Indirect taxes, whether global or local in origin, are not only a poorly understood financial creatures and hard to identify, but difficult to manage at the best of times. It’s also worth keeping in mind that, because indirect taxes—sales taxes, general services tax, business tax, VAT, customs duties, energy taxes, environmental taxes, excises, to name but a few variants—are, in fact, transaction taxes, companies who are subject to them should have robust transaction processes in place to manage the business risks they can create. The nature and level of those taxes also depend on where you do business, which is why many companies are expanding their operations overseas—not simply to tap into new markets but to ease their indirect tax burdens. But do the profits and the savings make crossing borders worth the effort? Yes—if you can successfully address the indirect tax issues that you will encounter when moving into new territories. Fortunately, such issues are fewer in number if you chose to base your European operations in Belgium. It’s centrally located; it possesses a well-educated, multi-lingual workforce it has a high standard of living, and an excellent business and financial infrastructure; plus it offers appealing tax regulations. The fact is that, by basing your European operations in Belgium, you will be able to structure your business in a tax-efficient manner, construct effective cross-border strategies, and manage your global and local indirect tax rates to your advantage.
If this is your situation:
- You must have a way of keeping track of evolving international direct and indirect tax legislation that affect your business
- You need to implement international direct and indirect tax solutions tailored to your particular business
- You would like to build shareholder value by increasing your after-tax ROI.
- You need help preparing reliable and accurate indirect tax returns .
- You require improved access to indirect tax information and a system of identifying indirect tax process improvement.
- You would like to develop a system of multi-territory co-ordination (from your head office), with on-line access to all the information you need.
- You want access to the latest compliance processes and technologies, now and in the future.
What PwC can do for you.
At PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) we focuses on proactively identifying, developing, sharing and implementing direct and indirect tax-planning solutions that answer your international business needs.
We have the location-specific knowledge about regulations and business practices that you need to move into new, foreign markets; and our cross border specialists are prepared to assist you in actually implementing the required, and suggested, “to do's” of market expansion. We can provide your company with the preparation and review of all of your direct and indirect tax returns, and our highly-trained tax teams can offer you the support and advice you need to navigate the labyrinth of global and local indirect taxes. process. A successful amalgamation of skilled people, practice-proven processes, and cutting-edge technology allows us to manage your tax compliance needs on an international basis, and in as many countries as you require. For instance, our people can help you with VAT & customs planning so that you can improve your company's cash-flow position by avoiding VAT leakages and prefinancing; and we can show you how to make optimal use of special regimes (VAT, warehouses, customs warehouses, etc.) and streamline your marketing budgets by reducing VAT cost. Or, your needs may also extend to the actual structuring of your business, where we can provide reliable advice on the advantages of branch vs. subsidiary, pure holding vs. mixed holding, how to make the best use of (start-up) tax losses, and built-in tax consolidation.
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