The world’s best indirect tax leaders revealed

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

The world’s best indirect tax leaders revealed

Indirect Tax Leaders guide

The sixth edition of the Indirect Tax Leaders guide has been released, with more than 200 new indirect tax leaders recognised around the world.

International Tax Review received a record number of nominations this year for the sixth edition of the Indirect Tax Leaders guide. Advisers from several new jurisdictions have been added to this year’s bumper edition of indirect tax experts.

Indirect tax continues to be a key consideration for countries around the world, as more and more countries roll out national VAT and GST regimes. Many nations see it as a ‘cure’ for boosting budgets to allow for extra spending or tax cuts elsewhere. India – with its 1.3 billion inhabitants making it the world’s second-largest country – will join the list of countries with a national indirect tax on July 1.

Six months later, in January 2018, the countries which make up the Gulf Cooperation Council – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – are due to implement VAT. International Tax Review has regularly reported on how businesses are unprepared for the change.

Beyond the headline introductions of GST in India and VAT in the GCC, another key theme has been the shift towards destination-based indirect tax systems. Russia introduced its system on January 1 2017, which was similar to systems already in place in Japan, South Africa and South Korea.

Meanwhile the EU and its member states, pioneers in destination-based taxation for e-services, are planning to further develop legislation to tax business-to-business supplies of goods under the destination principle.

A key case in the Court of Justice of the European Union on the VAT status of e-books also reached its climax, allowing new questions to arise on the VATability of new technology. Should 3D printed goods be taxed where they are printed? Or are designs sent from abroad intellectual property, making 3D printed items a service? More and more, VAT systems will need to be adaptable.

To an even greater extent, companies need to be proactive as well as reactive, making top-quality advice on indirect tax issues more important than ever.

Therefore, International Tax Review is pleased to present the sixth edition of the Indirect Tax Leaders guide

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Looking at transfer pricing simplification is “obviously helpful”, but it should be done in line with current standards, a senior government figure reportedly said
The UK Government’s plans to close the tax gap via increased HM Revenue and Customs investment have failed to impress local tax advisers
Under the merged scheme for R&D tax relief introduced last year, rules on contracted out R&D have changed. James Dudbridge argues for a proactive approach when reviewing companies’ commercial arrangements
Cultural nuances could account for tax advisers’ perceived poor cost management, a local partner told ITR
Updated rules represent a significant shift in the Luxembourg TP landscape and emphasise the need for robust arm’s-length calculations, says Vanessa Ramos Ferrin of TransFair Pricing Solutions
KPMG Law US revolves around contract managed services and the US is the largest market for that, Stuart Bedford tells ITR in an exclusive interview
The US law firm’s tax counsel tells ITR about inspirations from a ‘legendary’ German tax scholar, perfecting riesling wine and what makes tax cool
Wopke Hoekstra also swore the EU would ‘hit back harder’ if faced with a trade war; in other news, a UK watchdog has launched an investigation into an audit completed by MHA
Other reasons included the complexity of reporting, resource constraints and interactions with tax administrations
Despite this boost for investors, the OECD also said that extensive reliance on income-based instruments across economies is concerning
Gift this article