After the new consortium took control of the Cross City Tunnel, a dispute arose with the Office of State Revenue over whether or not $60 million stamp duty should be paid for the purchase of the asset (Saulwick 2012; Haynes 2012). The Office of State Revenue demanded that the concessionaire settle this liability by the end of February 2012 (Saulwick 2012). The new consortium, however, stated that it purchased the Tunnel based on an understanding that it was not required to pay the tax (Haynes 2012). It was asserted that by forcing the toll road owner to pay the debt, the consortium could be tipped into receivership - a claim denied by Cross City Motorway Pty Ltd (Haynes 2012). As New South Wales tax payers are essentially unsecured creditors of the Cross City Tunnel, this means that the Tunnel's shareholders would be given preference over tax payer interests if the road was to be re-sold (Haynes 2012) (thus potentially leading to a poor VfM outcome for the State).
In September 2013, KordaMentha was appointed receiver for the Cross City Tunnel for the second time after Cross City Motorway Pty Ltd entered into voluntary administration. Although the consortium defeated the Office of State Revenue in its bid to force the Tunnel's owners to pay the stamp duty bill in the Supreme Court, the Office successfully appealed the finding (Sydney Morning Herald 2013b). However, as a consequence of ongoing legal action, Cross City Motorway Pty Ltd was unable to refinance its $600 million debt and therefore pay the $60 million tax bill (Sydney Morning Herald 2013a; Sydney Morning Herald 2013b). A spokesperson for Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, stated that motorists would remain unaffected as the owners are still required to operate and run the motorway (Walsh 2013).