Biography: Corporate Tax

Michael's practice focuses on corporate and international tax planning, regularly advising Canadian and foreign-based multi-national groups on a variety of matters, including inbound and outbound investment and financing, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and natural resource taxation.

Michael also has considerable experience in handling tax controversy issues faced by multi-national groups (including transfer pricing issues) in Canada and a number of other countries. In this regard, Michael has appeared in the superior courts of British Columbia and Ontario, the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada and before the Revenue Tribunal of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Michael has particular expertise in the taxation issues faced by mining companies, and regularly advises a number of Canadian and foreign-based multinational mining companies. In this regard, Michael has experience structuring mining investment in Canada (including oil sands), the United States, Australia, Mexico, Scandinavia, and numerous countries in South and Central America, Africa and Central Asia.

Michael is on the editorial board of the CCH Income Tax Act and International Tax Planning (Federated Press) and is on the advisory board for the Procopio International Tax Institute of the University of San Diego. Additionally, he is a member of the Rocky Mineral Law Foundation.

In 2007 Michael was named one of the leading lawyers under 40 in Canada by Lexpert magazine. According to Chambers Global 2009 Michael contributes heavily to the firm's reputation in the mining industry. He is hailed for his skills in resource tax and in the foreign affiliate arena, resulting in his involvement in many cross-border and international instructions.