. Robyn Jacobson

Robyn Jacobson is one of the most recognised tax advocates in Australia, recently appointed as Senior Advocate at the National Tax and Accountants' Association (NTAA) in April 2026, having previously served as Senior Advocate at The Tax Institute for more than five years. A Chartered Tax Adviser, Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and Fellow of CPA Australia, she has won the Thought Leader of the Year award at the Australian Accounting Awards and the Women in Finance Awards on multiple occasions. Her decade-long career as a tax trainer, her TaxVibe podcast appearances, and her regular commentary in Accountants Daily make her one of the most widely-followed practitioner-facing voices in Australian tax.

Jacobson's December 2025 two-part series on the major developments shaping the tax and superannuation landscape in 2025 and 2026 is one of the most practical and comprehensive practitioner-facing reviews available. Her consistent advocacy for SME clients, and her engagement with Treasury, the ATO, and the Board of Taxation, reflects a depth of institutional influence that goes well beyond what most commentators achieve.

14. Aruna Sathanapally

Aruna Sathanapally joined the Grattan Institute as CEO in February 2024, heading one of Australia's most influential policy think tanks. A former NSW barrister and senior public servant who led analysis across the macroeconomy division at NSW Treasury, she co-authored the August 2025 AustaxPolicy piece on a better personal income tax system, which she also presented at the Economic Reform Roundtable convened by Treasurer Chalmers. Her December 2025 Conversation piece, arguing that the government needs to seize its post-election reform window, reflects a consistent willingness to translate detailed policy analysis into public advocacy.

Sathanapally's institutional position at Grattan means her recommendations on tax reform carry unusual weight in policy circles. Her combination of legal, economic, and public policy background, and her specific expertise on distributional effects and housing policy, make her one of the most important voices for understanding which ANZ tax reform proposals have genuine policy traction versus which are political signalling.

15. David Montani

David Montani is the National Head of Technical Tax for Private Business Tax and Advisory at Grant Thornton Australia, appointed in February 2025. He brings over 30 years of experience in specialist tax advisory, previously serving as National Tax Director at Nexia for more than 15 years. His book Tax Wars, released in 2025, examines the politics of Australian tax reform from a practitioner and political storytelling perspective, providing one of the most accessible analyses of why tax reform in Australia has historically been so difficult to achieve. His Queensland Tax Forum 2026 keynote on "the bluster, bulldust and bedlam behind Australia's tax reform gridlock" reflects his capacity to make technical institutional analysis entertaining and accessible.

Montani's LinkedIn commentary on the 2026-27 Budget, including his publicly posted analysis of the discretionary trust tax and CGT changes, demonstrates the kind of real-time, expert-accessible commentary that is genuinely useful for practitioners advising clients in the days after a Budget announcement. For private business and family group practitioners, he is one of the most valuable voices to follow.

16. Julie Abdalla

Julie Abdalla is the Head of Tax and Legal at The Tax Institute, and a Fellow of The Tax Institute. She is the host of the TaxVibe podcast and a regular moderator and presenter at Tax Institute events across Australia. Her work coordinating the Tax Institute's policy and advocacy activities, including its submissions to Treasury and the ATO on everything from tax reform panels to the 2026 Budget analysis, makes her one of the most influential coordinators of professional body tax advocacy in Australia. Her Queensland Tax Forum 2026 session on what the Budget actually means for advisers reflected her consistent ability to cut through announcements to what practitioners actually need to know.

Abdalla's position at the intersection of tax technical knowledge and professional body advocacy gives her a unique platform. For practitioners who want to understand how the profession is responding to regulatory and policy change, her TaxVibe episodes and Tax Institute advocacy output are consistently the most timely and well-informed resources available.

17. Paul Tilley

Paul Tilley is a Research Fellow at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the ANU and a former long-serving Treasury official with deep expertise in tax policy design and the economics of specific tax measures. His TTPI Policy Briefs, including his November 2024 brief on whether negative gearing is a tax concession and his March 2024 brief on Stage 3 tax cuts versus bracket creep, demonstrate the kind of rigorous, politically engaged economic analysis that distinguishes the TTPI's output. His work on the history and mechanics of Australian tax policy, including his detailed historical analysis of tax expenditure identification spanning six decades, provides practitioners and policymakers with context that is rarely available elsewhere.

Tilley's specific expertise on bracket creep, negative gearing, and the design of tax concessions has made him one of the most quoted voices in the media coverage of Australia's 2026-27 Budget. For finance professionals and advisers who want to understand not just what has changed but why it was designed the way it was, his output is essential.

Category Five: Leading Private Practice Voices (Australia)

Australian tax practice is extraordinarily deep. The people in this category are among the most technically expert and publicly active tax lawyers, accountants, and advisers working in private practice across the country. They combine client-facing work with genuine contributions to the public conversation on tax.

18. Linda Tapiolas

Linda Tapiolas is a Partner in the Commercial team at Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers in Brisbane, where she provides technical advice on complex tax, capital gains tax, and Division 7A issues for accountants, financial planners, and professional advisers. With an accounting background spanning 18 years before moving into legal practice, she brings a distinctive dual perspective to tax structuring and business sale transactions. Her regular appearances as a speaker at Tax Institute events, including the NSW Tax Forum 2026 on restructures and rollovers, reflect her standing as one of Queensland's most respected practitioners on business tax structuring matters.

Tapiolas is particularly known for her work on the small business CGT concessions, trust taxation, and business acquisitions. Her published commentary on the Cooper Grace Ward website and her regular contributions to Tax Institute education programs make her one of the most accessible expert voices for advisers working with family groups and SME clients navigating the practical complexity of the post-Budget CGT and trust landscape.

19. Annette Morgan

Annette Morgan is a Chartered Tax Adviser associated with Curtin University in Perth, and serves as a facilitator for the Tax Institute's WA Tax Forum 2026. Her facilitation role for the profession evolution and leadership sessions at that forum reflects her dual standing as a technical practitioner and a voice on the future of the profession itself. The WA Tax Forum 2026 specifically engaged her to moderate sessions on how the profession is evolving amid regulatory reform, technological change, and increasing regulatory complexity for practitioners.

Morgan's combination of technical expertise and facilitation capability represents a type of practitioner voice that is somewhat rare in the public tax conversation: someone who can hold space for the institutional and professional development questions alongside the technical ones. For WA-based practitioners in particular, her work within the regional Tax Institute community reflects a consistent commitment to professional development and peer learning.

20. Jerome Tse

Jerome Tse holds the designation CTA (Life) at King and Wood Mallesons and is one of Australia's most highly regarded tax dispute lawyers. He was a speaker at The Tax Institute's 2026 International Masterclass on managing tax disputes with a cross-border element, where he addressed the ATO's information gathering powers, international exchange of information, and the conduct of cross-border audits and litigation. His decades of experience managing some of Australia's most complex tax disputes means his perspective on how the ATO approaches enforcement in practice is among the most expert available.

Tse's specific expertise on cross-border disputes, transfer pricing controversy, and managing the ATO's formal and informal information request processes fills a gap that most academic and policy voices cannot address. For corporate and large private group practitioners dealing with ATO disputes, he is one of the most important practitioners to follow.

21. Lisa To

Lisa To is a Chartered Tax Adviser and Partner at Bartier Perry Lawyers in New South Wales, with specific expertise in modern estate planning for private groups and the management of cross-border estate issues. Her NSW Tax Forum 2026 session on modern estate planning for private groups addressed one of the most practically urgent areas for advisers working with high-net-worth families. With Australia's population ageing and an estimated $3.5 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer underway over the next two decades, estate planning and succession intersect with tax strategy in ways that make her perspective particularly valuable.

To's work connects the technical rules around testamentary trusts, estate capital gains tax, and cross-border succession with the practical family governance questions that determine whether those structures actually function as intended. Her published commentary on estate planning developments and her conference presentations make her one of the most accessible voices on this increasingly important area of private client practice.

22. Peter Feros

Peter Feros is a Chartered Tax Adviser and Partner at Johnson Winter Slattery, one of Australia's leading independent commercial law firms. He participated as a panellist on the NSW Tax Forum 2026 Tax Reform session alongside Julie Abdalla and Ermelinda Kovacs, reflecting his standing as a practitioner voice on the big structural questions facing the Australian tax system. His practice spans corporate tax, M&A, and tax reform advisory.

Feros represents the kind of senior private practice perspective that is often missing from the academic and think tank dominated tax reform debate. His engagement with the structural questions around Australia's tax system, from a position of deep practitioner experience, provides an important counterpoint to purely policy-oriented commentary.

23. Meghan Speers

Meghan Speers became the Managing Partner of Deloitte Australia's Tax and Legal practice in November 2024, the most senior female tax leader in Australia's largest professional services firm. A Chartered Accountant, admitted solicitor, and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, she brings a deep background in advising the superannuation sector to her national leadership role. She is also Chair of Ovarian Cancer Australia. Her market leadership roles in Victoria before stepping into the national managing partner position gave her exposure across the full spectrum of Deloitte's tax advisory work.

Speers's position at the top of Australia's largest tax advisory practice means her views on where the profession is heading, on technology, talent, client advisory models, and regulatory engagement, carry significant weight. For professionals interested in how the Big Four are responding to the combination of regulatory change, technological disruption, and market repositioning that is reshaping tax advisory, she is a key voice to follow.

24. Matthew Marcarian

Matthew Marcarian is the founder of CST Tax Advisors, a specialist tax advisory firm focused on private clients, including Australians living and working overseas, expatriates, and businesses with cross-border operations. His LinkedIn commentary on cross-border tax issues demonstrates an active voice on practitioner-relevant tax topics. His published breakdowns of scheme eligibility and compliance considerations are regularly shared and engaged with by practitioners across the profession.

Marcarian's specialist focus on the intersection of Australian and international tax for private clients fills a gap that most large-firm practitioners cannot address at the same level of specificity. For advisers working with mobile high-net-worth individuals, expatriates, or businesses with cross-border structures, his commentary is consistently among the most practically useful available on LinkedIn.

25. Sam Ayoubi

Sam Ayoubi is the Principal of AHS Legal, a boutique law firm providing tax and legal services to accountants, lawyers, private groups, and property enterprises. He presents regularly at Tax Institute Local Tax Club events in Sydney and brings a background spanning both accounting and legal practice, including experience at Big Four firms and mid-tier accounting practices. His sessions on early-stage disputes, managing ATO enforcement action, and director penalty notices address the practical realities of what advisers face when clients encounter ATO compliance action.

Ayoubi represents the type of boutique specialist that is increasingly important in a tax advisory landscape where large firms have moved their focus to larger clients. His accessibility for SME advisers and his willingness to present in educational formats make him a genuinely useful resource for practitioners working in private business and property.

Category Six: Corporate Tax and Transfer Pricing

The corporate and international tax space in Australia has been transformed by BEPS, Pillar Two, and an increasingly assertive ATO. The people in this category are doing the most consequential work at the intersection of compliance, strategy, and policy on the largest and most complex tax questions.

26. Elizabeth Jools

Elizabeth Jools is a Partner at Pitcher Partners in Sydney specialising in transfer pricing and international tax obligations for Australian subsidiaries of multinational groups. Her presentation at the NSW Tax Forum 2026 on managing transfer pricing and international tax obligations in 2026 reflected her deep technical expertise in an area that the ATO has increasingly targeted through its Next 5000 and Top 500 compliance programs. Her work includes navigating the complexities of the ATO's Next 5000 and Top 500 review programs for clients with international related-party transactions.

Jools's work at a mid-tier firm that has won recognition from the ITR for its transfer pricing capability demonstrates that world-class advisory in this space is not confined to the Big Four. Her accessible, compliance-focused approach to a technically demanding field makes her one of the most practically valuable voices for advisers whose clients face ATO transfer pricing scrutiny.

27. Chris Stewart

Chris Stewart is a Partner at PwC Australia with specific expertise in Pillar Two and international tax. His NSW Tax Forum 2026 session on Pillar Two, focusing on the implications of the OECD's global minimum tax rules for Australian subsidiaries and parent groups, addressed one of the most technically complex and consequential developments in international tax since BEPS 1.0. With the Australian Pillar Two domestic minimum tax now in effect, and the compliance obligations for in-scope multinational groups escalating rapidly, his expertise in this area is genuinely difficult to find elsewhere in the Australian market.

Stewart's ability to explain the combined Global and Domestic Minimum Tax Return requirements, the Pillar Two safe harbours, and the transitional compliance approach in ways that are accessible to practitioners who are not themselves Pillar Two specialists makes him one of the most valuable technical voices in the corporate and international tax space.

28. Vince Tropiano

Vince Tropiano is a Corporate and International Tax Partner at Grant Thornton Australia who has been particularly active in explaining the implications of the 2026-27 Federal Budget for corporate and institutional clients. His post-Budget podcast episode addressed the CGT indexation changes, key structuring considerations for corporate groups and trusts, and the importance of clients engaging their advisers to model implications for specific structures. His commentary on how trade policy developments affect transfer pricing strategies addressed a genuinely novel intersection of trade and tax compliance.

Tropiano's combination of corporate transaction expertise and willingness to engage in accessible public commentary distinguishes him from many corporate tax specialists who confine their communication to client-only channels. His podcast appearances and published analysis make him one of the more accessible voices on complex corporate tax questions.

Category Seven: Leading Voices from New Zealand (Private Practice)

New Zealand's tax practice is led by a smaller but highly capable group of practitioners who engage with some of the most complex corporate, private wealth, and international tax questions facing businesses operating across the Tasman.

29. Greg Neill

Greg Neill is the National Practice Group Chair for Russell McVeagh's Tax team and was recognised as a World Tax Leader by World Tax 2025, ranked in Tax Law by the Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific 2026 Guide, and as a Leading Partner by the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2026 Guide. Russell McVeagh was named New Zealand Tax Firm of the Year at the ITR Asia-Pacific Tax Awards 2025, the sixth consecutive year the firm has been ranked Top Tier for General Corporate Tax. Neill's primary expertise spans M&A, private equity transactions, banking and corporate finance, real estate and construction, and private wealth investment.

Neill has contributed chapters to the Chambers and Partners Corporate Tax 2025 and 2026 Guides covering New Zealand tax developments, and his articles in the International Tax Review on New Zealand's coalition government tax priorities provide one of the most authoritative practitioner-level analyses of what is actually changing in the NZ tax landscape versus what is political noise. For corporate advisers with cross-Tasman clients, he is one of the most important New Zealand tax practitioners to follow.

30. Fred Ward

Fred Ward is a Partner at Russell McVeagh and features in the Hall of Fame in the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2026 Guide, the highest individual recognition available in that directory for New Zealand tax lawyers. Ranked a World Tax Leader by World Tax 2025 and named Lawyer of the Year for tax law by Best Lawyers New Zealand on two occasions, he brings over 30 years of partnership experience to his focus on corporate finance, M&A, and structured investment products. He has been voted into the Best Lawyers New Zealand Guide for Tax Law consistently from 2008 to 2024.

Ward's work advising Fonterra on its capital structure review, and his co-authorship of New Zealand's submissions on employee share schemes and skilled migrant tax treatment in 2025, reflect a practitioner whose contribution extends well beyond individual client transactions to shaping the tax legislation itself. For New Zealand corporate practitioners, his depth and longevity in the market make him the single most decorated tax lawyer in the country.

31. Robyn Walker

Robyn Walker is a Tax Partner and National Technical Director within the Tax Team at Deloitte New Zealand, actively producing thought leadership on tax policy developments and their practical implications for clients. Her regular Budget commentary, including her analysis of the 2026 Budget published in the NZ Herald, demonstrates a consistent ability to translate legislative changes into accessible practical guidance. She is ranked by World Tax as a leading tax adviser in New Zealand and is deeply embedded in the Corporate Taxpayers Group advisory structure.

Walker's active LinkedIn presence and her willingness to take public positions on contested tax policy questions make her one of the most valuable NZ tax voices for practitioners who need real-time, expert commentary. Her accessibility and clarity of explanation distinguish her from many technically equivalent practitioners who confine their communication to client channels.

32. Bruce Wallace

Bruce Wallace leads the Tax and Business Advisory team for Deloitte New Zealand and has particular expertise in international tax matters, having worked in Deloitte's US firm and advised many of New Zealand's largest outbound investors on their international tax affairs. He was a keynote presenter at the Deloitte 2025 National Tax Conference, and his opening of that conference reflects his leadership role within the New Zealand tax community. His work on cross-border financing structures, international tax restructuring, and M&A tax advice positions him among the top tier of NZ corporate tax advisers.

Wallace's background in both the US tax system and New Zealand tax makes him particularly valuable for organisations navigating cross-border transactions between New Zealand and the United States, or for NZ-headquartered groups with significant US operations. His leadership of Deloitte NZ's tax function gives him visibility across the full spectrum of what the market's largest tax advisory team is seeing from clients.

33. Patrick McCalman

Patrick McCalman is a Partner at Deloitte New Zealand and a regular contributor to Deloitte's thought leadership program, including the Deloitte 2025 National Tax Conference where he presented on the intersection of tax and growth. His focus is on helping clients understand how tax impacts their business and making advice real in the context of their specific objectives and aspirations. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and has a background in both law and commerce.

McCalman's contribution to Deloitte's submission on the Pillar Two panellists session, and his advisory relationship with the Corporate Taxpayers Group, reflect a practitioner deeply connected to the policy conversation in New Zealand as well as to client advisory work. For NZ-based corporate practitioners, his accessible, business-focused approach to complex tax matters makes him a valuable voice.

Category Eight: Tax Technology and Innovation

Tax technology is transforming how compliance and advisory work is done across Australia and New Zealand. The people in this category are at the forefront of thinking about how technology changes the tax function, from pooling to automation to AI-driven compliance.

34. Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor is the co-founder of Tax Traders and Taxi, two fintech businesses that have genuinely changed how New Zealand businesses manage their provisional tax obligations. Tax Traders, launched in 2012, is the country's leading tax pooling provider and has reshaped how accountants and businesses manage cash flow around provisional tax. Taxi, the sibling venture, extends this model to provide tax-backed working capital to businesses that previously could not access it. A University of Auckland profile from June 2025 describes the founding principle as making the benefits of the tax system accessible to every New Zealand business, not just the largest.

Taylor is a speaker at Deloitte's National Tax Conference and a recognised authority on tax pooling, provisional tax strategy, and workflow automations for accountants. His public advocacy for simplification and equity in how tax administration works for small and medium businesses, and his success in securing a legislative change providing imputation neutrality for Taxi, demonstrates that technology-driven thinking can actually change the rules. For New Zealand practitioners advising on provisional tax management and for businesses seeking to optimise their working capital structure, he is one of the most practically important voices to follow.

35. Scott Treatt

Scott Treatt is the CEO of The Tax Institute and the host of the TaxVibe podcast, where he engages regularly with senior practitioners, academics, and advocates on the most pressing issues in Australian tax. His conversations include the David Montani episode on tax reform politics, the Robyn Jacobson episode on SME advocacy, and the Julie Abdalla episode on leadership and career development in the profession. His leadership of The Tax Institute, Australia's leading professional body for tax practitioners with over 12,000 members, gives him unparalleled visibility across every segment of the Australian tax market.

Treatt's combination of institutional knowledge and ability to make the tax profession's perspective accessible to a broad audience makes him one of the most influential coordinators of professional tax discourse in Australia. The Tax Institute's advocacy output, driven under his leadership, shapes the submissions that influence how tax law and administration develops.

Category Nine: SME, Private Client, and Specialist Practitioners

The practitioners in this category serve the segment of the tax market that most Australians and New Zealanders actually interact with. They bring genuine technical expertise to the practical challenges of SME, private client, trust, and property tax, and they do it in formats that make their knowledge accessible to the practitioners and clients who need it most.

36. Natasha Wilson

Natasha Wilson is an Associate Tax Institute Member (ATI) at Vincents in Queensland and was selected as a speaker at the Queensland Tax Forum 2026 for her session on personal services income in practice, specifically addressing back-to-fundamentals implications following the ATO's release of PCG 2025/5. Her session was specifically designed for practitioners who need to reassess their approach to personal services income arrangements in a more defined compliance environment. PSI remains one of the most commonly misunderstood areas of Australian tax for small business clients.

Wilson's selection for a specialist session at a state tax forum reflects practitioner recognition of her technical depth in an area that is practically important for the majority of private client practices. Her accessible, practice-focused approach to a technically demanding area makes her a useful voice for practitioners working with sole traders, contractor businesses, and professional service firms.

37. Sian Sinclair

Sian Sinclair is a Chartered Tax Adviser at Grant Thornton Australia (Queensland), with specific expertise in property tax issues for developers and investors. Her Queensland Tax Forum 2026 session on what is hot in property, specifically addressing the distinction between property developers, property investors, and leisure property, addressed one of the most practically consequential distinctions in Australian income tax. The ATO's 2025-26 compliance focus explicitly targets property and construction industry misclassification as a priority risk area.

Sinclair's practical focus on the real estate sector, and her ability to translate ATO compliance priorities into guidance for advisers working with property clients, makes her one of the most valuable voices specifically for practitioners in the property tax space. Her conference presentations reflect the kind of technical clarity that is most useful for practitioners who need to advise clients navigating a more aggressive compliance environment.

38. Andrew Sharp

Andrew Sharp is a Tax Partner at Alvarez and Marsal Australia, facilitating the NSW Tax Forum 2026 Tax Reform panel. Alvarez and Marsal's Australian tax practice has developed particular expertise in private equity taxation and payday superannuation compliance, areas that intersect with the most significant recent tax developments. The firm published analysis in December 2025 on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Bill receiving Royal Assent, and has been consistently active in explaining the implications of Australia's transition to payday super from 1 July 2026.

Sharp's facilitation role at the highest-profile tax forum in New South Wales, alongside his firm's consistent publication of practical tax analysis, reflects a practitioner who is embedded in both the policy and the compliance conversations. For practitioners working with large employers navigating payday super, or with private equity-backed clients managing complex tax structures, his perspective is genuinely valuable.

39. David Barrett

David Barrett is a Chartered Tax Adviser and Principal at Pax Services, with specific expertise in self-managed superannuation funds and the implications of the Division 296 tax on superannuation balances exceeding $3 million. His NSW Tax Forum 2026 session on SMSFs, Division 296, and ATO regulatory issues addressed one of the most practically pressing issues for advisers working with high-net-worth clients in 2026. With Division 296 confirmed from 1 July 2026, and with the ATO increasing its scrutiny of SMSF arrangements used to avoid its intent, his expertise is in direct demand.

Barrett's boutique specialist focus on superannuation fund compliance and tax planning fills a gap that most generalist advisers cannot address with the same depth. For the many accountants and financial advisers whose clients are approaching the $3 million threshold, his published commentary and conference presentations are among the most practically useful resources available.

40. Alex Whitney

Alex Whitney is a Chartered Tax Adviser and Partner at West Garbutt, a Brisbane-based mid-tier accounting firm. His Queensland Tax Forum 2026 session on franking credits, specifically addressing the "new reality for franking credits" following legislative and administrative developments, covered an area that is perennially important for shareholders of private companies and small publicly listed entities. The ATO's ongoing scrutiny of franking credit arrangements and the legislative complexity around accessing franking credits continue to generate significant practical challenges for private business clients.

Whitney's focus on a technically complex but practically common issue, and his willingness to present at a state tax forum where the audience is primarily practitioner-focused, reflects the kind of accessible technical expertise that is most useful for the broad tax adviser community. For practitioners working with private company shareholders and family groups, his franking credit expertise is directly valuable.

Category Ten: Superannuation and Wealth Strategy

41. Craig Day

Craig Day is a specialist at Colonial First State focused on superannuation strategy and regulation, and was a speaker at the NSW Tax Forum 2026 on the implications of payday super, one of the most operationally significant changes to Australia's superannuation system in decades. His work explaining the mechanics and compliance requirements of payday super, which requires employers to pay superannuation guarantee amounts at the same time as wages from 1 July 2026, addresses a change that affects virtually every employer in Australia and every adviser working with business clients.

Day's deep specialisation in superannuation strategy within a major superannuation fund gives him a perspective on how these regulatory changes affect member outcomes and fund operations that practitioners working purely in private practice cannot replicate. His accessible explanations of complex superannuation legislation make him one of the most practically useful voices for advisers navigating the payday super transition with their employer clients.

Category Eleven: New Zealand Policy and Government

42. Emma Grigg

Emma Grigg is the Tax Policy Director at Inland Revenue New Zealand and was a panellist at the Deloitte 2025 National Tax Conference on the topic of tax and growth. She has responsibility for the development of New Zealand's Tax Policy Work Programme and for Inland Revenue's external policy engagement strategy. A graduate with degrees in law and commerce, and a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, she has recently returned from 18 months in the Minister of Finance's office as Private Secretary for Revenue, giving her a direct insight into how ministerial priorities translate into policy direction.

Grigg's position at the intersection of tax policy design and external stakeholder engagement makes her one of the most important government voices shaping the New Zealand tax policy conversation. For practitioners who want to understand not just what New Zealand's tax policy agenda contains but how it is likely to be sequenced and prioritised, her involvement in the public conference program provides valuable direct access to Inland Revenue's thinking.

43. Simon Watts

Simon Watts is the New Zealand Minister of Revenue, Climate Change, Energy, and Local Government, serving as MP for North Shore since 2020. A qualified Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Management Studies and over 20 years of international banking and finance experience, he delivered the keynote address at the Deloitte 2025 National Tax Conference on the Government's tax policy priorities. His ministerial portfolio makes him the political voice most directly responsible for the direction of New Zealand's tax policy under the current coalition government.

Watts's professional background in accounting and banking, combined with his political role, gives him a distinctive combination of technical credibility and political authority. His public statements on investment boost measures, foreign investment, and compliance cost reduction reflect the coalition government's priority of using tax policy to drive economic growth rather than revenue maximisation.

Category Twelve: International and Transfer Pricing (ANZ)

44. Lirize Loots

Lirize Loots is an Associate at Pitcher Partners in Sydney with specialist expertise in transfer pricing and international tax, co-presenting with Elizabeth Jools at the NSW Tax Forum 2026 on managing transfer pricing and international tax obligations in 2026. Her focused expertise in a technically demanding area within a mid-tier firm reflects the growing importance of transfer pricing advisory work as the ATO's compliance focus on private groups and their international transactions intensifies. Her work includes navigating the complexities of the ATO's Next 5000 and Top 500 review programs for clients with international related-party transactions.

Loots's contribution to the Pitcher Partners transfer pricing practice reflects a new generation of ANZ tax professionals who have developed genuine deep expertise in what was previously a Big Four monopoly area. For advisers working with mid-market clients who have international operations and are beginning to attract ATO scrutiny, her perspective is directly relevant.

Category Thirteen: Emerging Academic Voices

The next generation of ANZ tax scholarship is being shaped by researchers who combine rigorous methodology with direct engagement in current policy debates. The people in this category are already making consequential contributions.

45. Yuan (Helen) Ping

Yuan (Helen) Ping is a Lecturer in Business and Corporate Law at Monash University's Department of Business Law and Taxation and is completing a PhD at the Australian National University on regulatory enforcement and corporate tax behaviour. She became a co-editor of AustaxPolicy in August 2025, where she contributes to the editorial shaping of one of the most important platforms for accessible tax policy research in Australia. Her current research examines how US country-by-country reporting rules affect corporate tax behaviour, an area directly relevant to the implementation of Australia's own country-by-country reporting requirements.

Ping's dual focus on both regulatory enforcement and corporate tax behaviour fills a gap between the legal and economic streams of tax research that is rarely bridged. As Australia's country-by-country reporting regime reaches full implementation, her research on how transparency requirements change corporate behaviour will be directly relevant to both policy design and practitioner advice.

46. Todd Morris

Todd Morris is a Lecturer at the University of Queensland whose research spans public economics, labour economics, and the economics of ageing, and who became a co-editor of AustaxPolicy in August 2025. His empirical economics approach, combining individual-level data analysis with policy-relevant questions, reflects the kind of methodological rigour that is increasingly required to evaluate the distributional effects of tax policy changes. His research on the economics of ageing intersects directly with the superannuation and retirement savings policy debates that are central to Australia's fiscal reform agenda.

Morris's co-editorial role at AustaxPolicy means he is directly involved in selecting and shaping the research that reaches the broader policy and professional community. His empirical approach to public economics provides a valuable complement to the legal and institutional perspectives that dominate much of the Australian tax commentary landscape.

47. Jonathan Barrett

Jonathan Barrett is an academic at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington who contributed a January 2026 piece to The Conversation examining how Australian reforms addressing financial abuse victims in tax law should prompt New Zealand to assess its own protections and risks. This type of comparative, justice-oriented tax analysis is relatively rare in the ANZ tax academic community and reflects a distinctive research agenda focused on vulnerable taxpayers and the intersection of tax law with social protection frameworks.

Barrett's willingness to engage in accessible public commentary on justice-oriented tax questions makes him a voice worth following for anyone interested in how tax law intersects with broader social policy. His cross-Tasman comparative perspective adds a dimension that is underrepresented in both Australian and New Zealand tax commentary.

48. Ashesha Weerasinghe

Ashesha Weerasinghe is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Queensland University of Technology, working within Kerrie Sadiq's ARC Future Fellow research program on international tax in the digital era. Her 2026 paper co-authored with Sadiq on formulary apportionment for developing nations in the extractive industries, published in the New Zealand Journal of Taxation Law and Policy, and her earlier work co-authored with Sadiq and Rodney Brown on benevolent leadership and corporate tax transparency reflect a research profile that is already making substantive contributions to the international and domestic tax literature.

Weerasinghe's background in working within a large, externally funded research program gives her access to datasets and collaborative research frameworks that independent early-career researchers rarely enjoy. Her focus on both international tax minimisation and the behavioural determinants of corporate tax behaviour positions her well for a research career at the forefront of the most contested areas of ANZ tax policy.

49. Nicola Taylor

Nicola Taylor is the co-founder of Tax Traders and Taxi alongside Josh Taylor, and brings a distinctive perspective to tax innovation as both a business builder and an advocate for equity in tax system access. Her founding vision, as described in a University of Auckland profile from June 2025, was to make the benefits of the tax system accessible to every New Zealand business, not just the largest. Her work in developing tax pooling solutions for smaller businesses, and her advocacy for using technology to level the playing field between large and small taxpayers, reflects a systemic approach to tax equity that goes beyond what most practitioners address.

Taylor's role in securing legislative change providing imputation neutrality for Taxi, and her focus on working capital solutions for businesses that were previously excluded from tax-backed financing, represents genuine innovation in how the tax system is made to work for a broader range of participants. For those interested in the intersection of tax technology, financial inclusion, and SME policy, she is one of the most original voices in the ANZ space.

50. Paul Banister

Paul Banister is the Vice-President of The Tax Institute and appeared in a January 2026 TaxVibe episode with CEO Scott Treatt on the federal budget, tax reform, and his wish list for the year ahead. His contribution to the Institute's leadership and advocacy function, and his practitioner perspective on what the profession most needs from the legislative and regulatory environment, reflects the kind of experienced practitioner voice that keeps professional body advocacy grounded in what advisers actually face. His willingness to engage publicly in the pre-Budget conversation reflects a practitioner perspective that is worth following.

Banister's position within the Tax Institute's governance structure gives him a direct view of what the profession's most pressing concerns are across the full range of practice types and client profiles. For practitioners who want to understand what the profession as a whole is advocating for, his public contributions are a useful barometer.

Notable Voices We Almost Included

Several voices were seriously considered for this list but did not make the final 50. Tom Seymour, the former CEO of PwC Australia who was named in ITR's Global Tax 50 for 2025, has moved into a new chapter following his PwC leadership and his current positioning in the ANZ market is evolving. Peter White, a former EY Australia partner recognised in the ITR Global Tax 50, has significant influence within professional networks but a more limited public profile than those ultimately selected. Binh Tran-Nam, Emeritus Professor at UNSW, has made foundational contributions to Australian tax compliance cost research but has recently reduced his public engagement. This is also the section where we note that voices like those of Brene Brown, Adam Grant, and Simon Sinek would appear on most broad leadership lists. Their work has shaped professional development conversations for over a decade. This list deliberately moved past household names that most readers already know, to surface voices doing consequential work specifically in ANZ tax strategy.

Common Mistakes When Building Your Tax Knowledge Network

The most common mistake practitioners and finance leaders make is following the most prominent names rather than the most relevant ones. Reach alone does not equal quality of insight. Some of the most valuable voices on Australian and New Zealand tax strategy have fewer than 10,000 LinkedIn followers precisely because they are focused on technical depth rather than content volume. Following the right five people who post rigorously is almost always more valuable than following 50 who post frequently.

A second common mistake is treating the academic and practitioner conversations as separate. The most consequential developments in ANZ tax, including the Pillar Two implementation, the 2026-27 Budget reforms, and the evolving treatment of discretionary trusts, are shaped simultaneously by academic research that influences policy and by practitioner advocacy that shapes legislation. The voices that bridge these worlds, like Miranda Stewart, Craig Elliffe, and David Montani, are often the most valuable precisely because they can translate between the frameworks.

A third mistake is focusing exclusively on Australian voices when leading New Zealand practitioners and academics are producing some of the most practically relevant content on cross-Tasman issues. Robyn Walker's Budget commentary, Craig Elliffe's digital economy research, and the IRD's own Long-term Insights Briefing are directly relevant to any adviser or finance professional operating across both jurisdictions.

Finally, many practitioners build their knowledge networks reactively, searching for information only when they face a specific problem. The practitioners and finance leaders who are consistently ahead of the curve build their networks proactively, following voices who will surface the issues before they become urgent.

Implementation Guide: Building Your ANZ Tax Knowledge System

Building a genuine tax knowledge network is a three-step process. The first step is curation. Select between eight and twelve of the voices on this list whose specific focus areas align most closely with your practice or your clients' needs. For a private client and SME adviser, the combination of Robyn Jacobson, David Montani, Linda Tapiolas, and Alex Whitney will give you the most practically relevant coverage. For a corporate or international tax specialist, Miranda Stewart, Kerrie Sadiq, Craig Elliffe, Jerome Tse, and the Russell McVeagh partners represent a complementary set of technical and policy perspectives.

The second step is platform selection. LinkedIn is the most active platform for practitioner commentary in Australia and New Zealand. The Tax Institute's TaxVibe podcast is the single most consistently useful audio resource for Australian practitioners. AustaxPolicy is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand where the academic and policy debates are heading before they reach the legislation.

The third step is systematic engagement. Set aside time each week to read, not just accumulate. A list of 50 people who post regularly will generate more content than any individual can meaningfully engage with. The goal is not to read everything but to read the most relevant things deeply. Creating a simple system, whether a newsletter aggregator, a LinkedIn reading list, or a weekly calendar appointment for professional reading, converts passive following into active knowledge building.

If your team needs help building the leadership communication and alignment frameworks that allow strategic knowledge to actually drive better client outcomes, rather than just accumulating in individual minds, engage Jonno White to facilitate those conversations. Email jonno@consultclarity.org. International travel is often far more affordable than organisations expect, and Jonno works with professional services teams across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and beyond.

For more on how leadership development connects to organisational performance in professional services, check out my blog post '35 Best Thought Leaders in Law in Australia and New Zealand' at https://www.consultclarity.org/post/thought-leaders-law-australia-nz. For a global perspective on tax strategy voices, see my earlier post '50 Essential Global Thought Leaders on Tax Strategy' at https://www.consultclarity.org/post/global-thought-leaders-tax-strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the most influential tax thought leaders in Australia right now?

The most influential voices span several categories. In the regulatory and government space, ATO Commissioner Rob Heferen and Inspector-General Karen Payne set the parameters for how tax is administered. In academia, Miranda Stewart, Kerrie Sadiq, Robert Breunig, and Craig Elliffe (for New Zealand) are doing the most consequential policy-shaping research. In the practitioner advocacy space, Robyn Jacobson and David Montani are the most consistently cited and engaged. In private practice, Linda Tapiolas, Jerome Tse, and the Russell McVeagh partners lead in their respective specialisations. What distinguishes all of them is not just technical depth but a willingness to share their thinking in public.

How was this list compiled?

Every person on this list was selected on documented contribution to the substance of tax strategy in Australia or New Zealand, an active engagement with the public tax conversation in 2025 or 2026, and a deliberate inclusion of voices the reader may not yet have encountered. The list was designed to move past the most prominent household names to surface fresher voices doing consequential work specifically in the ANZ context.

What are the most important tax changes in Australia and New Zealand in 2026?

In Australia, the most significant changes in the 2026-27 Budget are the replacement of the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with cost-base indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax rate on net capital gains from 1 July 2027, the limitation of negative gearing to new builds from 2027-28, the introduction of a minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trust income, and the confirmation of Division 296 on superannuation balances over $3 million from 1 July 2026. The transition to payday super from 1 July 2026 is the most immediately operational change. In New Zealand, the implementation of Pillar Two global minimum tax rules and the Inland Revenue's Long-term Insights Briefing on fiscal sustainability are the most consequential policy developments.

Can I hire someone to facilitate workshops on leadership and team alignment for my accounting or tax firm?

Yes. Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator and bestselling author of Step Up or Step Out, with over 10,000 copies sold globally. He works with professional services teams inside accounting, tax, and advisory firms to build the communication, accountability, and alignment frameworks that allow strategy to translate into results. He delivers keynotes, workshops, executive team offsites, and leadership coaching for professional services firms across Australia and New Zealand, and regularly travels for engagements globally. International travel is often far more affordable than organisations expect. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to start a conversation.

Why does Australia's small business tax gap matter for advisers?

The ATO reports the small business tax gap at $27.2 billion, reflecting the combination of accidental non-compliance and deliberate tax minimisation across a very large and heterogeneous population of businesses. For advisers, the size of the gap means the ATO continues to allocate significant resources to this segment, increasing the probability that clients will be reviewed or audited. It also signals where the ATO believes the most significant compliance risk sits, which should inform how advisers approach risk conversations with clients and how practices build their compliance processes.

How do Australian and New Zealand tax systems differ for cross-border businesses?

Australia and New Zealand share many common features, including GST-type consumption taxes, similar imputation systems for corporate tax, and an OECD-aligned approach to transfer pricing and international tax. However, they differ in significant ways that matter for cross-border businesses. Australia's corporate tax rate of 30 per cent (or 25 per cent for base-rate entities) compares with New Zealand's 28 per cent. New Zealand has no general capital gains tax, while Australia's capital gains regime is extensive and is about to be significantly reformed. The two Pillar Two implementation timelines differ, and the specific anti-avoidance rules in each jurisdiction have evolved independently. Practitioners working with cross-Tasman groups need specialist advice in both jurisdictions.

Final Thoughts

The ANZ tax landscape of 2026 is genuinely different from what it was five years ago, and it will be materially different again in five years. The voices on this list are among those most likely to help you understand why and what it means for the decisions you make today. They are not a substitute for specialist advice on specific transactions or arrangements. But they are the people whose thinking, followed consistently over time, gives you the contextual understanding that makes specialist advice more valuable rather than less.

Tax strategy in Australia and New Zealand is ultimately a conversation, not a code. Following the people who are shaping that conversation, from the academics defining the intellectual framework to the advocates pushing for reform to the practitioners translating rules into client outcomes, is one of the most productive investments of professional attention available. Building your leadership team's communication and alignment capacity alongside its technical expertise is what turns good tax strategy into executed strategy.

Engage Jonno White to facilitate those conversations. Email jonno@consultclarity.org. Whether virtual or face to face, reach out to start a conversation about what your team needs.

For more on building high-performing teams in professional services, explore Jonno's book Step Up or Step Out at https://www.amazon.com.au/Step-Up-Out-Difficult-Conflict/dp/B097X7B5LD.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, bestselling author, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 230+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected.

To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Next Read: '35 Best Thought Leaders in Law in Australia and New Zealand (2026)'

Law firm leadership is unlike leadership in any other industry on earth. Managing partners must balance the competing demands of equity partners who are simultaneously owners, managers, and fee earners. Practice group leaders must hold brilliant, sceptical, risk-averse professionals accountable without fracturing the professional relationships that underpin the firm's revenue.

Whether you work in legal or in a sector that intersects with legal advisory, understanding who is shaping the leadership conversation in Australian and New Zealand law firms gives you a richer picture of where professional services leadership is heading.

Keep reading: https://www.consultclarity.org/post/thought-leaders-law-australia-nz