Ernst and Young launches Americas Tax Center

New York, 13 October 2011- Ernst & Young has launched its Americas Tax Center, a network of professionals from Ernst & Young firms across the Americas that combines deep local technical knowledge with global business acumen and industry insights to help companies operate in diverse markets around the world.

The Americas Tax Center builds on the success of similar Tax Centers that Ernst & Young has launched in the important regions of EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) and Asia-Pacific. These three Centers are part of Ernst & Young’s US$1.2 billion global investment initiative that aims to develop Ernst & Young’s presence and service offerings in emerging markets by supporting its professionals to work across borders in tandem with the businesses they serve.

As companies operate globally, they find that tax compliance, planning and risk analysis must take place on both a local and a global basis. The Tax Centers bring together the experience and perspectives that help companies address these challenges. For example, all three Tax Centers closely track rapidly changing policy and tax administration developments throughout important regions of the world to offer the most current information on the tax risks and opportunities companies should consider when doing business.

A core team of 40 senior tax professionals from Ernst & Young firms in the Americas make up the Americas Tax Center. They can coordinate the experience and collective knowledge of the 10,000 Ernst & Young tax professionals in 33 countries in the Americas. They will also work closely with the EMEIA and Asia-Pacific Tax Centers to leverage the collective knowledge and experience of more than 140,000 Ernst & Young professionals globally.

“The Americas region is an important and influential market that includes both mature and developing economies of interest to our clients,” said Mark Weinberger, Ernst & Young’s Global Vice Chair - Tax. “The Americas Tax Center, along with our EMEIA and Asia-Pacific Tax Centers, helps us deliver on our commitment to providing globally integrated client service and reflects the way our clients do business, seamlessly across borders.”

Weinberger continued, “The Americas Tax Center enables us to deliver coordinated local technical advice together with regional business and industry insights to our clients on a real-time basis. We have organized the Americas Tax Center around those focus areas where our clients tell us they most need centralized and coordinated service.”

Kate Barton, Americas Vice Chair, Tax Services for Ernst & Young LLP, said, “The Americas Tax Center can help our clients navigate the marketplace intricacies and ever-changing legislative and political environments in the countries where they want – and need – to do business.” Barton said the new approach leverages Ernst & Young’s experience serving clients across borders for more than three decades. “This new structure will help us work with businesses to act more quickly, decisively and cost-efficiently than ever before.”

Eric Solomon and Michael Mundaca, who are co-Directors of the National Tax Department of Ernst & Young LLP, will co-lead the Americas Tax Center. The focus areas for the Americas Tax Center will include tax policy, supply chain management, controversy, customs and international trade and value added tax, global compliance and reporting, tax planning advisory and global tax desks network . (See appendix for a complete description of the current Americas Tax Center specific client services.)

About Americas Tax Center
The Americas Tax Center (ATC) operates as a network for the highly experienced tax professionals of Ernst & Young firms across North, Central and South America, who are focused on delivering unique, efficient and highly effective tax services to companies operating in the region. The ATC supports, and complements, our local tax service teams serving accounts in 33 countries throughout the region. Through the ATC, we offer increased access to leading-edge thinking and borderless service. ATC professionals deliver insightful, responsive and connected cross-border services drawing on the experience of more than 10,000 Ernst & Young colleagues in the region, representing a broad variety of skills. The ATC works seamlessly with our Tax Account Leaders (TALs) and other local tax professionals to make available to clients a team tailored for their needs, leveraging the full extent of our pan-Americas experience.

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About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 141,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

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Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the US.

Americas Tax Center Services

Tax policy: As countries in the Americas focus on growth and competitiveness, governments are increasingly focused on tax policy to raise revenue and promote economic agendas. We help clients stay ahead of the legislative curve by identifying tax trends on the horizon, analyzing proposed legislation and reporting on potential implications.
Tax controversy: Ernst & Young’s global tax controversy network has extensive experience helping manage and resolve complex and sensitive tax issues or disputes on both a domestic and cross-border basis with taxing authorities. Our controversy professionals can leverage the network’s collective knowledge of how individual tax authorities operate and how tax authorities are increasingly working together throughout the world.
Global compliance and reporting: Working through the Americas Tax Center, clients can access the resources of our compliance and reporting professionals in 140 countries across the globe. Our next generation model focuses on global data management, making it easier to centralize and re-use data across financial supply chain and geographical boundaries.
Global tax desks network: These senior staff professionals from member firms around the world respond to challenges immediately and cost-effectively, avoiding time zone barriers and the high cost of international travel. They provide tax advice on expansion into new countries and markets and cross-border transactions in an increasingly dynamic world market.
Tax effective supply chain management: Our tax effective supply chain management (TESCM) teams help multinational organizations identify, analyze, prioritize, co-develop and implement international tax planning strategies. Our TESCM teams use a multidisciplinary business approach addressing such issues as accounting, corporate income tax, customs, human resources, information systems, legal, management consulting, transfer pricing, treasury, and value added tax and other consumption taxes.
Tax performance advisory: Companies’ tax functions need to manage competing responsibilities and stakeholders effectively while delivering enhanced performance not just in the tax department, but across the wider business as well. Our Tax Performance Advisory practices help clients meet these challenges and achieve enhanced performance, focusing on building strong compliance and reporting foundations, effective risk management protocols and a high-performing tax function.
Customs and international trade: In today’s global economy, moving goods internationally can be a complex and costly activity. Our customs and international trade professionals help clients operate more effectively in moving goods around the world. We help develop and implement strategies to manage duty costs by utilizing free trade agreements, special programs and appropriate transactional structuring.
Value added tax (VAT): Multinational corporations must contend with varying VAT laws throughout the world, and also with the day-to-day management of these taxes and the associated compliance obligations. Our VAT practices respond to our clients’ global VAT needs to help structure business transactions to address VAT issues.

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