Ernst & Young announces its EMEIA Tax Center

Ernst & Young is leveraging the power of its EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) integrated business model – which combines 90 countries aligned around a central Area leadership – to build the EMEIA Tax Center (ETC).

Recognizing the importance of the EMEIA region to the world markets, the EMEIA Tax Center is a part of Ernst & Young's global investment initiative, where more than US$1.2 billion has been ultimately invested, much of which has been earmarked to develop Ernst & Young's presence and service offerings in emerging markets.

As part of Ernst & Young's globalization strategy, our Tax business has made an unwavering commitment to deliver relevant services to our clients in a consistent and seamless manner, no matter where they are located. In the past two years alone, Ernst & Young has demonstrated that strong commitment by making significant financial and resource investments in the creation of its strategic Tax Centers. In addition to the EMEIA Tax Center, the Asia Pacific Tax Center was recently launched in Singapore. The well-established Washington, DC-based National Tax Department and Global Tax Desks network have both been serving clients seamlessly across borders for more than three decades.

"We are very excited about the launch of the EMEIA Tax Center. The EMEIA region is an important and influential market that includes both mature and developing economies that are key to Ernst & Young's business. The EMEIA Tax Center, along with our other Centers, helps us deliver on our commitment to providing globally integrated client service and reflects the way our clients do business, seamlessly across borders." said Mark Weinberger, Ernst & Young's Global Vice Chair — Tax. "The EMEIA Tax Center enables us to deliver local country technical knowledge with Area-wide business and industry knowledge to our clients on a real-time basis. We have organized the EMEIA Tax Center around those focus areas where our clients tell us they most need centralized and coordinated service."

The ETC operates as a virtual hub of more than 200 highly specialized tax professionals from across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. It has grown four-fold in the past year and is expected to increase significantly in size over the coming years. The Center is organized around ten focus areas: Assignment Services, Global Compliance and Reporting, Global Strategic International Trade Team, Global Tax Desks, Immigration Services, International Social Security, Tax Effective Supply Chain Management, Tax Performance Advisory, Tax Policy & Controversy, and VAT.

"The EMEIA Tax Center's purpose is to support our tax teams in connecting and responding promptly to our client's pressing issues and needs," said EMEIA Tax Leader Stephan Kuhn. "The hub houses some of our best tax professionals with deep knowledge of many areas that are not yet available in all of our countries. The ETC also serves as a central point of contact with our other service hubs around the world."

"In a traditional professional services model, subject matter professionals stay within their national borders, primarily serving local clients," said Kuhn. "The EMEIA Tax Center enables us to serve our clients freely throughout the EMEIA region."

The ETC is under the responsibility of Nick Prentice, EMEIA Tax Chief Operating Officer based in London. The focus areas are led by senior tax professionals with deep experience and market visibility in their respective field: Barry Page (Assignment Services); Sarah Clifford (Global Compliance and Reporting); Neil Byrne (Global Strategic International Trade Team); Stephen O'Neil (Global Tax Desks); Pauline Mathewson (Immigration Services); Mike Kenyon (International Social Security); Victor Bartels (Tax Effective Supply Chain Management); Albert Lee (Tax Performance Advisory); Chris Sanger and Monique van Herksen (Tax Policy & Controversy); and Robin Maxwell (VAT). Please see Appendix for more information.

Prentice comments, "Our clients tell us that our ability to come together as a single, integrated organization across EMEIA is a key differentiator for us in the marketplace. Our seamless approach means we are able to be more client-centric, providing our valued clients with a single point of contact for tax and other services. With the EMEIA Tax Center, we are extending the success we have had with taking a coordinated approach to serving clients and ensuring that we continue to be connected, responsive and insightful to provide unmatched client service wherever our clients are based." 

About the EMEIA Tax Center (ETC)

The EMEIA Tax Center (ETC) operates as a virtual hub of highly specialized tax and human resources professionals. The ETC supports, and complements Ernst & Young's local tax service teams serving accounts in 90 countries throughout the region. Through the ETC, Ernst & Young delivers insightful, responsive and connected cross-border services drawing on the experience of more than 200 client-serving professionals representing a broad variety of technical skills.

The ETC is organized around the following ten focus areas:

• Assignment Services – offering clients professionally integrated services to support their international mobility program. This is an “end to end” service including policy design, vendor selection, cost modeling, case management of the relocation process and capture and consolidation of information for payroll processing and tax compliance and reporting purposes.
• Global Compliance and Reporting – coordinating the preparation and delivery of business tax compliance services around the globe including direct and indirect taxes; statutory account preparation and filing; payroll and bookkeeping.
• Global Strategic International Trade Team – planning and advisory services for international transactions and trade involving indirect taxes, customs and duties.
• Global Tax Desks – providing in-depth tax advice on complex tax issues involving international trade including expanding into new countries; restructuring a business through mergers, acquisitions and dispositions; and improving the tax efficiency in a company’s cross-border business operations.
• Immigration Services – providing detailed advice on issues surrounding the work rights and immigration status of individuals who are moving to a new country; structuring of a global immigration program, project planning involving the strategic move of employees around the world as well as structured manpower movements affecting global companies
• International Social Security – providing social security compliance and advisory services, focusing on contribution and benefit compliance and planning efficient mobility policies on a global basis.
• Tax Effective Supply Chain Management – enhancing the effectiveness of the supply chain to align with operational and legal structures in a tax efficient manner
• Tax Performance Advisory – improving the effectiveness of the tax function through the efficient alignment of people, process and technology with the objective of overall tax risk reduction.
• Tax Policy & Controversy – providing practical assistance in the analysis, design and presentation of proposals to local tax authorities and policy makers, helping manage and resolve complex and sensitive tax issues or disputes on both a domestic and cross-border basis with taxing authorities. Given the increasing importance of controversy issues for our clients Ernst & Young are also developing deep experience in the Transfer Pricing controversy area.

• Value Added Tax (VAT) – mitigating exposure to indirect taxes while seeking to leverage tax incentives and planning ideas into strategic and operational plans.