Quotes of the month

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

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

Quotes of the month

"There is a certain section of civil society that undoubtedly believes that all transparency is good and the more the better. But it has to be remembered that information on, for example, product pricing models can be competitively sensitive, and should be protected as such."

Alan McLean, executive vice president of taxation and corporate structure at Shell, sounds a note of caution in the tax transparency debate.

"Guernsey is ahead of the curve and we look forward to other jurisdictions stepping up to the mark so that we can help create a level playing field on beneficial ownership."

Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, raises the bar by thinking outside the box and digging down to break the world record for number of PR clichés in one sentence.

"Some high profile digital companies have indulged in BEPS strategies... [But this] does not make the digitised economy itself a cause of BEPS, but [the OECD] has yet to take the sensible step of entirely decoupling the subjects."

Glynn Fullelove, group director of tax at Informa, urges clarity in discussions of the OECD approach to tackling the tax challenges associated with the digital economy.

"Over half of the Conservative party's funding comes from the financial sector and our worry is that [UK Chancellor, George] Osborne is defending the city against the wider interests of Britain."

Simon Chouffot, of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, airs his fears in relation to progress on a European financial transaction tax.
more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Trump announced he will cut tariffs after India agreed to stop buying Russian oil; in other news, more than 300 delegates gathered at the OECD to discuss VAT fraud prevention
Taxpayers should support the MAP process by sharing accurate information early on and maintaining open communication with the competent authorities, the OECD also said
The Fortune 150 energy multinational is among more than 12 companies participating in the initiative, which ‘helps tax teams put generative AI to work’
The ruling excludes vacation and business development days from service PE calculations and confirms virtual services from abroad don’t count, potentially reshaping compliance for multinationals
User-friendly digital tax filing systems, transformative AI deployment, and the continued proliferation of DSTs will define 2026, writes Ascoria’s Neil Kelley
Case workers are ‘still not great’ but are making fewer enquiries, making the right decision more often and are more open to calls, ITR has heard
There is a shocking discrepancy between professional services firms’ parental leave packages. Those that fail to get with the times risk losing out in the war for talent
Winston Taylor is expected to launch in May 2026 with more than 1,400 lawyers across the US, UK, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East
They are alleging that leaked tax information ‘unfairly tarnished’ their business operations; in other news, Davis Polk and Eversheds Sutherland made key tax hires
Overall revenues for the combined UK and Swiss firm inched up 2% to £3.6 billion despite a ‘challenging market’
Gift this article