RULES ARE CHANGING: With the overhaul of international tax rules, including the BEPS 2.0 initiative, and tax treaty negotiations slowed down due to COVID-19, panellists at this year’s Annual Taxation Conference discussed how Hong Kong should take on the challenges and prepare for what comes next. Eric Chiang and Paul Smith report Photography by Calvin Sit
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hanks to this social distancing world, the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs’ Annual Taxation Conference looked a little different this year. One of the highlights of the year for the Institute, the affair is usually well-attended, with lively discussions mixed in with presentations and members networking at break-out sessions. This year’s conference was well “attended,” albeit virtually, and without some of the personal connections. Nevertheless, the panellists still entertained and informed the virtual attendees with their knowledge and insights into the challenges facing Hong Kong due CONFERENCE to the changing international tax landscape SPEAKERS: and COVID-19 – the topic of the first panel (From left) discussion.
BRIAN CHIU Deputy Commissioner (Technical), Inland Revenue Department
WILLIAM CHAN Partner, Grant Thornton Tax Services and Chair, Institute’s Taxation Faculty Executive Committee MICHAEL OLESNICKY Senior Consultant, Tax, Baker McKenzie
September 2020
European investigation
Moderator Jo-An Yee, Partner, EY and a member of the Institute’s Taxation Faculty Executive Committee (TFEC), began the discussion by asking Jonathan Culver, Tax Partner, Deloitte China, about why the European Union is looking at territorial regimes and the focus of its reviews. Hong Kong is on the list of jurisdictions that will be subject to review. He noted that the E.U.’s Code of Conduct Group (COCG) was established as a unified body to represent the wishes of all member states. “Taxpayers may be able to negotiate a more favourable outcome for their tax planning with a single member state, or simply move between member states, but this is harder when the group acts through one body representing all member 42
