Highlights

With the recent restructuring of the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD"), the IRD's practice in reviewing taxpayers' tax positions are evolving.  In-depth reviews on group basis may be conducted not only by the Field Audit and Investigation Unit but also by other teams within the IRD.  Practices across different units may vary, and taxpayers should get up to speed on these developments to ensure effective handling of new tax disputes.  In addition, given the enormous budget deficit predicted by the Financial Secretary, the IRD is expected to take a more stringent approach in conducting tax audits. In view of the above and under the current economic environment, businesses should be particularly vigilant in the day to day handling of their tax matters to avoid becoming a tax audit target, and handle any tax audit with extra care if already being reviewed. 

In this webinar, the speakers will use case studies to share their latest experience on resolving tax disputes.  Highlights of the webinar include:

1. New structure of the IRD and review practice
2. Latest common areas and circumstances triggering reviews by the IRD
3. Overview of the tax audit process and points to note for each step
4. Tips for initial interview with the IRD – before, during and after
5. Practical ways to resolve controversial tax disputes including how to speed up the resolution
6. Case studies
7. Interactive Q&A session

Speaker(s)

Mr Philip Hung, Director, Tax Controversy Services, PwC Hong Kong

Philip has over 30 years' experience in Hong Kong taxation with six years in IRD. He is a well- known expert in the tax field and investigation specialty. After he left the IRD, Philip concentrated in assisting clients in handling tax investigation and field audit cases. He is the first to set up a specialized  team  to  handle  the  IRD’s  tax  investigation  and  field  audit  cases  for  clients  in  the industry. His clients include fund managers, SME, listed companies and various MNC. He assisted in handling complicated cases such as worldwide onshore/offshore claim, disputes on contracting processing and import processing arrangements, offshore claim for Macao Offshore Company, IRD prosecution case and transfer pricing adjustments

Mr Felix Tsang, Associate Director, Tax Controversy Services, PwC Hong Kong

Felix has over 15 years of experience in resolving tax audits, tax investigation and other tax disputes for multinational corporations and local SMEs in different industries including manufacturing, services, fund management and charitable institutions, involving a diverse range of issues such as offshore claims, cross-border transactions, contract / import processing arrangements, anti-avoidance, transfer pricing, tax exemption for charities and Board of Review proceedings. With insights in tax dispute resolution, Felix also has ample experience in providing practical tax and business advice from a dispute prevention angle, including tax health check, defence file building, post-audit restructuring, tax due diligence, fee structure for fund management, and charity set up.