Thierry Boitelle, a partner in Bonnard Lawson’s tax practice, specialises in national and international tax, finance, intellectual property and mergers & acquisitions. Additionally, Thierry is a member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA), the American Bar Association (ABA), Dutch Association of Tax Advisers (NOB), Dutch Association of Tax Science and the Dutch Group of Liberal International (LIGN).

Thierry received a master’s degree in tax law from Leyden University in 1997 and a bachelor’s degree in Dutch civil law in 1991. He is fluent in Dutch, English, French and German.

 
Rodrigo Pará Diniz, an associate in Mattos Filho’s tax practice, specialises in national and international tax, particularly for capital markets and financial products, and mergers & acquisitions. Additionally, Rodrigo is a member of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).

Rodrigo received a bachelor’s degree in law in 2010 from the University of São Paulo and is currently attending Tax Law at Insper (IBMEC-SP), LL.M. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, German and Spanish.

Dr Michael Dirkis is Professor of Taxation Law at University of Sydney and a noted researcher, having authored and co-authored over 550 publications and papers. From May 1999 until October 2009 he was, as Senior Tax Counsel for the Taxation Institute of Australia, in the forefront of the all major tax reform and taxation administration reforms through participation in key Australian governmental consultative forums conducted by the Treasury, Australian Taxation Office, the Board of Taxation, the Inspector General of Taxation and the Australian National Audit Office and appearing before numerous Parliamentary committees.

He also engaged with international tax organisations such as the Irish Taxation Institute, Japan Federation of Certified Public Tax Accountant’s Association, the Japan Tax Research Institute, and the Asia-Oceania Tax Consultants’ Association, and with foreign revenue authorities through the Study Group on Asian Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR), the United States’ Government Accountability Office (GAO), New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, and HM Revenue & Customs.

Dr. Ingmar Doerr is a senior associate in Lovells’ International Tax Practice, based in Munich. He is admitted to work as an attorney-at-law and as a certified tax advisor in Germany. Main focus of his activity lies on the national and international tax law and the consultation of German and international clients in M&A/Private Equity and financing Transactions as well as the development and conversion of tax models. He is a graduate of University of Munich and wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject of European company taxation at the Max Planck Institute Munich. Ingmar is an author of numerous professional publications and a member of the International Fiscal Association.

 
Luiz Felipe Centeno Ferraz is a Partner in Tax practice at Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil. He specialises in tax matters related to corporate transactions, investment structuring, mergers, acquisitions and cross-border transactions, including transfer pricing planning. He is a speaker in international tax seminars and constant contributor of articles on Brazilian taxation to national and international publications.

Luiz received a master’s degree in tax law from Catholic University of Santos in 1991, obtained a degree of Specialist in Corporation Law at Catholic University of São Paulo, 1996 and an LL.M. in Taxation of University of Florida, 2000. He is fluent in English and a member of the International Bar Association – IBA and member of the legal counsel of the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP).

Dorine Fraai is a senior tax manager for RSM Kooij & Partners in Utrecht. Dorine works primarily in international tax law and has a diverse practice, focusing on international structures and foreign companies investing in the Netherlands and Dutch companies investing in different jurisdictions. She has more than 12 years of experience in international tax firms and has worked for various tax law firms.

Dorine publishes articles on a regular basis for BNAI’s Tax Planning International Review regarding various issues, such as the Dutch co-operative in international holding structures. Additionally, she coordinates an international tax publication for Nexia International, which is a worldwide network of independent auditors, business advisors and tax consultants. On occasion, Dorine organises and speaks at a number of tax conferences on Dutch tax issues for an international audience.

Akil Hirani is the Head of Transactional Practice and Managing Partner of Majmudar & Co., International Lawyers in India (www.majmudarindia.com).

Akil’s particular experience includes M&A, private equity, securities and corporate finance, tax, and investment structuring work. He represents Citigroup, Hitachi Metals and many other international companies and banks in India.

Akil has been practicing since 1992. He is qualified to practice law in India, California, and England & Wales, although he is currently on inactive status in the latter two jurisdictions. His work experience includes a clerkship at the State Superior Court of Santa Clara County in San José, California, in 1995, and a stint at the London firm of Lawrence Jones (now known as TLT) in 1996.

He has written extensively and spoken on M&A structures, capital raising, issues affecting hedge funds and FIIs, India investment strategies, and related subjects at many international forums, including at seminars held by Terrapin in India and Hong Kong, PLI and ATLAS Legal in the US, and the International Bar Association (IBA).

Benjamin Homo is a Partner in the Paris office of Mayer Brown. He advises a large number of French and foreign private equity clients and corporate groups on their acquisitions, financing, and real estate transactions. He has developed a strong experience of all aspects of multi-country transactions, from tax due diligence to structuring work, including financing issues, and has been involved in most of the larger deals (above €1 billion) carried out on the French market over the past years.

In his work on such transactions, Benjamin analyzes, develops, and manages complex financial models which allow him to translate multi-jurisdiction tax advice into cash flow simulations, helping his clients understand and analyze with their own tools and language the consequences of cross-border taxes on the economics of the transaction.

Benjamin also advises French private equity clients with respect to their own fund structure, and he has provided structuring advice for the creation of several real estate or private equity funds. In addition, Benjamin assists corporate clients in their day-to-day tax management (tax audit/litigation, reporting tools) and in the reduction of their global effective tax rate (French and international tax planning, transfer pricing, and similar concerns).

Before he joined Mayer Brown in 2004, Benjamin was a member of a major financial consulting firm’s Paris office. He is fluent in both French and English.

 
Andrea Bazzo Lauletta is a Partner at Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil and has been since 2004. Her career focused on developing strong tax advisory practice and corporate, financial and capital market transactions, being involved in tax assistance to the relevant transactions of the firm.

She graduated from law school at Mackenzie University and Business School at Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado – FAAP. She specialized in finance and business law at Fundação Getúlio Vargas – FGV-PEC and studied a course of Orientation in US law at the University of California. She is a member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) and International Bar Association (IBA).

Justin Liebenberg is the deputy head of tax at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is one of the largest business law firms in South Africa which combines a strong national presence in Johannesburg and Cape Town with global reach, through an exclusive alliance with DLA Piper. Justin specialises in corporate tax law advising on domestic and international issues. Justin was previously head of tax at Grant Thornton in Johannesburg. He has a combination of legal, tax and accounting qualifications and is often published in the financial press in South Africa.

Johann Muller is an international tax manager at the A.P. Møller Mærsk Group in Denmark. Johann is a member of the tax department of the A.P. Moller Maersk group, where he is heading its tax risk management team. He has been working at A.P. Moller Maersk A/S since September 2006. Prior to that, he ran his own practice after having worked in the international tax practice for various Dutch law firms in Holland, the UK and the US. Johann is the author of numerous articles on international taxation and EU law on direct taxation. He is a member of the International Fiscal Association, the Tax Executives Institute (chairperson for the European Direct Tax Committee) and the European American Tax Institute.

 
Guilherme Novello, an associate in Mattos Filho’s tax practice, specialises in national and international tax, particularly for capital markets and financial products, private equity and mergers & acquisitions. Additionally, Guilherme is Assistant Professor of Tax Law at Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Assistant Editor from the Quartier Latin's International Tax Magazine and a member of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).

Guilherme received a specialist's degree in International Tax Law from “Instituto Brasileiro de Direito Tributário” in 2010, in Tax Law from University of São Paulo in 2011 and a bachelor’s degree in law in 2009 from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. He is fluent in Portuguese and English.

 
Tatiana Penido, a senior associate in Mattos Filho’s tax practice, specialises in national and international tax, particularly for capital markets and financial products, and mergers & acquisitions. Additionally, Tatiana is a member of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).

Tatiana received a master’s degree in International Tax Law from Leiden University in 2006 and a bachelor’s degree in law in 2004 from the University of São Paulo. She spent a semester as a visiting researcher at Fordham University in New York in 2008. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, Italian and French.

Mario Petriccione is a Director of International Corporate Tax at KPMG LLP in London. BA (Economics, Cambridge University), ACA, ATII.

Mario was brought up in Italy and went to Cambridge University as an overseas student. He graduated in 1979 with a BA (Economics, Cambridge University), ACA, ATII. Since then he has been based in London. He specialises in advising large companies on cross-border acquisitions and reorganisations. His clients include some of the larger UK and foreign multi-nationals, with a special focus on emerging markets. Mario is the author of numerous articles on tax in China, India and Africa, which have appeared in a wide range of tax publications.

Mario is a visiting lecturer and examiner on the International Tax Law LLM course at Leiden University, the Netherlands. He also teaches at the Brazilian Tax Law Institute in São Paulo, and at Said Business School (Oxford University).

 
Matheus Bertholo Piconez (Foreign Associate) graduated from Faculdade de Direito do Largo São Francisco at the University of São Paulo (J.D. 2005), Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais – Ibmec/São Paulo (LL.M. in Taxation - EBD) and Levin College of Law at the University of Florida(LL.M. in International Taxation 2010 - awarded with a Latin American Scolarship). He is associated with Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil. Co-Author “Tratamento Financeiro dos Instrumentos Financeiros Híbridos” In Controvérsias Jurídico-tributárias: Aproximações e Distanciamentos – 2º Vol., Dialética, 2011. Co-Author “Law Revises Treatment of Joint Tax Liabilities in Consortium Activities” in Tax Notes International, May 16, 2011, p.539. He is a Member of the São Paulo Section of the Brazilian Bar.

Astrid Pieron is a Partner in the Brussels office of Mayer Brown. She has more than 25 years of tax experience, which includes 20-plus years of focus on international taxation. Her practice covers the fiscal aspects of financial functions within multinational groups, tax optimization of mergers and acquisitions, structuring of financial products and investment funds, and general assistance to private equity deals. Astrid has had a primary geographic emphasis on Brussels and Luxembourg throughout her career, and together with Mayer Brown’s Paris office (which won the 2006 Private Equity Award) she is advising on most of the significant private equity transactions that directly or indirectly are connected to the Benelux countries. In addition to her transactional work, Astrid has substantial background in tax controversy matters, including assistance with tax litigation and negotiation of rulings with the tax authorities in Belgium and Luxembourg. Her experience in transfer pricing controversy includes examination, appeals and advance pricing agreements. She also counsels on the transactional aspects of transfer pricing, such as structuring European transfer pricing policy for US manufacturing groups operating in Europe. Astrid’s related work involves advising on the conversion to commissionaire structures as well as on the fiscal optimization of financial vehicles within multinational enterprises (such as captive insurance companies, treasury centers, and investment funds).

Before joining and subsequently becoming a partner in Mayer Brown’s Brussels office in 2007, Astrid practiced in Brussels and Luxembourg with two of the world’s leading tax and accounting firms: Deloitte (2002 to 2006) and Arthur Andersen (1981 to 2002). Reflecting her multinational practice, she is fluent in French, Dutch, and English.

Arne Riis is a partner in the tax department of Copenhagen based law firm Bech-Bruun. Bech-Bruun is a leading Danish law firm advising on all aspects of corporate law and the Bech-Bruun tax department is ranking top tier in Chambers, Legal 500 and Who's who Legal. Further, Bech-Bruun is a 3-time winner of the International Tax Review Danish international tax law firm of the year, most recently in 2008.

Arne Riis has been advising Danish and foreign banks, venture funds, real estate funds as well as blue chip and larger corporations on all aspects of Danish and international corporate tax law since 2000, focusing in particular on tax in relation to Danish and international structured finance and derivatives structures as well as M&A taxation.

He is the author of several tax articles published in Denmark and abroad, including with the BNAI's Tax Planning International Review, and a frequent speaker on tax seminars in Denmark and abroad. Further, he is a regular contributor to the Danish practitioners guide on international tax law, ”Dobbeltbeskatning”.

Arne Riis is a member of the Danish Bar Association. Further, he is a member of International Fiscal Association (IFA), Dansk Skattevidenskabelig Forening (Danish Tax Science Association), AIJA Tax Law Commission and numerous other tax associations.

James Ross is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP, based in its London office. His practice focuses on a broad range of international and UK domestic corporate/commercial tax issues, including corporate restructuring, transfer pricing and thin capitalisation, double tax treaty issues, corporate and structured finance projects, mergers and acquisitions and management buyouts.

He has particular experience in advising US groups in the structuring of UK and European inbound investments, group restructurings and providing advice on technical issues in the context of revenue investigations and statutory audits.

His experience also includes advising on employment tax issues, the taxation of the trading of energy and energy derivatives and tax aspects of private equity transactions.

Sakura Shiga is a Partner at Shiga & Associates in Japan. Educated at the University of Tokyo, Sakura was admitted in 2005 to the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association and is admitted to work as an attorney-at-law and as a certified tax advisor in Japan. In addition to working for Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Sakura acted as a counsellor for the Embassy of Japan to the United Kingdom, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the International Fiscal Association (representing Japan).

Edwin Vanderbruggen is the Senior Regional Tax Counsel and head of the Indochina Tax Practice. He holds a Bachelor in Law (Antwerp) and a Master in Tax Law (Brussels). He advises multinational enterprises and international organizations in the field of taxation and specializes in the Indochina region and international tax planning. Besides extensive tax consulting work for multinational enterprises he has regularly trained and assisted tax department officials in various countries, designed policy and drafted tax laws and regulations and has supplied expert testimony to tax courts. He has also trained and advised governmental agencies on international trade/investment law and arbitration. He has published more than forty scientific articles in international legal journals and five books on international law, taxation and investment law issues, some of which won scientific awards. He speaks Dutch, German, English, French and Thai.

Dariusz Wasylkowski an adwokat, a tax adviser and a senior partner in charge of the Tax Practice Group at Wardyński & Partners.

He advises on Polish as well as international tax law. He represents clients in tax litigation as well as in civil and criminal litigation relating to tax matters, and provides services to both foreign and domestic clients active in a broad range of sectors from manufacturing, distribution and retail to financial services and private equity.

His tax advisory experience includes providing support to clients in corporate tax planning, structuring of inbound investment, transfer pricing and M&A. Contentious tax experience includes advising clients during audits and representing them in administrative proceedings and litigation at all levels of judicial review of tax cases. He has also represented clients in litigation related to customs, regulated prices regimes and similar administrative matters, and also in criminal and civil litigation related to tax and similar matters.

Dariusz Wasylkowski is a member of the Warsaw Bar and of the Polish Chamber of Tax Advisers (Disciplinary Tribunal Judge at the National Chamber of Tax Advisers). He is a member of Advisory Board of the European Forum of the International Bar Association (IBA) and a member of the IBA Tax Section, and also of the International Fiscal Association (Chairman of the Polish Branch). He is an associate member of the Section of International Law and the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association.

Nick Webb is BNA Tax & Accounting's Managing Editor, International Tax, and has editorial responsibility for BNA's publications covering the tax systems of foreign countries as well as international tax treaties. Nick edits BNA's Country Portfolios (Business Operations Abroad Portfolios Series), International Forum, and International Journal. Prior to joining BNA, Nick spent five years with IK Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue and Customs) and seven years with IBFD Head, Asia-Pacific Group. He has done freelance work for both KPMG and Deloitte.

Nick holds a B.A. from Reading University, England, and Full Tax Training, UK Inland Revenue.

Jim Wilson is a partner in Gowlings’ Ottawa office, practising in conjunction with the Firm’s National Tax Practice Group. His practice focuses on helping organizations optimize their global tax position and reduce exposure to unfavourable audit assessments through proper tax planning and implementation strategies. Jim’s tax experience involves the administration of domestic corporate and international tax with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for 32 years. Jim held various positions with CRA’s Income Tax Rulings Directorate (“Rulings”), the Canadian Competent Authority Division (“Competent Authority”), the Training and Learning Directorate and the Legislative Policy Division. During Jim’s tenure as both a senior officer and a senior manager of the International Section in Rulings, he participated in hundreds of Advanced Income Tax Rulings and Technical Interpretations on a wide range of international technical issues. As a senior manager with Competent Authority for six years, Jim has been successful in resolving a number of controversial international double tax cases through successful negotiations with tax authorities in a number of countries around the world.

Even though Jim developed an impressive specialty with tax treaties during his last 20 years with the CRA, he possesses a vast array of experience with issues such as residence and dual resident cases, permanent establishments, benefit conferrals, tower structures, e-commerce income characterization, hybrid entities, foreign entity classifications, foreign tax credit system, and Canada’s withholding tax system. From his tenure as a senior manager with Competent Authority Services, Jim’s experience expanded to a multitude of technical and policy issues pertaining to the CRA’s MAP and APA programs. This would include expertise on ACAPs, interest relief, secondary adjustments, notional expenses, imputed interest, Article XIII(8) agreements, and S-Corp agreements.