Bernard Peeters is a senior partner of the leading Belgium tax boutique Tiberghien, a member firm of WTS Global tax network.

A video summary of the episode.

In this episode (no.58) you will learn about leadership principles, professional firm management and international tax topicalities. You will also discover about:

* what principles did Bernard and his colleagues apply to grow from ~20 tax lawyers in 1990s when he started to more than 120 tax lawyers now and to become Tier 1 tax boutique;

* what pricing principles to apply in order not to compromise on quality?

* the book Bernard recommends: The World is Flat by the Pulitzer Prize -winning author Thomas L. Friedman and we both agreed that many publications by Simon Sinek are inspiring, including Start With Why;

* what could be ‘the Why’ of Tiberghien?

* how to separate tax fraud from abuse?

* tax authorities: if in doubt, go for a ruling;

* Bernard: but then where is the added value of a tax advisor? the advisors should take responsibility and express their opinion;

* what does Bernard mean by professional empathy?

* what functions does Bernard as a deputy judge do and why is it beneficial for the advisory practice development?

* why Bernard is in favour of having a tax arbitration as a dispute resolution tool?

* what did Bernard think by writing about himself - thinking as a lawyer, acting like a businessman?

* how did Albert Tiberghien establish the firm and was the 1st in Belgium to approach at taxes from legal perspective, not only numbers and accounting;

* why MLI might be just a beginning of a series of MLIs;

* Bernard shared an interesting story where the won an appeal, but the client decided to pay the tax anyway - you will learn why;

* M&A tax issues - how they have evolved over the last 5 years;

* why larger countries with deeper pockets will outplay smaller countries in the race for investments now;

* what could an ideal tax system look like; what is a positive approach to taxes; what is 1 euro is equal to 1 euro principle in taxation?

* we also discussed Singapore, Belgian capital gains taxation, no taxation without representation - how that relates to OECD soft law, and many more topics.

Podkāstā runājām par:

šī brīža mērķiem;

NHL skauta darba specifika;

viņa no Sanhosē Sharks laikiem aizgūto plānošanas rutīnu;

kādus principus Sandis no NHL aizguvis priekš sava biznesa - pacietību, gaidot rezultātu, plānošanu, patstāvību, komandas darbu;

uzvarētāja mentalitāti;

golfu Latvijā - vai tas ir peļņu nesošs bizness;

kam jānotiek, lai Latvijā dzimtu golfa superzvaigzne (te var vecāki pieteikt savus bērnus uz Ozo golfa skolas nodarbībām);

sportošanas atkarību no labklājības valstī;

nodokļu nomaksas specifiku Krievijā;

ASV pieeju, ka arī darbinieki drīkst atskaitīt IIN vajadzībām savās deklarācijās ar darbu saistītos izdevumus;

pozitīvu pieredzi gan ar IRS auditiem (var pirkumus likt uz izdevumiem, bet neuzskati mūs par muļķiem), gan vizīti mūsu VID;

cik sāpīgi ir noslēgt laulības līgumu.

Tune in to uncover cutting-edge tax strategies that could save your business thousands. Don't miss out—listen now! 

The author of the podcast can be reached at: [email protected]

Video (bija ieplānots tikai audio):

Saruna ar Latvijas hokeja leģendu par dzīvi, golfu un sporta sabiedrību kopumā, Ozo golfa kluba un NHL skauta biznesu un, protams, par nodokļiem šeit, ASV un Krievijā.

Podkāstā runājām par:

* šī brīža mērķiem;

* NHL skauta darba specifika;

* viņa no Sanhosē Sharks laikiem aizgūto plānošanas rutīnu;

* kādus principus Sandis no NHL aizguvis priekš sava biznesa - pacietību, gaidot rezultātu, plānošanu, patstāvību, komandas darbu;

* uzvarētāja mentalitāti;

* golfu Latvijā - vai tas ir peļņu nesošs bizness;

* kam jānotiek, lai Latvijā dzimtu golfa superzvaigzne (te var vecāki pieteikt savus bērnus uz Ozo golfa skolas nodarbībām);

* sportošanas atkarību no labklājības valstī;

* nodokļu nomaksas specifiku Krievijā;

* ASV pieeju, ka arī darbinieki drīkst atskaitīt IIN vajadzībām savās deklarācijās ar darbu saistītos izdevumus;

* pozitīvu pieredzi gan ar IRS auditiem (var pirkumus likt uz izdevumiem, bet neuzskati mūs par muļķiem), gan vizīti mūsu VID;

* cik sāpīgi ir noslēgt laulības līgumu.

Pēteris ir Luminor bankas ekonomists, ar kuru nav jāiepazīstina. Viņā ieklausās, kad viņš runā. Nesen viņš runāja par ekonomikas prognozēm Latvijā. Par to tad arī parunāsim kontekstā ar nodokļiem.

Kopumā pēc intervijas palika gaišs, pozitīvs skats uz dzīvi, komplektā ar atziņu, ka nodokļu sistēma diez vai būtiski ietekmē ekonomikas attīstību valstī.

Savukārt, VID nereti ir tikai vēstnesis, kas ‘redzot tādas bilances, kur pat akmenim jāraud’, pasaka biznesam, ka tā modelis nav ilgtspējīgs.

Turklāt, ēnu ekonomikas sarukums var samazināt pieprasījumu pēc skaidras naudas.

Un ar saukli ‘es nemaksāju nodokļus, jo neticu valstij’ patiesībā cilvēks varbūt meklē attaisnojumu savai rīcībai.

Tax Stories podkāstā vēl runājām par:

* viņa pirms dažām dienām publicēto video Delfi u.c. par ekonomikas prognozēm;

* Pētera ceļošanas galamērķiem;

* podkāstiem un grāmatām, piemēram Marsela Prusta Zudušo laiku meklējot, kā arī Džeimsa Džoisa Uliss;

* Pētera informācijas avotiem - FT, the Economist, bet arī The Telegraph žurnālists Ambrose Evans-Pritchard;

* šī gada valsts ekonomikas attīstības prognozēm gan Latvijā, gan Baltijā;

* nodokļu sistēmas nozīmīguma pārspīlēšanu;

* kā Latvijā ir radies neloģisks IIN hibrīds - progresivitāte no abiem galiem - likmes un diferencētais neapliekamais minimums, ko būtu jāiestrādā likmēs;

* otra Pētera ideja par nodokļu sistēmu - jāievieš akcīzes likmju automātiska indeksācija, kā pensijām;

* Francijā 60.-70.gados alkohola patēriņš uz cilvēku bija teju uz 1/2 lielāks, kā tagad Latvijā, un toreiz Francijā strauji attīstījās ekonomika un tika izdomātas brīnišķīgas lietas..

* Latvijas UIN sistēmu var salīdzināt ar lētu biļešu tirdzniecību, lai iekļūtu diskotēkā, kur tirgo dārgus alkohola dzērienus;

* VID var salīdzināt ar banku, jo gan viens, gan otrs pavēsta uzņēmumiem, ka viņu biznesa modelis nav ilgtspējīgs; “vēstneša šaušana par sliktām ziņām ir cienījama cilvēces tradīcija”; turklāt gan VID, gan bankām iespējas atbildēt ir ļoti ierobežotas;

* par Pētera 2019.g. izdoto grāmatu ‘Latvijā dzīvot ir interesanti - Praktiski padomi dzimtenes mīlēšanā’, kurā apkopoti no ~1500 rakstiem 100, kas nezaudē savu aktualitāti, laikam ejot uz priekšu;

“Šī ir grāmata visiem, kas domā par iespējām dzīvi Latvijā un pasaulē darīt labāku, vēlas labāk saprast mūsu zemes neseno vēsturi, kā arī uzzināt par to, kas šeit dzīvi dara interesantu. Tā ir mirkļa iespaidu un plašu vispārinājumu, rūpīgu pārdomu un vārdu spēļu krājums. Arī vaļsirdīgs pārskats par patiesības meklējumu veiksmēm un neveiksmēm,” ievadā saka autors.

Thomas Hoppe is a head of indirect taxation at Schwarz Group (Lidl/Kaufland). He is a co-host of TaxPunk podcast where he talks about makers and users of tax tech tools.

In the Tax Stories podcast we discussed:

* triathlon;

* the book recommendation - Taxtopia by an anonymous Rebel Accountant;

* TaxPunk video-podcast (in German) - with people who do and use tax tech;

* TaxPunk.de - tax IT tools data base (300+ tax IT solutions listed, mostly related to VAT and other taxes, but also regarding, e.g., audit management);

* what technologies tax authorities are using;

* beer tasting and its link to characterisation of the podcast guest;

* CBAM EU regulation IT solutions;

* blockchain solutions in tax practice;

* generative AI (ChatGPT);

* WTS & PSP with a support by Schwarz Group are creating a safe environment where one may ask specific tax questions and get reliable answers without a risk of sensitive data made publicly available, hopefully available within the next months;

* Taxpeditions to Taxonia, Vatistan (where VAT is a dominant type of tax and there is no cash in order to get rid of VAT fraud), Dutyland, Exciseland and GenAIsia, where Thomas in his articles (in a German magazine REthinking Tax) travels into the future and explores what the relations to taxpayers and tax authorities might look like; for example, will tax consultants be needed, if online real time tax reporting is implemented everywhere, is TP needed then?;

* what is the most challenging part of working inhouse of a multinational company;

* what is the advice of Thomas to external tax advisors – what should they do to serve their clients better.

In the podcast we discussed:

his Order of the British Empire - for helping political refugees from China in the UK;

his love to his family, sinology (the study of Chinese law, language, history, customs, and politics) and Arsenal;

that there are already three generations of tax experts in his family - his father, himself and his son;

his Latvian roots in several generations, and his involvement in developing the Latvian tax system;

how a barrister can become a King’s Counsel; and the way how the Tax Chambers operate;

work-life balance;

minimum standards and best practices of protection of taxpayers;

how AI can get it wrong when assisting the tax administration;

the Post Office scandal, and the reports by Dan Neidle and the TV series - on how lives of so many people were ruined because of a software mistake;

how a person can make Philip angry;

principles in life he’s been following;

a book Philip recommends - “Banking on Failure”, Cum-Ex and Why and How Banks Game the System by Richard S Collier; there was an interesting video of the book launch where Philip discusses the scheme together with Richard; the book itself:

includes a detailed description of cum-ex trade - the biggest tax fraud of its type in Europe;

has a never-before-seen explanation of the step-by-step evolution of a complex tax-driven structured financial product;

addresses the root causes of why banks are driven to create highly complex structured tax products;

contributes to the understanding of banks and their roles in exploiting tax systems;

ethical obligations of tax lawyers not to advise on abusing the law;

what enables tax fraud;

the directions tax systems might advance to; Philip predicts:

non-dom tax rules will be abolished this year or the next;

digital services taxes will be implemented as the moratorium on it ends this June, and Pillar 1 is not going to happen; with the different DST systems a threat of double taxation will become relevant;

mostly big accounting companies are going to benefit from Pillar 2, not governments, because of huge compliance costs;

why the progressive taxation is fair, incl. reduction of inequality;

that a family taking an online business to Gibraltar had a tax dispute in the UK for 23 years;

a pro-bono case at the European Court of Human Rights;

we even discussed some politics too, incl. Brexit and the US president elections.

Tune in to uncover cutting-edge tax strategies that could save your business thousands. Don't miss out—listen now! 

The author of the podcast can be reached at: [email protected]

Philip Baker is a barrister (37 y), King's Counsel, lecturer at the University of Oxford, LLM, PhD, MBA, an author of a book on Double Taxation Conventions, “A guru on treaty and and cross-border tax”.

In the podcast we discussed:

* his Order of the British Empire - for helping political refugees from China in the UK;

* his love to his family, sinology (the study of Chinese law, language, history, customs, and politics) and Arsenal;

* that there are already three generations of tax experts in his family - his father, himself and his son;

* his Latvian roots in several generations, and his involvement in developing the Latvian tax system;

* how a barrister can become a King’s Counsel; and the way how the Tax Chambers operate;

* work-life balance;

* minimum standards and best practices of protection of taxpayers;

* how AI can get it wrong when assisting the tax administration;

* the Post Office scandal, and the reports by Dan Neidle and the TV series - on how lives of so many people were ruined because of a software mistake;

* how a person can make Philip angry;

* principles in life he’s been following;

* a book Philip recommends - “Banking on Failure”, Cum-Ex and Why and How Banks Game the System by Richard S Collier; there was an interesting video of the book launch where Philip discusses the scheme together with Richard; the book itself:

* includes a detailed description of cum-ex trade - the biggest tax fraud of its type in Europe;

* has a never-before-seen explanation of the step-by-step evolution of a complex tax-driven structured financial product;

* addresses the root causes of why banks are driven to create highly complex structured tax products;

* contributes to the understanding of banks and their roles in exploiting tax systems;

* ethical obligations of tax lawyers not to advise on abusing the law;

* what enables tax fraud;

* the directions tax systems might advance to; Philip predicts:

* non-dom tax rules will be abolished this year or the next;

* digital services taxes will be implemented as the moratorium on it ends this June, and Pillar 1 is not going to happen; with the different DST systems a threat of double taxation will become relevant;

* mostly big accounting companies are going to benefit from Pillar 2, not governments, because of huge compliance costs;

* why the progressive taxation is fair, incl. reduction of inequality;

* that a family taking an online business to Gibraltar had a tax dispute in the UK for 23 years;

* a pro-bono case at the European Court of Human Rights;

* we even discussed some politics too, incl. Brexit and the US president elections.

Błażej Kuźniacki is a professor at Lazarski University in POL, works for PWC in NED, is an author of a book ‘Beneficial Ownership in International Taxation” and countless publications.

In the podcast we discussed:

* his favourite destinations in the world, book recommendations (incl. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl and The ONE Thing by Gary Keller) and hobbies, incl. singing rap in this song, some 14 years ago;

* how it is possible to combine both tax practice (policy and disputes) and academic research;

* tax policy vs law;

* Pillar 2 and offshores;

* arbitration for resolving tax disputes - the benefits of having it, and how to preserve neutrality;

* his book “Beneficial Ownership in International Taxation”; there are 3-5 jurisdictions in the world that are responsible for a majority of flow of money through them and can be subject to scrutiny if the recipients are the beneficial owners;

* Unshell directive and holding companies;

* AI and tax authorities (they need to apply it only as long as the sources are explainable);

* Singapore tax system.

In the podcast we discussed:

his favourite destinations in the world, book recommendations (incl. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl and The ONE Thing by Gary Keller) and hobbies, incl. singing rap in this song, some 14 years ago;

how it is possible to combine both tax practice (policy and disputes) and academic research;

tax policy vs law;

Pillar 2 and offshores;

arbitration for resolving tax disputes - the benefits of having it, and how to preserve neutrality;

his book “Beneficial Ownership in International Taxation”; there are 3-5 jurisdictions in the world that are responsible for a majority of flow of money through them and can be subject to scrutiny if the recipients are the beneficial owners;

Unshell directive and holding companies;

AI and tax authorities (they need to apply it only as long as the sources are explainable);

Singapore tax system.

Tune in to uncover cutting-edge tax strategies that could save your business thousands. Don't miss out—listen now! 

The author of the podcast can be reached at: [email protected]

his extravagant haircut and why he did not become a professional football player like he initially wanted to be;

his homeland - Chile, and ‘10-cents war’ with Bolivia and Peru as a result of taxation there;

a book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that changed Leopoldo’s life by inspiring to look at the creative side of life, and develop his own style of writing - to create emotions, be simple & don’t be afraid to entertain;

Jorge Luis Borges is another book author he admires, especially his book The Aleph and Other Stories; Ficciones is widely regarded as one of Borges' greatest contributions to literature. He got a special Edgar Allan Poe Award "for distinguished contribution to the mystery genre".

reasons for moving from private practice to academia, but he suggests to his students to go and practice;

his brand new book (2nd edition): “Double Non-Taxation and the Use of Hybrid Entities” - still a relevant topic, because countries don’t coordinate how they treat corporate structures and transactions for tax purposes;

the US generally has not changed anything material because of BEPS and Pillar 2; the US won’t implement Pillar 1 either; so digital services taxes may now blossom around the world - the US companies will face many different systems now;

how to limit trade with Russia so their missiles against Ukraine don’t get financed; banning trade would be more effective than a tax, but then it should be adopted on an EU level, not on a national level;

helping with tax reforms in Indonesia (seems like Latvia has the same problem re. unnecessary double % limitation) and Curacao;

double standarts in the UK and US about what a tax haven really is;

why Pillar 2 might not be so beneficial to developing countries; more subsidies may pop up instead of tax incentives; a premise that tax incentives do not attract investments ir false;

UN vs OECD as a self-announced fashion designer of tax systems;

it’s cool and fashionable nowadays to talk about tax.

Tune in to uncover cutting-edge tax strategies that could save your business thousands. Don't miss out—listen now! 

The author of the podcast can be reached at: [email protected]