Global Tax 50 2015: Marlies de Ruiter

Marlies de Ruiter was also in the Global Tax 50 2013

Like many in this year's Global Tax 50, Marlies de Ruiter has been nominated for her involvement in bringing the OECD's BEPS process to its conclusion in 2015. As part of the OECD's tax treaty, transfer pricing and financial transactions division, de Ruiter had a key role in forming the final reports.

It was her work on Actions 8-10 on transfer pricing, though, that she chose to highlight as an area in which she is particularly proud of what has been achieved.

"If you look at what we did in TP, we went to the core of the TP guidelines and really looked at what we prized, and how we delineate the transaction. Also, what is risk and how do we allocate it? And that took some hard thinking and very conceptual thinking in the working party and within the secretariat. That was, I think, a very intense discussion with a very good result," de Ruiter told TPWeek's Joelle Jefferis.

Now moving into the implementation phase of BEPS, de Ruiter and her team are focusing on transforming the BEPS reports on transfer pricing and tax treaties into toolkits for countries, to ease implementation.

"That is a very interesting exercise because it's something that the OECD hasn't done before, developing implementation guidance. Second of all it will show the full potential of what we developed in the BEPS guidance on transfer pricing," says de Ruiter.

However, de Ruiter will not be able to see the implementation stage through to the end as she will leave her role at the OECD in May 2016, to return to the Netherlands. Her successor will have big shoes to fill.

Unsurprisingly, she identifies the highlight of her time at the OECD as her involvement with the BEPS Project.

"When I started on February 1 2012 I had no clue that the BEPS Project was coming, but it came along quickly after I arrived. It was good timing for me and an amazing experience because it gave me the opportunity to participate and contribute to a very important, exciting and challenging project. It was also great to finalise it within a very reasonable timeframe. I think that's something as a tax practitioner you don't experience very often," says de Ruiter.