Tax Advisers
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www.expertguides.com The Legal Media Group Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Advisers 2 Methodology CONTENTS 3 Argentina editorial 5 Argentina Guide to the World’s Leading Australia Tax Advisers 10 15 Austria Belgium editorial Research manager 17 19 Belgium Tatiana Hlivka 26 Bolivia Brazil Sub-editors 27 34 Canada editorial Rebecca Skipwith 36 Canada Maria McGrady 58 Chile China Production manager 62 64 Colombia Richard Oliver 66 Cyprus Czech Republic Production editor 69 71 Denmark João Fernandes 74 Finland France Business manager 78 84 Germany editorial Matthew Lakin 86 Germany Hong Kong SAR Project manager 104 108 Hungary Jonathan McReynolds 110 India Ireland editorial Publisher 117 118 Ireland Danny Williams 120 Israel Italy Director 121 124 Japan Christopher Fordham 129 Lithuania Luxembourg editorial For additional copies of this publication 130 Luxembourg please contact: 132 136 Mexico 141 The Netherlands editorial Tatiana Hlivka The Netherlands Legal Media Group 143 New Zealand editorial Nestor House 151 New Zealand Playhouse Yard 153 Norway London, EC4V 5EX 156 Panama Tel: (44) 20 7779 8418 160 Poland Fax: (44) 20 7779 8678 161 Portugal Email: [email protected] 164 Russia RRP £65/e100/US$110 172 175 Singapore 179 South Africa editorial ©Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC 184 South Africa January 2007 195 South Korea No matter contained herein may be reproduced, 202 Spain editorial duplicated or copied by any means without the prior Spain consent of the holder of the copyright, requests for 204 which should be addressed to the publisher. Although 210 Sweden Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC has made 215 Switzerland every effort to ensure the accuracy of this publication, 224 United Kingdom neither it nor any contributor can accept any legal United States editorial responsibility whatsoever for consequences that may 245 arise from errors or omissions, or any opinions or 247 United States advice given. This publication is not a substitute for 332 Venezuela professional advice on specific transactions. Directors: Padraic Fallon, Lord Rothermere, Sir Patrick Sergeant, Charles Sinclair, Peter Williams, Index Richard Ensor, Chris Brown, Neil Osborn, Dan Cohen, Gerard Strahan, John Botts, Edoardo 334 Index of firms Bounous, Colin Jones, Simon Brady, Tom Lamont, Diane Alfano, John Bolsover, Gary Mueller, Mike Carroll, Christopher Fordham Cover image © mjutabor/BigStockPhoto.com The Queens Award for Export Achievement 1999 1 Methodology Welcome to the 2007 Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Advisers, the international legal market’s leading guide to the top practitioners in the field of tax advice. When first published in 1994, the Expert Guides were the first ever guides dedicated to leading individuals in the legal industry. Since then we have continued to focus on individuals considered by clients and peers to be the best in their field. The guides for each practice area are updated every two years. Our research process involves sending over 4,000 questionnaires to senior practitioners or in-house counsel involved in each practice area in over 60 jurisdictions, asking them to nominate leading practitioners based on their work and reputation. The results are analysed and screened for firm, network and alliance bias. The list of experts is then discussed and refined with advisers in legal centres worldwide. Our researchers have compiled a list of specialists in 42 jurisdictions for this guide. These specialists have been independently offered the opportunity to enhance their listing with a professional biography. The biographies give readers valuable, detailed information regarding each lawyer’s practice and, if appropriate, their work and clients. We owe the success of this guide to all the in-house counsel and firms that completed questionnaires and met our researchers. Thank you. We hope you find the guide to be a useful tool. Tatiana Hlivka Research manager 2 Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Advisers Argentina Argentina: time for comprehensive reform? Only five years have elapsed since the crisis that rocked Argentina in late 2001 and early 2002, and yet the economic outlook has now entirely changed in ways not even the most optimistic forecaster could have predicted during those difficult years. The Argentine economy has recovered well since that time, with GDP growing 9% on average each year, a growth that is currently driven mainly by exports, construction, manufacturing and financial activities. At the same time, consumption is also stimulated by government spending and social programs. Despite concerns on several fronts, such as infrastructure needs in the energy sector, fears of over-regulation and other measures that would be required to enable sustainable growth, economists and businessmen are increasingly optimistic about the future performance of the country. Tax revenues Tax revenues in Argentina have increased sharply, as shown in the chart below. Diego Etchepare (top) The federal primary surplus that has been observed lately is and Andrés Edelstein due to high value-added tax receipts and a strong PricewaterhouseCoopers performance by income taxes, reflecting the recovery in Buenos Aires GDP and also a certain degree of success in the fight against tax evasion and the informal economy. However, this excellent performance is shadowed by the fact that the fiscal sustainability greatly depends on a couple of distorting taxes, for example export duties and the tax on financial transactions – tax on checks – and also on the lack of recognition of inflation for tax purposes. Notwithstanding that corporate income tax and VAT are imposed at relatively high rates (35% and 21% respectively), the breakdown of tax revenues shows that the two main distorting taxes contribute 20% of the tax collection, and have been playing an important role in the remarkable levels of tax revenues. These circumstances, among other factors, explain why Argentina has performed poorly in the recent survey conducted as part of the World Bank Doing Business report, Paying Collection of taxes at federal level 3 Argentina Taxes, the global picture (2006), by the World Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers comparing tax regimes around the world. How to reform There seems to be a consensus on the necessity of reducing or repealing these so-called distorting taxes through a major tax reform. The dilemma the government has to face is how to implement these changes without jeopardizing the current fiscal surplus, a crucial aspect to which the authorities have been paying close attention, and which makes a substantial reform a challenging exercise. The government has so far been reluctant to consider eliminating these taxes in view of satisfactory performance. The enactment of special tax regimes to promote investments shows that the authorities are conscious of the high level of taxation and willing to encourage investment projects, although the budget devoted to that end is limited. We refer to the temporary regime for investments in capital assets and infrastructure works and the software promotion regime (Law 25,924 and 25,922 respectively, both enacted in 2004), and the special regimes for the production and use of Biofuel and Hydrocarbons (Law 26,093 and 26,154 respectively, both launched in 2006). Although there are conflicting views on the impact of tax cuts on the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and no simple relationship seems to exist between the overall level of taxation and long-term economic growth, studies do find evidence of the negative influence of high levels of taxation. Moreover, there are clear signs that the level of taxation has significant influence on investment decisions. In the context of fierce competition among countries to attract investments, the design and implementation of a tax system that encourages them, together with other sound measures aimed at improving the investment climate and the business environment, should be one of the main items of the Argentine Government’s agenda. According to the World Bank publication mentioned above, tax reductions are possible when reforms target increasing compliance and the tax base. Three ways to start a good reform are discussed in the report: simplification of the tax legislation, which also implies the repeal of exemptions or special treatments; easing filing requirements, for instance by making electronic filing possible and eliminating excessive paperwork; and consolidating taxes. These general guidelines may well be taken into consideration in the establishment of a friendlier tax system in Argentina, together with other specific initiatives such as the alignment of tax policies among the different taxing jurisdictions (federal, provincial and municipal levels), and the expansion of the tax treaty network (composed of 18 treaties, most of them concluded with European and American countries). In the meantime, to take advantage of the many opportunities that the Argentine economy offers, careful tax planning is essential, not only to ensure that all the tax implications and exposures have been duly addressed, but also to determine whether the project fits the scope of the various tax incentive regimes currently available. 4 Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Advisers Argentina Diego Etchepare PricewaterhouseCoopers Bouchard 557 C1106ABG – Buenos Aires Argentina Tel: (54) 11 4850 4651 Fax: (54) 11 4850 4699 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pwc.com/ar Diego Etchepare is an expert in all matters related to national and provincial taxation, and advises international corporations doing business in Argentina. He was the partner in charge of the tax and legal practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Buenos Aires office until July 2001, when he became the partner in charge of the Buenos Aires firm. With more than 20 years’ experience in the taxation area, he has been assisting multinational clients to structure their investments and acquisitions in Argentina. He has been a professor on taxation at the Universidad de Belgrano for 15 years and is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences organized by leading local professional associations. He has also addressed international seminars in the US, Canada and other countries in South America.