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The Joint International Tax Shelter Information Centre (JITSIC) will open a second office - in London - in the autumn of this year. JITSIC coordinates efforts by national revenue authorities to track down perceived tax international abuses. This is a key part of a wider strategic development plan to accelerate the scope and effectiveness of the centre.

The Tax Department is currently made up by nine partners and five senior associates, assisted by around forty five other tax lawyers from the offices of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Lisbon, Porto and New York. The Department advises on all Spanish and Portuguese direct and indirect taxes, but has particular expertise in mergers and acquisitions, financial products and capital markets, International tax planning, real estate transactions and project finance, assurance and pension funds, internet and electronic business, high net worth individuals, stock options plans and alternate schemes and tax investigation and disputes.

Type of deal Value Acquirer Target Adviser to acquirer (tax) Adviser to target (tax) Joint venture £142.5 million ($280.9 million) Land Securities (UK) Countryside Properties (UK) Slaughter and May (William Watson, Simon Letherman, UK) Campbell Hooper (Jane Innes) Joint venture £120 million ($237 million) Constellation Brands (US) Punch Taverns (UK) Ashurst (Richard Palmer, Tom Cartwright, UK) Slaughter and May (UK) Acquisition $1.54 billion Basic Element (Russian Machines) (Russia) Magna International (Canada) Cravath, Swaine & Moore (Stephen Gordon, Christian Brause, US), Bennett Jones (Canada), Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (Russian) Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt (Firoz Ahmed, Monica Biringer, Canada) Acquisition $7.4 billion Cerberus Capital Management (US) Chrysler (US) Schulte Roth & Zabel (US) Shearman & Sterling (Peter Blessing), US Acquisition Undisclosed AWAS (Ireland) Pegasus Aviation Finance Company (US) KPMG (Paul Cooper, Melissa Geiger, UK; Jim Sams, US; Brian Daly, Tom Woods, Ireland) Deloitte & Touche Exchange n/a Travel Media (previously owned by Discovery Communications (US)) 25% of Discovery Communications (previously owned by Cox Communications (US)) Debevoise & Plimpton (Peter Furci, Matthew O'Halloran, US) Dow Lohnes (Joyce Gwadz and James Saxenian, US) Acquisition €4.9 billion ($6.7 billion) Mylan Laboratories (US) Generic drug operations of Merck (US) Cravath, Swaine & Moore (Christian Brause, US), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Germany) Skadden (US) Acquisition €255 million ($344 million) Odewald & Compagnie (Germany) IWKA (Germany) Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek (Germany), Ashurst (Nina Siewert, Germany) Hengeler Müller (Germany) Acquisition €260 million ($351 million) Northgate Information Solutions (UK) Arinso International (Belgium) KPMG (Russell Hampshire, Sharon Baynham, UK; Luc Heynderickx, Belgium) KPMG (Paul Op De Beeck, Belgium) Acquisition Undisclosed Hikma Pharmaceuticals (Jordan) Thymoorgan (Germany) Ashurst (Klaus Herkenroth, Nina Siewert, Germany) Sozietät Kopp Müller Kopp Sieland (Germany) Acquisition $2.7 billion Liberty Mutual (US) Ohio Casualty (US) Debevoise & Plimpton (Peter Furci, Jennifer Whetsell, US) Sullivan & Cromwell (US) Acquisition $22 billion Dolan Family Group (US) Cablevision Systems (US) Debevoise & Plimpton (Peter Furci, Bruce Haims, Rhea Gordon, William Mulvey, Charles Wachsstock, US) Sullivan & Cromwell (US) Acquisition £11.1 billion ($21.9 billion) KKR (US) / AB Acquisitions Alliance Boots (UK) Clifford Chance (UK) Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (US) Slaughter and May (UK) Merger about £100 million ($197 million) Rutland Trust (UK) August Equity Trust (UK) Slaughter and May (Tony Beare, Philip Higham, UK) Herbert Smith (UK) Acquisition $950 million Pearson (UK) Harcourt Assesment (US) and Harcourt Education International (UK) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Jenny Doak, UK) Acquisition £420 million ($827.9 milllion) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Canada), Victorian Funds Management Corporation (Australia) 48.25% stake in Birmingham Airport (UK) Ashurst (Nicholas Gardner, UK) Linklaters (UK) Type of deal Value Issuer/Borrower Lead managers/ arrangers Adviser to issuer/borrower (tax) Adviser to lead manager(tax) Notes issue €300 million ($405 million) PULS CDO 2007-1 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) Merrill Lynch (US), Advisium (the Netherlands), Capital Securities (US) Matheson Ormsby Prentice (Ireland) Ashurst (Nina Siewert, Nicole Benzler, Germany), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (UK, Germany), Bär & Karrer (Switzerland), Binder Grösswang (Austria) Proposed placing and listing more than £400 million ($790 million) 3i (UK) ABN Amro Rothschild (the Netherlands/ UK) Slaughter and May (Graham Earles, Parita Hemmati, Philip Higham, UK) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Rob Kent, UK) Placing £750 million ($1.48 billion) BAE Systems (UK) Hoare Govett (UK) Slaughter and May (Gareth Miles, Timothy Woodthorpe, UK) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Jonathan Cooklin, Eli Hillman, UK)

Victor Koss, Peter Parry and Luis Uriza of Booz Allen Hamilton look at tax management in oil and gas

Shiv Mahalingham, head of transfer pricing at Chiltern, looks at transfer pricing and private equity

The results of International Tax Review's 2007 EMEA poll show that directors are willing to forego gains from tax arbitrage for the simplicity of harmonisation. But, as Claire Jones found out, reservations persist about whether the powers that be will handle implementation effectively.

Singapore, Asia's biggest oil trading centre, has announced tax breaks on income from liquefied natural gas (LNG) and carbon emission transactions to encourage overseas companies to invest in the city-state. This will take effect immediately.

There are more reasons to set up a Japanese holding company than might be seen at first glance. Hiroshi Namba of Shin Nihon Ernst & Young explains

The tax advantages that Cyprus offers is increasing its appeal as a holding company jurisdiction in Europe, say Pieris Markou and Antonis Taliotis of Deloitte

Rob McLeod, a specialist tax practitioner, will rejoin Ernst & Young New Zealand on June 30 to become its national managing partner.