Global Tax Management
Topaz
Total years of experience :17 years, 7 Months
Leading global tax for marine logistics company, owning fleet of 117+ vessels, servicing the oil and gas industry, across 28 taxable jurisdictions in the Caspian region, Middle East, Africa, Europe, South and North Americas.
Tax savings strategies in 2019, resulted in c. $ 2m of taxes recovered in Russia via availing exemptions.
Tax optimization, oversee global tax compliance, execute corporate re-organizations, provide cross-functional / geographical tax advisory on tenders, contract structuring, tax audit management and conduct internal tax compliance reviews.
Head of Tax, managing tax risks and oversee compliance of 100+ legal entities in 20+ taxable jurisdiction where Kerzner, of its own super luxury brand of resorts - Atlantis and One&Only - currently manages 10 operational hotels with 11 more under development.
Utilize international tax treaty networks to formulate international tax planning strategies, corporate tax advisory and transaction structuring, execute mitigation strategies on all key executive strategic decisions, involving cross-border transactions, structure legal entities and agreements, inter-group / external financing, shareholder funding, best practice process implementation and M&A transaction structuring, to mitigate tax risks / exposures including, audit risks and tax compliance, legal, statutory reporting, and advisory costs.
Currently re-organizing global holding structure over 4 continents, for tax efficiency and to minimize costs and to diffuse risks arising from new international tax reporting requirements under BEPS action items and to ensure global Transfer Pricing and CbCR compliance.
SHORTLIST OF KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
o $10m capital gains tax savings on sale of hotel in Tanzania; $3.5m transfer taxes saved on sale of hotel in Mauritius.
o $1m corporate/withholding tax saving on tax audit settlement in Cambodia; $1.2m tax saving on tax audit in Egypt.
o Zambia-$200k+ WHT savings and $430k income tax benefit p.a.; $600k saving, tax audit settlement in Philippines.
o EUR 350m tax-efficient refinancing in France; multi-million dollar refinance in Mauritius and South Africa;
o Millions $$$ saved from tax-efficient inter-group loan structures and management agreement structures.
o $600k+ tax savings of audit settlement in Tanzania (CIT, WHT, VAT, PAYE).
o Tax-efficient entities re-structuring in line with BEPS action items; South Africa, Mexico, Mauritius.
o Group-wide internal tax audits on all operational entities, resulted in unquantifiable reduction of tax risks.
o Debt/equity conversions to strengthen balance sheets & reduce WHT (Kenya, Cambodia, Malaysia).
o Minimized effective tax rate of group and effectively utilized tax losses and tracked deferred taxes.
Strategic and leadership role in a leading hotel real estate investment company that internationally owns and develops luxury hotels operated by Four Seasons, Raffles, Fairmont, Movenpick, Swissotel and Intercontinental.
Effectively saved the company over $20 million in taxes over 5 years across 30 hotel assets, driven by in-depth knowledge of tax legislation.
Transaction tax planning, execution and tax due diligence, vital functions during the M&A process on the sale of 13 multi-million dollar hotels across 3 continents including Middle East, Africa, Europe, Far East, and North America.
Assessed tax risks / exposures, formulated / executed effective tax mitigation, planning and compliance strategies, for the entire group of 30+ companies over 30 taxable jurisdictions, owning 30 assets in a $2 billion portfolio.
Liaised and worked with hotels/corporate financial controllers, tax advisors and taxation authorities on tax issues including management of government tax audits, and actively reduced associated tax / reputational risks.
Assisted senior management with key business decisions and strategies by assessing tax implications globally while providing tax-efficient structuring of group holding structure, debt refinancing and structuring, cross-border, related party and M&A transactions.
Wrote tax advisory reports and presentations as required by management and implemented Transfer Pricing policies.
INTERNATIONAL TAX SUPERVISOR, MIDDLE EAST - DUBAI UAE (MAR 07 - MAR 09)
Provided tax-efficient structuring advice to clients having inbound and outbound investments into and from the Middle East region, including, all Gulf countries (GCC), Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, & Egypt.
Addressed numerous tax issues from around the globe including Cyprus, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, India, Netherlands, UK, Canada, USA, BVI, Cayman and Channel Islands.
Provided foreign investment & tax consultation to clients establishing legal presence in the UAE.
Conducted Middle East Tax Due Diligence, for a major acquisition by a UK based group.
Built strong relations with clients & colleagues in the Middle East region and Deloitte offices globally.
Hosted/participated in Deloitte ME International Tax Seminars & International Tax Courses; panel participant at Middle East Tax Conferences in Dubai (up to 2014); Published first Deloitte Middle East Tax Handbook (12 countries).
SENIOR TAX ANALYST, DELOITTE & TOUCHE - TORONTO, CANADA (JAN 05 - FEB 07)
Effected Corporate Tax compliance & Foreign Affiliate reporting for large corporate clients with cross-border transactions, generating revenue in excess of $360, 000 for the Canadian tax practice.
Assisted in the Quality Assurance test process for new technology development project.
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, 2014 Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Society of Management Accountants of Canada, 1999 Deloitte International Corporate Tax I & II, 2007; Deloitte Management Consulting Courses I & II, 2006; Honours, Bachelor of Business Administration - Accounting, York University, Toronto Canada Management Certificate, York University, Toronto Canada Advanced Level Certificates in Accounting and Economics, University of London Board, United Kingdom Project Management Course (PMP), 2012;
