Thomson Tax & Accounting Talks to Expert TEI Panel About International Tax Planning Issues
06 February 2008 - 2:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- What are today's most complex and
time-consuming international tax planning issues for corporate tax
departments? Thomson Tax & Accounting, a segment of The Thomson
Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), held a teleconference with a
panel of expert members from Tax Executives Institute (TEI)
recently to discuss these challenges for their tax departments. TEI
is the preeminent association of business tax executives in North
America with nearly 7,000 members who represent 3,200 of the
leading corporations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and
Asia. The panel consisted of TEI members whose companies have
substantial international operations. "VAT, withholding, sourcing,
thin capitalization, permanent establishment, apportionment, and
tax credits have been challenges for tax executives for years. FIN
48 issues are newer but now provide a complicating overlay to many
problematic tax planning and compliance issues," says Timothy
McCormally, executive director, TEI. Linda Scheffel, Thomson Tax
& Accounting Vice President and Publisher for Research &
Guidance, observed: "The number and diversity of jurisdictions that
these TEI experts work in, seems to be a significant factor. Simply
stated, they are faced with many differences in rules, changes to
those rules, and planning opportunities and pitfalls." The issues
that the TEI panel found most challenging, despite their
significant expertise, were: -- Non-US transfer pricing rules and
documentation requirements, especially relating to countries that
use secret comparables; -- US transfer pricing rules, most notably
transfer pricing exposures under FIN 48; -- FIN 48/Risk Control,
involving the effective capture, measurement, reporting and
updating of all material international tax issues; -- Treaty issues
(US and non-US), including emerging issues related to server
locations; -- International tax and accounting aspects of
stock-based compensation; -- Tax management issues, including
monitoring of law changes across multiple jurisdictions; the
policing of risk management policies, and education of and
communication with regional tax teams; -- Contract manufacturing
issues; -- China-specific tax issues; -- Foreign exchange issues;
-- Conversions of business form, especially from branches to CFCs;
-- Foreign tax credits; -- VAT in cross-border transactions; --
Taxable presence of individuals in other countries; -- US
expatriate taxation; -- US withholding; -- Sourcing of income and
apportionment of expenses; -- Deductibility of overhead related to
out-of-country operations/projects in other countries; and --
Worldwide thin-capitalization issues. Thomson Tax & Accounting
is a preeminent source of information and up-to-the-minute guidance
on international tax issues including transfer pricing. The firm
offers a wide range of resources on Checkpoint(R), the
industry-leading online research platform. An in-depth article
covering this TEI panel discussion of international issues will
appear in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of International
Taxation. According to Scheffel, "Subscribers to Checkpoint are
able to research these issues on Thomson Tax & Accounting's
industry-leading international tax product, which enables
professionals to save research time by providing all-in-one access
to a great deal of expertise through WG&L's Journal of
International Taxation, WG&L's International Taxes Weekly,
WG&L and RIA research, WG&L workpapers, U.S. treaties and
treaty explanations, non-U.S. treaties translated by IBFD(TM),
non-US statutory translations for over 100 countries,
Create-A-Chart, and CompareIt." Bijal Sheth, Vice President,
Strategic Marketing, Research & Guidance at Thomson Tax &
Accounting, says, "Corporate tax departments are encumbered by
planning that involves laws and treaties of so many countries. To
respond to multiple statutory and regulatory requirements
efficiently, tax departments must leverage technology. Corporations
can research challenging international tax planning and compliance
issues, collaborate on analysis planning, accelerate decision
making, and share knowledge quickly to minimize risks and focus on
additional strategic efforts. Whether through Checkpoint, the
acclaimed online research platform, or CrossBorder Solutions, the
worldwide industry standard in transfer pricing compliance
software, Thomson Tax & Accounting is regarded as the
preeminent source of information and up-to-the-minute guidance,
offering a wide range of integrated resources to manage the complex
regulatory requirements." TEI is the preeminent association of
business tax executives in North America with 7,000 members
representing 3,200 of the leading corporations in the United
States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. TEI represents a cross-section of
the business community, and is dedicated to developing and
effectively implementing sound tax policy, promoting the uniform
and equitable enforcement of the tax laws, and reducing the cost
and burden of administration and compliance to the benefit of
taxpayers and government alike. As a professional association, TEI
is firmly committed to maintaining a tax system that works -- one
that is administrable and with which taxpayers can comply in a
cost-efficient manner. Members of TEI are responsible for managing
the tax affairs of their companies and must contend daily with the
provisions of the tax law relating to the operation of business
enterprises. The diversity and professional training of TEI's
members enable it to bring a balanced and practical perspective to
business tax and tax-related financial reporting issues. The
Thomson Corporation The Thomson Corporation
(http://www.thomson.com/) is a global leader in providing essential
electronic workflow solutions to business and professional
customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn.,
Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and
applications to professionals in the fields of law, tax,
accounting, financial services, scientific research and healthcare.
The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and
Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC). Thomson Tax &
Accounting is a segment of Thomson and a leading provider of
technology and integrated information solutions to accounting, tax
and corporate finance professionals in accounting firms,
corporations, law firms and government. Thomson Tax &
Accounting includes the Professional Software & Services,
Corporate Software & Services, and Research & Guidance
business groups. RIA (http://ria.thomson.com/) and PPC
(http://ppc.thomson.com/) are both brands within the Research &
Guidance business. InSource http://www.insource.thomson.com/ and
CrossBorder Solutions http://www.crossbordersolutions.com/ are
brands within the Corporate Software & Services business.
DATASOURCE: Thomson Tax & Accounting CONTACT: Melissa Lande,
1-800-993-7600, ext. 1#, , or Pam Bruno, +1-203-461-9409, , both of
Lande Communications, for Thomson Tax & Accounting Web site:
http://www.thomson.com/ http://ppc.thomson.com/
http://ria.thomson.com/ http://www.insource.thomson.com/
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