Hong Kong SAR

Deloitte Hong Kong, one of the offices under Deloitte China, provides a full range of tax and business advisory services covering global business tax services, indirect tax and global employer services. It also provides multinational companies with real-time cross-border tax solutions from a global and regional perspective, together with Hong Kong tax considerations. 

The tax team recently acted as an adviser for a private conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong on OECD Pillar Two matters. The project involved multi-jurisdictions and cross-border transactions of the whole client group.

Tax partner Ryan Chang retired in 2022. Two new tax directors, Rita Leung and Philip Robert Moralee, joined the team in 2023. 

Partner Anderson Lam is the co-head of tax in Asia and heads the Hong Kong tax practice at DLA Piper. He specialises in various tax practices including indirect tax, tax controversy, transfer pricing and private client. The tax team covers corporate and individual tax planning, dispute resolution and M&A matters. In addition, it assists clients with structuring inbound and outbound investment, procurement centres and contract manufacturing relationships. The team works with its global network to provide consistent and comprehensive advice. 

Details of the firm’s recent work and clients remain confidential. 

Client feedback 

“Absolutely professional, on time, very cost effective.” 

The EY tax practice covers a full range of tax services, including traditional corporate and personal tax consulting and compliance. It also covers international tax and transfer pricing consulting, M&A transaction tax services, and specialised tax controversy assistance. It serves inbound multinational companies doing business in Hong Kong as well as local-based companies investing in overseas countries. Partners Wilson Cheng and Martin Richter are the key practitioners. They oversee the business tax advisory and controversy division and the transfer pricing division respectively.

Wilson Cheng and the team recently assisted a Hong Kong-listed company in a tax controversy resolution. The work included formulating a comprehensive reply to the IRD’s inquiry and providing technical arguments to defend the intention of the disposal of the investment properties. The tax savings involved in this case were approximately US$4.6 million. 

In 2022, EY Hong Kong welcomed a new partner, Stuart Cioccarelli, to strengthen its international tax and transaction services. 

Client feedback 

“The EY team are proactive, insightful and readily available to support. They go above and beyond to ensure delivery and achievement of key milestones. I feel the TP team offer solid, pragmatic advice and have a genuine commercial interest.” 

“They understand our business, indicate where we can expect a challenge and provide practical and tactical guidance.” 

“EY is always very prompt and makes their best efforts to understand our needs and provides both technical and practical advice. EY's commitment makes our long relationship possible.” 

“The EY team reacts promptly to our requests, and they seek to understand our concerns and needs.” 

“They understand the business and able to provide good suggestions and feedback.” 

“EY possesses highly desirable qualities for the work they are engaged in. They are helpful and willing to offer assistance and provide guidance to our group when needed. This attribute is especially valuable in complex or challenging areas. They are insightful and have a deep understanding of the subject matter they are advising us on. They offer unique perspectives and ideas that we may not have considered before, resulting in better outcomes. They are approachable and easy to work with, which fosters better communication and collaboration. Finally, they are actively involved in the work, not just providing advice. They are willing to work alongside our group to achieve the desired outcome. Overall, EY is a valuable resource for our group's tax and transfer pricing advisory needs.” 

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s Hong Kong office focuses on providing US, Hong Kong, and English legal advice to global and Asia-based clients. Elaine Chen and Brian Gilchrist are the leading partners. They are both specialised in private client and tax controversy practices. The team works closely with its Beijing and Singapore offices to provide complete and seamless legal services throughout Asia.

One of the case studies showed Elaine Chen and the team advise and represented a client in a dispute with the Commissioner of Estate Duty. This matter involved multiple jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Singapore and BVI.

The Hong Kong office operates under KPMG China together with the Macau and Mainland China offices as one firm. The tax team led by John Timpany provides an innovative approach to problem-solving and has good capabilities and expertise in achieving the best possible outcomes for clients in a complex tax and business environment. It also invests heavily in technology and innovative solutions to better serve clients’ needs. 

One of the work highlights showed the team assisting a cryptocurrency exchange group with an overall transfer pricing framework development. It proposed a flexible and commercially feasible transfer pricing model for the client’s latest business model.

Oldham Li & Nie is a law firm that focuses on corporate and commercial law. The team is specialised in providing advice on cross-border tax transactions and multi-jurisdictional tax holding and financing structures. Its client base covers local SMEs and start-up companies, wealthy private individuals, international banks and multinational corporations. Partners Anna Chan and Victor Ng are the key practitioners in the team.

Details of the firm’s work and clients remain confidential.

Client feedback

“Great expertise, extremely responsive, very reliable.”