Mazars’ London Tax Conference to focus on ‘Life after BEPS’

Mazars, the international organisation specialising in audit, accountancy, taxation, legal and consulting service, represented locally by Mazars Malta, has announced that it will be organising an international tax conference focusing on the topic of ‘Life after BEPS, and how the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, the OECD and the UN are shaping the future of international tax policy’. The conference will be held in London on 13th October, in collaboration with King’s College London.

Commenting on the event, Mazars Malta Tax Partner Paul Giglio explained the relevance of the topic chosen as the theme of the conference: “BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) refers to tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax jurisdictions where there is little or no economic activity. Although some of the schemes used are illegal, most are not. This undermines the fairness and integrity of tax systems because businesses that operate across borders can use BEPS to gain a competitive advantage over enterprises that operate at a domestic level.” He added that, from a wider perspective, “when taxpayers see multinational corporations legally avoiding income tax, this may undermine voluntary compliance by all taxpayers”. Mr Giglio said that a number of executives from Mazars Malta will be attending the event.

The conference will consist of a comprehensive programme of panel discussions and break-out sessions. Hema Khimasia, UK Head of Tax of Coca-Cola, and Anna Elphick, Unilever’s VP Tax Asia and Africa, will open the discussion. These will be followed by other speakers of in- ternational repute, such as Melinda Brown from the OECD, Cory Hillier from the IMF, and Professor Patricia Lampreave, from the European Commission’s DG Competition. Also addressing the conference will be Timothy Power from HM Treasury, and Jonathan Schwarz, from King’s College London. For more information about Mazars’ International Tax Conference and to register, visit the event page at www.mazars.com.mt/Home/News/ Events/Mazars-International-TaxConference-2016.