The Global Tax 50 2013

December 11 2013

For the third year running, International Tax Review brings you its Global Tax 50, the individuals and organisations who have had the greatest influence on tax policy, practice and administration in the last 12 months.

UPDATE: a more recent version of the Global Tax 50 is available.

Last year, the OECD's top tax man, Pascal Saint-Amans, was chosen by us as the world's most influential person in tax. Indeed, many of the people featured in this list are policymakers and politicians, for the sheer power they wield.

This year, however, the global tax agenda has rather run away from policymakers and they are struggling to play catch-up with increasingly vocal demand from the public and the media to crack down on tax avoidance.

Reflecting this, the surprise number 1 spot goes jointly to Starbucks, Amazon and Google. The avoidance scandals involving these three household names shook up the tax world and set the pace and direction of policy change, bringing country-by-country reporting, automatic information exchange and transfer pricing reform to the fore. The three multinational companies may not have had the influence they might have chosen, but they have had a big impact nonetheless.

Our Top 10, listed in order of influence, is available exclusively online, while in the magazine you will find our complete Top 50, listed in alphabetical order.

We welcome comments on our Global Tax 50. Please tell us if you agree or disagree, and who you think should make up next year's list.

Be sure to check out our LinkedIn and Twitter platforms to take part in these live discussions.

You can also compare this year's list against last year's list and the 2011 list.

The Top 10

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Starbucks, Amazon & Google

Multinational corporations

The Starbucks, Amazon and Google controversies focused the debate on corporate tax avoidance in public minds. The three gave evidence about their tax planning to the UK House of Commons's Public Accounts Committee in December 2012.

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Pascal Saint-Amans

Director, OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration

The head of tax at the OECD, Pascal Saint-Amans, is leading the global action against BEPS.

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David Cameron

Prime Minister, UK

Chairing the G8 this year, David Cameron helped put tackling tax avoidance at the heart of the global agenda.

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Algirdas Semeta

European Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud

An ambitious reformer, Algirdas Semeta remains the most powerful man in tax across the EU.

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Tax journalists

The fourth estate

Journalists from all over the world seized on the tax avoidance story during 2013, writing and broadcasting material about multinationals' tax and transfer pricing planning that had previously been rarely discussed in public.

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Will Morris

Global tax policy adviser, GE

Will Morris is fighting business's corner in tax policy development.

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Richard Murphy

Director, Tax Research

From fringe activist to mainstream influence, Richard Murphy is setting the tax agenda in a way that must be frightening for his opponents.

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Armando Lara Yaffar

Chairman, UN Tax Committee

Armando Lara Yaffar has been praised for his handling of the UN tax committee, which is becoming a standard setter for developing countries.

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Pierre Collin and Nicolas Colin

Researchers, France

Nicolas Colin and Pierre Collin drafted a report which is likely to set tax legislation in France on a new course.

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Margaret Hodge

Chairwoman, UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee

While certainly controversial, Margaret Hodge's part in tax policy over the past year is indisputable.

What do you think of the top 10? Is there anyone missing from the top 10? Have your say on Twitter (#GlobalTax50) or LinkedIn. Share this article on twitter.