Oz sets taxman on coal baron Tinkler

The New South Wales Supreme Court gave the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation leave to prepare a case against Tinkler's holding company, the latest of a series of legal actions over unpaid bills and commercial disputes. Further adding to Tinkler's woes, court documents also showed an Irish racehorse stud owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, has subpoenaed Tinkler personally to provide information in an unrelated case.

The emergence of two new, powerful potential foes is likely to unsettle Tinkler's lenders and raises questions about the future of his main asset, a near one-fifth stake in Whitehaven Coal, Australia's largest independent coal miner. "He's exposed to great liability," Marina Nehme, a senior law lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, told Reuters.

"It's like a house of cards falling. "Tinkler, 36, enjoyed a heady rise from mining pit electrician to Australia's youngest billionaire in just a few short years, riding on the back of the country's once-in-a-century mining boom. But a slide in coal prices has hit his net worth and a series of lawsuits have followed. Liquidators were appointed this week to two firms of which he is director, Patinack Farm Administration Pty Ltd and Mulsanne Resources Ltd, over debts totalling more than A$28 million.

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