Tax Counsel / Tax Specialist

Tax Counsel / Tax Specialist | Rōia Tāke / Mātanga Tāke (L3)

• Permanent opportunity
• Wellington or Christchurch location preferred but all locations considered

The Opportunity | Ara Whiwhi Mahi

The Tax Counsel Office (TCO) are seeking an experienced senior tax professional who enjoys deep technical thinking, constructive debate, and working through complex issues with other experts.

If you are curious about how tax law is interpreted and applied at a system level — and value working in a supportive, intellectually challenging team environment — we would welcome your interest.

TCO’s work spans adjudications (disputes), binding rulings, advice to other areas of Inland Revenue and public guidance—with plenty of opportunity to contribute your expertise, sharpen your analysis, and see the system-wide impact of technical decisions.

What’s it like in TCO? It’s a team environment: we work through issues together, test ideas constructively, and support each other to land high‑quality outcomes.

As a senior member of our Tax Counsel team, you will

• Interpret and decide on complex and emerging tax technical issues that have strategic significance to support the right outcomes for our customers, Inland Revenue and the government.
• Lead a range of technical projects.
• Work across Inland Revenue in a networked way to inform and enable quality decision making, ensuring any broader system-wide impacts are anticipated and managed.
• Engage well with our internal and external customers and stakeholders, committed to the provision of excellent customer service.
• Coach and mentor others to assist capability uplift and support better customer outcomes.
• Deliver tax technical learning and development required for higher level technical and interpretative skills to build individual and organisational capability.

About you | Mōu

This is an intellectually challenging role, focused on issues that are often complex, and involves collaborating with like-minded people who are committed to producing work to a high quality for our customers.

You’ll bring deep expertise in tax technical research, analysis, interpretation, and opinion writing, developed through at least seven years’ post-qualification experience working on complex tax issues.

To be successful in this role, you will bring

• Advanced tax technical research, analysis, and interpretation skills.
• Strong opinion-writing skills, with the ability to produce clear, well-reasoned technical advice.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with a range of audiences and stakeholders.
• The ability to build and maintain strong customer and stakeholder relationships.
• Sound judgement, strong organisational skills, and the ability to manage projects, priorities, and competing deadlines.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to work well with skilled, like-minded professionals committed to excellence.
• For a Tax Counsel appointment, a law degree and eligibility to hold a practising certificate are required. Applicants with an accounting degree and significant relevant tax experience may also be considered, with the alternative title of Tax Specialist | Mātanga Tāke.

• About us | Mō mātou
• Why would you want to join TCO?

• Stretch your technical analysis : tackle complex, novel interpretation issues and sharpen your reasoning and writing.
• Learn through collegial debate : quality outcomes are built through peer discussion and shared problem‑solving.
• See system-wide impact : understand how technical decisions influence customer outcomes, operational practice, and the integrity of the tax system.
• Support : you’ll have space to exercise judgment, with structured review to test ideas and strengthen analysis.
• Grow your network : collaborate with colleagues across Inland Revenue and engage with senior tax professionals in the wider tax community.

At Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake we’re passionate about Aotearoa New Zealand being a great place to live and work. We’re making it simpler for everyone to pay tax that pays for things like health care, education and protecting the environment.

We are committed to keeping to the Treaty of Waitangi's guiding principles in our work for and with Māori customers and our employees, their whānau, hapū and iwi.

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace free from inequalities, where all our people are valued, respected and feel supported to reach their full potential. Although we are largely based in Wellington, our people also work from a variety of areas around the country. We can offer you a supportive environment that recognises the need for work/life balance, flexible working and development.

Apply here | Tono mai

Please outline in your application how your skills and experience align with the advert and role description. For more information, or to request a copy of the role description, please contact [email hidden]

We recognise that AI tools can support application preparation. Just make sure your responses reflect your own experience—we’re keen to get to know the real you and what you can bring to the role.

Like you, we pride ourselves on our friendly and informative communication. If you need accessibility assistance at any point in the application process or would like to know more about what accessibility and inclusion means to us, please call 0800 775 247 to leave a message and a member of the team will be in touch.

Applications close 5pm, Sunday 16th August 2026

Please note, w e’ll consider applications as they come in and you may hear from us before advertising closes.