World Tax - Home
The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Ian Farmer oversees PwC's extensive tax practice, consisting of more than 480 international tax professionals. Like the other big-four firms, PwC has had an active past 12 months, maintaining its presence in the financial services and energy and resources ... [more]

Ian Farmer oversees PwC's extensive tax practice, consisting of more than 480 international tax professionals. Like the other big-four firms, PwC has had an active past 12 months, maintaining its presence in the financial services and energy and resources industries, two key sectors of Australia's economy.

Paul Abbey and Tony Clemens paired up as advisers to AXA SA on the acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific by AMP, and the sale of Asian businesses by AXA Asia Pacific to AXA SA. The firm successfully initiated an amendment to the law governing the scrip for scrip rollover which allowed a wider array of transactions to qualify for the relief.

Barry Diamond, Brad Beck and Jason Karametos teamed up to work on one of the largest demergers completed during 2010. The trio advised Orica, a mining services and chemical product manufacturer on the Australian and cross-border tax aspects of the demerger of Dulux from the firm. Tax implications included pre-demerger restructuring issues and the necessary ATO rulings for Orica and its shareholders.

Cassie Wong heads the PwC tax team of 60 partners and 13 directors, with more than 200 fee earners in international tax.To tackle the challenging tax environment in China, the firm established a tax controversy services (TCS) team in 2011. The TCS objective ... [more]

Cassie Wong heads the PwC tax team of 60 partners and 13 directors, with more than 200 fee earners in international tax.

To tackle the challenging tax environment in China, the firm established a tax controversy services (TCS) team in 2011. The TCS objective is to help clients prevent, manage and resolve tax controversies and disputes in China, and provide services relating to tax ruling applications, tax audit defence, appeal and litigation procedures advice, and mutual agreement procedure support. The team helped secure favourable results on various tax matters surrounding audits as well as on internal reorganisations and tax incentive applications.

Spencer Chong leads the transfer pricing team comprising of 14 partners and directors, and more than 160 specialists. The transfer pricing group has been busy concluding bilateral APA cases in China, including the first cases in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.

PwC's tax practice is led by Peter Yu. Partner Rex Ho leads the financial services team, and advises leading financial institution clients on emerging tax issues faced by industries, from Hong Kong stamp duty exposures on financial products to PE risks ... [more]

PwC's tax practice is led by Peter Yu. Partner Rex Ho leads the financial services team, and advises leading financial institution clients on emerging tax issues faced by industries, from Hong Kong stamp duty exposures on financial products to PE risks in other jurisdictions.

During the year, Ho also assisted an industry association of tax directors from financial institutions in lobbying the Hong Kong government to simplify the stamp duty exemption procedures for stock borrowing and lending transactions.

Demand for transfer pricing services has been hot over the last 12 months, particularly in connection with China's transfer pricing documentation requirements and new practice notes issued by the Hong Kong tax authority. The Spencer Chong-led team, together with Cecilia Lee and Rhett Liu in Hong Kong, have handled a number of significant transfer pricing projects during the year.

PwC's tax department is led by Ketan Dalal, who is recommended for cross-border structuring, and Shyamal Mukherjee, who is highly regarded for his transfer pricing work. Vivek Mehra is recommended by peers as an M&A specialist, while S Madhavan has received ... [more]

PwC's tax department is led by Ketan Dalal, who is recommended for cross-border structuring, and Shyamal Mukherjee, who is highly regarded for his transfer pricing work. Vivek Mehra is recommended by peers as an M&A specialist, while S Madhavan has received praise for his knowledge in indirect tax.

Spread across nine offices in India, the team comprises 54 partners and about 1,100 fee earners, with more than 350 professionals working on international tax. In late 2010 several new partners joined the firm, including B Sriram and Vivek Mishra from Ernst & Young, Jai Mavani from KPMG and Alok Saraf from Reliance Industries.

Mehra and Hemal Uchat advised a multinational corporation looking to acquire a leading provider of finance and accounting outsourcing services. The acquisition required a tax efficient structure to mitigate tax costs. The recommended structure was so the client's US special purpose vehicle could be merged with the target. The structure gave the target beneficial tax treatment in the US, while minimising controversial tax positions for the client and adding flexibility for post-transaction consolidation.

Sunil Gidwani advised a local client on the sale of its housing finance subsidiary to another Indian company in the sector. Worth about $240 million, the acquisition was the largest ever in the industry in India. Commercial considerations finally drove the client to sell its shareholding in the subsidiary. Gidwani and his team advised the client through the entire process, from coming up with options to the implementation of the transaction. Key issues included capital gains tax implications arising from the sale transaction. The deal was concluded with a clear resolution of the tax issues.

Ray Headifen heads PwC's tax division that employs 11 partners, 10 directors, and more than 220 other fee earners. Partner Carmen Cancela joined the transfer pricing practice from the Venezuela office in early 2011.The addition of director Sutrisno Ali ... [more]

Ray Headifen heads PwC's tax division that employs 11 partners, 10 directors, and more than 220 other fee earners. Partner Carmen Cancela joined the transfer pricing practice from the Venezuela office in early 2011.

The addition of director Sutrisno Ali in February 2011, a former government official, will help strengthen ties with the tax authorities.

PwC has been busy with M&A, advising clients on several notable deals. Tim Watson advised natural resources group Vallars on its $3 billion acquisition of 75% of PT Berau Coal Energy and 25% of PT Bumi Resources, which resulted in the creation of an Indonesian coal company which is included in the FTSE 100 index, of the biggest listed companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Headifen advised petrochemical producer Chandra Asri on Indonesia's largest-ever merger. The $1.2 billion combination of two petrochemical producers was completed in December 2010.

PwC's Chief Executive Officer Hiroyuki Suzuki oversees the tax practice that offers a full range of services. The firm is renowned for its financial services work and high profile clients.Suzuki is experienced in structuring domestic and cross-border ... [more]

PwC's Chief Executive Officer Hiroyuki Suzuki oversees the tax practice that offers a full range of services. The firm is renowned for its financial services work and high profile clients.

Suzuki is experienced in structuring domestic and cross-border real estate investments, while partner Jack Bird has been recommended in the market for his M&A and cross-border structuring work.

Chuan Keat Khoo is the head of PwC's growing tax practice comprising 30 partners and 278 fee earners.The team is advising a client on several Malaysian corporate, indirect tax, and stamp duty issues concerning the implementation of a government promoted ... [more]

Chuan Keat Khoo is the head of PwC's growing tax practice comprising 30 partners and 278 fee earners.

The team is advising a client on several Malaysian corporate, indirect tax, and stamp duty issues concerning the implementation of a government promoted project that involves significant capital spending. The team also advised the client about obtaining fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from the government.

PwC is helping a client determine the type of incentives that best suit its business, including other fiscal incentives that could reduce tax cost. The tax team held discussions with the Ministry of Finance and prepared documentation for the incentive package.

The firm has built relationships with a long list of notable clients, including Alliance Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Nestle and Telekom Malaysia.

PwC's tax team is led by Tony Gault. John Shewan, who chairs the firm, has been described as "a very experienced senior practitioner" and "influential in the tax market in New Zealand". The team provides advice on tax efficient funding and group structures, ... [more]

PwC's tax team is led by Tony Gault. John Shewan, who chairs the firm, has been described as "a very experienced senior practitioner" and "influential in the tax market in New Zealand". The team provides advice on tax efficient funding and group structures, M&A and other transactions, tax policy, indirect tax, tax disputes and transfer pricing.

The tax disputes specialists work closely with clients to identify tax risks, minimise exposure to penalties and reduce the overall cost of processes. The team prepares and reviews documents, facilitates settlement discussions with the tax authorities and obtains binding rulings and determinations.

The transfer pricing team focuses on advice regarding business transformation planning, compliance and document management, and audit defence strategies including APA negotiations.

PwC's international tax practice is one of the largest in Singapore. The team works with numerous multinational clients, offering a full range of tax services such as compliance, monitoring assessments and mitigating risk generally.The Singapore office ... [more]

PwC's international tax practice is one of the largest in Singapore. The team works with numerous multinational clients, offering a full range of tax services such as compliance, monitoring assessments and mitigating risk generally.

The Singapore office also has Chinese, Indian and Malaysian tax desks operating as part of it.

Partner David Sandison has been recommended by peers as a corporate tax specialist, while Paul Lau is known for his financial services tax work.

Young Sik Kim is the managing partner of PwC, while Soo Hwan Park is the service line leader of the tax department, which has 38 partners and 230 international tax professionals. This makes it one of the largest in Korea.Several officials, including ... [more]

Young Sik Kim is the managing partner of PwC, while Soo Hwan Park is the service line leader of the tax department, which has 38 partners and 230 international tax professionals. This makes it one of the largest in Korea.

Several officials, including judges and a commissioner from the customs service, have joined the firm as advisers in the last year. Partner Henry An, well known as a top transfer pricing adviser, has spent a lot of time recently negotiating with the authorities to secure unilateral APAs for clients.

The firm's range of services also include corporate tax, financial services, M&A, cross-border structuring, compliance, customs, litigation and dispute resolution.

On 1 July 2010, PwC Taiwan officially formed a collaborative framework with the China, Hong Kong and Singapore member firms to strengthen ties in the Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region.Steven Go leads the firm's tax team of 16 partners and more ... [more]

On 1 July 2010, PwC Taiwan officially formed a collaborative framework with the China, Hong Kong and Singapore member firms to strengthen ties in the Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region.

Steven Go leads the firm's tax team of 16 partners and more than 360 professionals. Partner Richard Watanabe heads the financial services department, and is recognised by peers as a prominent tax adviser in Taiwan. PwC also incorporates a legal arm, further expanding its range of capabilities.

PwC works with several leading banks on inbound and outbound tax consulting, transaction structures as well as tax compliance. The firm develops tax efficient solutions to several tax issues including tax deductibility, business tax, transaction structures, group structuring and tax healthcheck reviews.

Richard Irwin leads the tax practice at PwC, consisting of three partners and 90 fee earners. Offering a range of services, the firm is known for its M&A and tax due diligence work, and maintains good relationships and often negotiates with government ... [more]

Richard Irwin leads the tax practice at PwC, consisting of three partners and 90 fee earners. Offering a range of services, the firm is known for its M&A and tax due diligence work, and maintains good relationships and often negotiates with government departments on tax issues and policy matters.

Working with an affiliate legal practice, PwC Legal, the firm is able to provide comprehensive tax services. As a result, the firm has become more active in the tax dispute resolution sphere.