Revolving Door

A career in Corporate Tax can be very rewarding. For example, the U.K. punches far above its weight in producing tax experts, who are normally chartered accountants (trained in double-entry book-keeping). In the U.S., Corporate tax experts are generally economists, who have a broader view of business and understand macroeconomics and speak in terms of sales, costs and profits.

The Big 4  started as audit firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PWC. They have since diversified into IT, law, and TAX. Many countries have instigated rules of not allowing an audit firm to provide advice to the same client (conflict of interest). Others allow it, but require 'Chinese Walls' between the departments.

Corporations employ tax experts to minimize their effective tax rate (ETR). Since it is the fiduciary duty of the Directors of a Corporation to maximize the return to shareholders, the Corporation's Tax Department seeks to minimize their tax bill by paying no more tax than is necessary. This is tax avoidance. Not paying tax where it is due is tax evasion and is illegal.

Tax Authorities employ experts to maximize the tax take. When the U.K. reduced the corporate tax rate from 28% to 20% in 2010, the tax take increased because corporations moved their operations/profits to the U.K. And the U.K. tax authority (HMRC) was able to slim down its policing effort and expense.

The major NGO in the international corporation tax field is the OECD. The UN also has an interest in corporation tax and produces model tax treaties. There are also academic institutes e.g. University of Leiden, lobbying groups e.g. Tax Justice Network and professional bodies e.g. Chartered Institute of Taxation