The IA Tax Conference 2022

Group discount: use the promotional code GROUP for 20% discount on bookings of five or more.

Hear from an influential line-up of government officials, senior business leaders and tax practitioners from the investment management sector who will discuss many of the important tax developments and challenges facing the industry.

Themes for the day will include tax competitiveness, tax risk governance, operational taxes, tax transparency and anti-avoidance, the current and future shape of the VAT regime, UK fund regime review and the wider international tax agenda.

The day will begin with a bird’s eye view of the key challenges impacting the investment management industry across the spectrum of direct and indirect tax. We’ll then take a deep-dive into tax governance and risk management for managers in the current climate and end the day with updates on the UK fund regime review and operational taxes.

This conference will offer insight into the most relevant and up-to-date tax changes and challenges facing our industry today and into the future. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from the people who are at the forefront of driving this change.

Attending this event will provide you with insight into:

• Key tax challenges for investment management industry in a regulatory and political environment of unprecedented change with a focus on tax competitiveness
• Latest developments in the VAT space including views of a panel of industry experts on the challenges and changing policy outlook for VAT in the UK and the EU
• An overview of the international tax policy landscape including the OECD’s Pillars One and Two as well as the broader EU tax agenda
• The challenges associated with global mobility and other hot topics in employment taxes
• Impact of the wider ranging policy changes of recent years on tax governance and tax risk management
• The latest on the UK fund regime review and its impact on the UK's product offerings
• Key operational tax developments, including insight into the Commission lad plans for harmonisation of EU withholding tax procedures as well as all the latest news in the field of global withholding taxes

08:30-09:00 Registration and Refreshments

09:00-09:10 Welcome

Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

09:10-09:25 Opening Address

Pauline Hawkes-Bunyan, Director of Business: Risk, Culture & Resilience, The Investment Association

09:25-09:40 Keynote: UK Approach to Fund Taxation
In this session, Richard will cover objectives, recent developments, future work and the HMRC approach to compliance.

Richard Thomas, Head of Financial Products & Services, HMRC

09:40-10:25 UK Tax Competitiveness: What does the future hold?
Looking at the UK’s role within the wider international investment eco-system and the part HMRC has to play to ensuring its continuing success, hear from a range of industry leaders and what they think the future holds for the UK as a player in the investment management sector.

Moderator: Martin Shah, Partner, Simmons & Simmons
Suzanne Ashwell, Head of European Tax, Vanguard Europe
Michael Back, Head of Tax, Man Group
Michael Barnard, Global Head of Indirect Tax, BlackRock
Tim McCann, Group Head of Tax, Schroders
Richard Thomas, Head of Financial Products & Services, HMRC

10:25-10:50 Networking Break

10:50-11:50 VAT and Investment Management
Stay informed as Treasury offer up their current thinking and planned engagement on the VAT in Fund Management review as well as hearing from industry specialists on the wider role VAT has to play in the future success of our industry.

10:50-11:05 Presentation

Rachel Stirrat, Head of VAT & Financial Services and IPT, HM Treasury

11:05-11:50 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Jo Crookshank, Partner, Simmons & Simmons
Sarah Filbee, Head of Tax, Jupiter Asset Management Limited
Alan Paterson, Head of Indirect and Operational Taxes, abrdn plc
Matthew Rees, Group Head of Indirect Taxes, Schroders
Rachel Stirrat, Head of VAT & Financial Services and IPT, HM Treasury

11:50-12:30 International Tax Agenda: EU and OECD
Hear from experts at the coalface of the latest regulatory and political developments across the globe as we cover on this session developments on the OECD’s BEPS2.0 work as well as the latest on the EU’s ATAD3 rules under the UNSHELL Directive.

Stuart MacPherson, Director, Tax Reporting & Strategy, PwC
Robert Mellor, Partner & UK Alternatives Markets Leader, PwC

12:30-13:30 Networking Lunch

13:30-14:00 Global Mobility and Hot Topics in Employment Tax
The world of work is constantly changing and it could be said that the “Future of Work” has already begun. In this session, Nick will highlight the four features of the Future of Work that impact employment taxation and key recent developments in those areas.

Nicholas Yassukovich, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young

14:00-15:00 Tax Governance and Tax Risk Management in the Ever-Changing Tax Policy Landscape
This session will explore how Tax teams within Investment Managers can identify and evaluate developments in the tax landscape and work effectively with their wider organisations to control tax product/investment, compliance, operational, reporting and conduct risks.

14:00-14:15 Presentation

Mark Kennedy, Tax Partner, Deloitte LLP

14:15-15:00 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Mark Kennedy, Tax Partner, Deloitte LLP
Simon McIntyre, Global Head of Tax, abrdn
Malcolm Powell, Head of Tax, Ninety One
Nicholas Yassukovich, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young

15:00-15:25 Networking Break

15:25-15:55 UK Fund Regime and its Impact on the Product Offering
Two years since first being announced listen as we reflect on the what the industry can expect from the UK Fund Regime review and what effect it may have on the suite of products available to UK managers.

Nathan Hall, Partner, KPMG
Julie Patterson, Wealth & Asset Management, EMA FS Regulatory Insight Centre, KPMG

15:55-16:50 Operational Taxes: UK, EU and beyond
This session will explore the evolving global operational taxes landscape and the impact on investment managers from both a commercial and compliance perspective. It will also consider wider implications including the interaction with service providers, managing costs and current ESG considerations.

15:55-16:10 Presentation

Martin Killer, Director, Grant Thornton

16:10-16:50 Panel Discussion

Moderator: Martin Killer, Director, Grant Thornton
Pilar Espejo, Global Head of Tax and Policy Assurance, BNY Mellon
Rachel Vandervord, Product Tax Manager, Vanguard
Kathy Vawter, Head of Investment Management Tax, Legal & General

16:50-17:00 Closing Remarks

Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

17:00-18:00 Drinks Reception

In order of programme appearance:

Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

Anshita Joshi is the Head of Tax at the Investment Association. In her role she is responsible for developing and leading the IA’s tax agenda on UK, EU and international policy matters affecting UK funds and investment management businesses. Anshita has over 15 years of experience in the investment management industry having worked in the UK and India.  Prior to joining the IA, Anshita was part of the asset management tax team at PwC in London.

Pauline Hawkes-Bunyan, Director of Business: Risk, Culture & Resilience, The Investment Association

Pauline is the ExCo Director responsible for the Business: Risk, Culture & Resilience Team at The Investment Association (IA): supporting IA member firms on policy issues that impact on firm resilience and regulatory change.

Key focus areas;

Operational and Cyber Resilience
Financial resilience including Financial Crime & scams
People resilience: Culture, Conduct D&I

Pauline has spent more than 20 years in the investment management industry seeing industry opportunities and challenges from adviser, in-house and trade body perspectives. Prior to joining the IA, Pauline was a Director at Aviva and Financial Services Partner at Deloitte.

Richard Thomas, Head of Financial Products & Services, HMRC

Within HMRC, Richard is responsible for direct tax policy and technical advice covering a wide range of finance-related regimes.  The Financial Products team owns the loan relationships and derivative contracts rules, including the corporate interest restriction, as well as other legislation applying to financial instruments, including alternative finance rules. Financial Services comprises a number of industry specific regimes. These includes the bank levy, bank surcharge and the code of practice for Banks; the life assurance and policyholder tax rules; taxation of the Lloyd’s market; taxation of management fees and carried interest; and the various tax regimes applying to investment funds, REITs, asset holding companies and securitisations. Richard is also responsible for the taxation of cryptoassets and the fintech industry. He joined the Inland Revenue as an economist in 2004, having previously qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PwC and worked for GSK on transfer pricing.

Martin Shah, Partner, Simmons & Simmons

Martin Shah is a partner in the corporate tax team at Simmons. Martin leads the financial services tax practice . Over more than the last two decades, he advises financial services clients across their tax needs, covering direct and indirect taxes, with an emphasis on clients in the asset management & investment funds and financial institutions sectors. Martin is a member of the Tax Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales and chairs its VAT and Duties Sub-Committee. His work is recognised in International Tax Review’s World Tax handbook. He is also ranked as a leading individual in Corporate Tax by Legal 500. Clients praise him as “incredibly well rounded” and “extremely commercial'.

Suzanne Ashwell, Head of European Tax, Vanguard Europe

Suzanne is the Head of Tax for Vanguard Europe.  She and her team manage all tax matters impacting Vanguard’s European corporate entities, investment products and workforce.  She joined Vanguard in 2015, having previously worked at PIMCO, after starting her career at PwC where she spent ten years in their Asset Management Tax practice.  Suzanne represents Vanguard as part of the Investment Association Tax Strategy Group, as well as being a member of the Irish Funds International Working Group and the EFAMA Tax and Accounting Committee.

Michael Back, Head of Tax, Man Group

Michael Barnard, Global Head of Indirect Tax, BlackRock

Michael joined BlackRock in December 2011 as Global Head of Indirect Tax. Based in London, he has responsibility for managing indirect tax strategy, policy and risk across BlackRock.

He has over 30 years' experience of VAT in the financial services sector. Prior to joining, BlackRock he was Global Head of VAT at State Street and prior to that worked at ING Barings and HM Revenue & Customs.

Michael is an active member of industry bodies, representing the interests of both BlackRock and its clients. He is the Chair of The Investment Association VAT Committee and a member of the EFAMA VAT Task Force.

He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Tim McCann, Group Head of Tax, Schroders

Tim is the Group Head of Tax at Schroders. He responsible for all taxation matters affecting the Schroders Group and its investment products. He joined Schroders in November 2015 having spent 19 years at PwC where he was a Tax Partner, servicing a range of clients in the asset management sector. Tim represents Schroders on a number of industry bodies  including the CBI Tax Committee, the Investment Association Tax Strategy Group, the City UK and EFAMA Tax and Accounting Committee.

Rachel Stirrat, Head of VAT & Financial Services and IPT, HM Treasury

Rachel has worked at HM Treasury since 2015 and currently leads the Financial Services Branch of the VAT and Excise team, ensuring that ministers have high quality advice when making decisions in this policy area. Rachel’s first role at HM Treasury was leading policy work on Insurance Premium Tax. She then moved to the European Finances team, leading HM Treasury’s work on participation in EU science and space programmes, and on EU administration costs as part of the negotiations of the financial settlement. Rachel has an MMathPhil from the University of Oxford.

Jo Crookshank, Partner, Simmons & Simmons

Jo Crookshank leads the indirect tax practice at Simmons. She has more than 20 years of experience advising clients on complex cross-border VAT issues.

Jo joined the firm from a Big Four practice. Her experience includes a wide range of matters concerning VAT legislation, case law and the practical implementation of VAT changes both within the UK and overseas. Jo also advises on identifying VAT efficiencies, seeking rulings and resolving disputes with tax authorities. She has represented clients on VAT legislation changes, at both the European Commission, and HM Treasury.

Sarah Filbee, Head of Tax, Jupiter Asset Management Limited

Sarah Filbee is the Head of Tax at Jupiter Asset Management with worldwide responsibility for all global Group and product tax matters.  Sarah initially qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC later becoming a Chartered Tax Advisor.  Sarah has previously held tax roles as a Tax Director at Lehman Brothers and as Head of Investment Tax at the Phoenix Group before joining Jupiter in 2012.   Sarah is a member of the Investment Association’s Tax Committee and Tax Strategy Group, together with being a member of the Tax and Accounting Standing Committee at EFAMA.

Alan Paterson, Head of Indirect and Operational Taxes, abrdn plc

Alan Paterson is the Head of Indirect and Operational Taxes at abrdn. Alan is a CTA previously with PwC in Edinburgh, London and Sydney.  He sits on the IA VAT Committee, ICAS Indirect Taxes Committee and the EFAMA VAT Task Force.

Matthew Rees, Group Head of Indirect Taxes, Schroders

Matthew is the Group Head of Indirect Taxes at Schroders. In this role, Matthew is responsible for all VAT, GST and other Indirect Taxes across the 30+ jurisdictions in which Schroders operate globally. Schroders’ business operations encompass both investment management and private banking.

Prior to joining Schroders in 2016, Matthew was a Director at PwC, where he headed the Investment Management VAT team from 2010. In total, Matthew has over 15 years’ experience in Financial Services VAT.

Matthew is a qualified tax advisor, having secured the prize for Indirect Taxes in his CTA examinations. Matthew currently sits on the EFAMA VAT task force and IA VAT committee, having previously sat on the CIOT Indirect Taxes steering committee.

Stuart MacPherson, Director, Tax Reporting & Strategy, PwC

Stuart has over 20 years of tax experience working within the tax operations and governance area. He is responsible within PwC for leading a number of global alternative client relationships across a wide range of markets and strategies. Stuart also leads the tax operations business for the PwC alternatives business. This involves helping clients with the transform their tax functions and operating models. Most recently this has included managing the implementation aspects of new legislation, such as DAC6, BEPS Pillar II, and ATAD3. Stuart’s team helps clients put in place robust operational frameworks and technology solutions to ensure ongoing compliance whilst balancing the competing wider pressures on the tax function.

Robert Mellor, Partner & UK Alternatives Markets Leader, PwC

Rob has over 30 years of tax experience within the asset management (“AM”) sector. Rob began his tax career at HMRC before joining PwC in November 1998. Rob is responsible for a number of alternative AM clients across issues such as Fund, Management team and portfolio structuring, transfer pricing and residency, reward and retention planning, LLP, carry, co-investment structures and tax authority investigations. Rob has worked on a number of M&A transactions in relation to asset managers. Rob was one of the authors of PwC’s AM Industry thought leadership pieces, “AM 2020” (issued in 2014) and the recently issued “Embracing Exponential Change” piece which looks forward to 2025. Rob is the PwC EMEA Brexit Leader and has been working with asset managers and industry associations on Brexit-related issues. Rob leads PwC’s UK Alternative Investment Funds team. 

Nicholas Yassukovich, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young

Nick is a Tax Partner in EY’s Financial Services Office specialising in employee and executive taxation. He leads EY’s FS Employment Tax business in the UK and is Head of Tax Quality for its EMEIA FS business.

Nick has many year’s experience in advising employers on the tax implications in the UK and abroad associated with employees and contingent workers.

Recently he has been advising numerous clients in the financial services industry on the introduction on how to manage the risks of employee working remotely across border and other issues arising from the pandemic.

In over 30 years working in London, Reading, Washington DC, Atlanta and Amsterdam Nick has designed and implemented many personal and employer tax compliance programmes for internationally mobile employees including business travellers assignees, remote workers and domestic employees in international locations.

Mark Kennedy, Tax Partner, Deloitte LLP

Mark Kennedy is a Partner in Deloitte’s Tax Management Consulting group. He has 24 years’ experience of helping complex organisations to manage their global tax compliance obligations effectively and efficiently. Mark leads Deloitte’s Tax Governance and Risk services, regularly engages with HMRC on the application of the SAO, CCO and related measures and coordinates Deloitte’s response to global tax management trends. Mark has worked with many Asset Management businesses, considering how people, processes and systems can be best combined to control tax product/investment, compliance, reporting and conduct risks. The rest of the time Mark is a dad and a runner.

Simon McIntyre, Global Head of Tax, abrdn

Simon is the Global Head of Tax at abrdn plc and has over 20 years of experience working on UK and international tax matters across the financial services sector.  He joined the company in 2007 having held positions with Deloitte, HSBC and EY, in London and Edinburgh.  Simon is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor.  He is a member of the Investment Association’s Tax Strategy Group.

Malcolm Powell, Head of Tax, Ninety One

Malcolm is Head of Tax at Ninety One where he has global responsibility for corporate and product tax matters. Prior to joining Ninety One in 2012, he worked both in-house and for professional services firms, including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and PwC. He is currently Chair of the Investment Association Tax Committee.

Liza Taylor, Head of Product and Operational Taxes, Fidelity International

Nathan Hall, Partner, KPMG

Nathan specialises in asset management and operational taxes. His clients include traditional asset managers, institutional investors, hedge fund managers and wealth managers. He advises on corporation tax and product related tax matters and has experience of leading cross-border tax engagements. His team provides tax compliance services as well as tax advice. He joined KPMG in 2000 having qualified as a Chartered Accountant at a City firm and has been a partner since 2010. From January 2002 he spent nearly two years on secondment as Tax Adviser at the IMA where he assisted UK investment managers in discussions with the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs. Nathan has since kept close to HM Treasury’s work on enhancing the UK’s position as an investment management centre. He represents the UK on KPMG’s Global Asset Management Tax steering group. He sits on TheCityUK tax committee.

Julie Patterson, Wealth & Asset Management, EMA FS Regulatory Insight Centre, KPMG

Julie focuses on regulatory change in asset management within KPMG’s EMA Regulatory Insights Centre, providing thought leadership and analysis of regulatory proposals and priorities.

Before joining KPMG, she was first a regulator and then a director at the Investment Association. She expanded the regulatory function to cover segregated mandates, capital requirements and asset management operations, and then focussed on investment funds – regulation, distribution, administration, financial reporting, tax and legal. She led the IA’s lobbying activity in the EU.

She has a broad knowledge of the European fund and distribution landscape, and was closely involved for over 20 years with EFAMA. 

Martin Killer, Director, Grant Thornton

Martin is an experienced tax director advising banks, fund managers and insurance companies on operational taxes. He is a leading advisor on FATCA, CRS, Qualified Intermediary and other information reporting regimes both within the UK and internationally.  He also advises financial institutions on withholding tax reclaims and other transactional taxes impacting products and trading strategies. He holds relationships with key personnel at HMRC and IRS, and financial trade bodies dealing with the implementation and ongoing monitoring of operational tax regimes.

Pilar Espejo, Global Head of Tax and Policy Assurance, BNY Mellon

Pilar joined BNY Mellon in 2015 and is the Head of Tax and Policy Assurance within Tax Product Management. Her team is responsible for providing independent risk and policy direction in respect of product and tax changes to BNY Mellon. Prior to BNY Mellon, Pilar worked for 13 years in International Tax with EY in London and KPMG in London and Australia; and for 3 years as a Tax and M&A lawyer with Andersen in Peru. Pilar currently chairs the Tax Issues Committee at the Association of Global Custodians and the Withholding Tax & Treaty Access Working Group at the UK Investment Association.

Rachel Vandervord, Product Tax Manager, Vanguard

Kathy Vawter, Head of Investment Management Tax, Legal & General

Kathy is currently the Head of Investment Management Tax at Legal & General, where she has responsibility for all tax matters impacting LGIM. Kathy is involved in strategic planning for new fund launches, international expansion of the business and real assets investments. Kathy has over 17 years tax experience, with the last 12 years focused on asset managers and funds in the UK and Europe. Prior to joining L&G, Kathy was a Senior Manager at PwC and EY and spent time working at a custody bank. Kathy has a deep experience in US tax compliance as well as operational taxes for funds.

Interested in partnering with us on this event? Get in touch

KINDLY HOSTED BY

Simmons & Simmons is an international law firm that acts as your business partner and works with you, not just for you. Client-focused, collaborative, agile and partner-led. A law firm that challenges, creates new possibilities and offers opinions not just options. This is how we consistently deliver smarter, more efficient ways to tackle our clients’ most complex challenges.

We operate across the UK, Continental Europe, Ireland, the Middle East and Asia. For us, the smartest business solutions come when we work together – internationally, with local knowledge, operating as one integrated team.

IN COLLABORATION WITH

Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading professional services providers to the financial services industry including tax, audit and advisory.

In our financial services tax team, we provide tax advice to businesses from all over the world. We combine technical expertise with a commercial approach based on experience and deep industry understanding.

We offer a full range of tax services to help financial services businesses to optimise their tax position, manage tax risk and meet tax compliance obligations, from UK and international tax structuring considerations to operational tax issues.

The 2021 Tax Conference was held on Thursday 4, 11 and 18 March. Please find the programme from this event below:

Thursday 4 March

09:00-09:10 Welcome
Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

09:15-09:25 Opening Address
Pauline Hawkes-Bunyan, Director, Business: Risk, Culture & Resilience, The Investment Association

09:30-09:45 Keynote Presentation: the Treasury's View
Lisa Cristie, Head of Financial Services Taxation, HM Treasury

09:50-10:35 Key Tax Issues in the Investment Management Sector 
Moderator: Elizabeth Stone, UK Asset and Wealth Management Leader, PwC
Michael Back, Head of Tax, Man Group
Lisa Cristie, Head of Financial Services Taxation, HM Treasury
Tim McCann, Group Head of Tax, Schroder Investment Management
Malcolm Richardson, Head of Tax, M&G

10:35-11:20 Networking Break

11:20-11:35 VAT and Investment Management
Rachel Stirrat, Head of VAT & Financial Services, HM Treasury

11:35-12:20 VAT and Investment Management
Moderator: Peter Dylewski, Global Leader, Financial Services Indirect Tax, KPMG
Michael Barnard, Director, Head of Indirect Tax, BlackRock Investment Management
Sarah Filbee, Head of Tax, Jupiter Fund Management
Alan Paterson, Head of Indirect and Operational Taxes, Standard Life Aberdeen
Rachel Stirrat, Head of VAT & Financial Services, HM Treasury

12:20-12:30 Closing Remarks and introduction to 11 March
Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

Thursday 11 March

09:00-09:10 Opening Remarks
Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association 

09:10-09:40 Hot Topics in Employment Tax
Nicholas Yassukovich, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young

09:40-10:05 HMRC’s Corporate Investigation and Economic Crime Strategy
Andrew Sackey, Partner, Pinsent Masons

10:05-10:20 Break

10:20-10:40 Tax Governance Policy: Cooperation with the EU in a post-Brexit world
Jason Collins, Partner, Head of Litigation, Regulatory & Tax, Pinsent Masons

10:40-11:25 Governing Tax Risks
Moderator: Jason Collins, Partner, Head of Litigation, Regulatory & Tax, Pinsent Masons
Simon McIntyre, Global Head of Tax, Standard Life Aberdeen
Grace Stevens, Chief Tax Officer, Legal and General
Nicholas Yassukovich, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young

11:25-11:30 Closing Remarks and introduction to 18 March
Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

Thursday 18 March 

09:00-09:10 Opening Remarks
Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association

09:10-09:40 HMT/HMRC Update on the Review of UK Fund Regime
Becky Hardern, Policy and Technical Adviser, Collective Investment Schemes, HMRC
Matt Parry, Senior Policy Adviser, Financial Services Taxation, HM Treasury

09:40-10:00 European Tax Reporting
Joanne Mawhinney, Director, Deloitte

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-10:45 Operational Tax: Recent Developments
Nathan Hall, Partner, Asset Management and Operational Taxes, KPMG London

10:45-11:25 Operational Taxes
Moderator: Nathan Hall, Partner, Asset Management and Operational Taxes, KPMG London
Chris Hewitt, Senior Tax Manager, The Investment Association
Joanne Mawhinney, Director, Deloitte
Steve Newcombe, Director of Tax, Aviva Investors
Liza Taylor, Head of Product and Operational Taxes, Fidelity International

11:25-11:30 Closing Remarks
Anshita Joshi, Head of Tax, The Investment Association