EMEA Tax Services

FTI Consulting provides corporate tax advisory services to multinational businesses ranging from tax compliance and transaction support to best practice process implementation and structuring. We deliver client-centric expert led services focused on mitigating tax risk and minimising cost.

Our senior management team members are leaders in their field, qualified in accounting, tax, law and surveying. Also, the team includes valuations and technology experts and economists. We are the exclusive UK member of WTS Global, a leading independent tax network, with representation in over 100 countries, offering a comprehensive range of tax services.

Corporate Tax Compliance & Reporting

Our team provides a high quality, flexible and cost effective solution to tax compliance, ranging from providing additional resources to support in-house teams to undertaking the entire tax function.

We take a proactive approach where the team acquires a detailed understanding of a client’s business operations and is ideally placed to provide tax advisory and planning support whenever required.

With more emphasis on corporates to control and improve the manner in which they deal with their tax compliance process, businesses are continually revisiting the way in which they manage tax compliance. This ensures that tax and process risks are minimised and cost efficiencies maximised.

We tailor our approach to our clients’ needs with an understanding of the time and management demands faced by resource-constrained finance teams. A significant amount of senior involvement from our team means we can leverage our experience and skills to identify opportunities to improve tax processes and deliver tax savings.

Our team is experienced in partnering with businesses to provide a wide range of compliance and reporting services, including:

Preparation of corporate tax computations and returns
Tax provisioning for statutory accounts purposes, preparing accounting journals, undertaking tax reconciliations and liaising with auditors
Group reporting, including year-end/quarterly reporting and forecasting, under IFRS, U.S. GAAP and UK GAAP Deferred tax reporting and analysis for both routine reporting purposes and assessment of deferred tax impacts of specific planning and transactions
iXBRL-managed tagging service for financial statements in line with HMRC’s online filing criteria for corporate tax returns
Dispute resolution with HMRC
Senior accounting officer support
Tax reporting improvement and consolidation modeling

We have significant experience working with a wide range of groups, both UK-listed and inbound, across a number of industries, including manufacturing, retail, real estate, hospitality, pharmaceutical and technology.

Employment Tax and Reward

FTI Consulting has a technically minded, commercially focused and pragmatic team providing advice on all employment related tax and social security matters, for both domestic and internationally mobile employees.

Our services include payroll health checks and due diligence, assisting with HMRC enquiries and “Know Your Customer” discussions, and providing advice to business on expenses and benefits arrangements (including PAYE settlement agreements, termination payments, disguised remuneration considerations, and employment related share schemes) together with employment status and off-payroll worker issues.

We also help businesses with their internationally mobile employees, including assisting with non-resident directors, short term business visitors, and assignment planning, policies and implementation. We also provide advice and support for specialised payroll compliance arrangements such as modified and shadow payrolls and net of foreign tax credit arrangements.

In addition, we provide support to employers in creating attractive reward packages. We provide assistance with the planning and operation of share schemes (both tax approved and unapproved) and other long term incentive plans. This includes the design of plan rules and tax considerations, assistance with plan implementation and employee communications, and related tax valuation and compliance activities.

We help clients across a wide range of sectors, with extensive experience with life sciences, real estate, private equity backed companies and family businesses.

International Tax Advisory

FTI Consulting has a high-quality, experienced tax team based in London that takes a multidisciplinary approach supported by an international network of tax colleagues and partner firms. As an independent global consultancy firm, we are ideally positioned to advise our clients on UK and international transactions and planning, tax strategy, international tax compliance management and tax communications. Our team offers a full range of international corporate tax services for both UK and overseas-headquartered multinationals and provides tax advice on a broad range of issues, including:

Initial investment into a territory and permanent establishment issues
Transfer pricing and cross-border transactions
Financing of international operations
Group structuring advice and international transaction support

Research & Development Incentives, Patent Box and IP Strategy

Our team assists claimants with R&D tax relief submissions and their subsequent agreement with HMRC. Partnering with patent attorneys, our team offers a unique approach to the assessment of qualifying activities. We are also able to offer clients expert advisory services relating to the Patent Box.

FTI Consulting brings specialist insight to both R&D tax incentives and the Patent Box regime leading into tax advice for global IP strategy. Through the use of our proprietary R&D Index, our team assists claimants with R&D tax relief submissions and subsequent agreement with HMRC. We manage each stage of the claim process from guidance in identifying qualifying activities to providing tailor-made process tools for data management and cost collation.

Our tax consultants offer a unique approach to the assessment of qualifying activities. Through partnering with patent attorneys, we adapt their techniques in evaluating innovation to assess scientific advances against the requirements of the BEIS guidelines. This unique partnership means we can readily assess the cost/benefit of patenting technology to help clients make informed decisions at the right time. Such support can drive significant long-term value.

Also, we provide fully integrated Patent Box and IP advice in a way that other providers are unable to offer. FTI Consulting incorporates expertise from its leading economic consulting team that specialises in intellectual property. These skills are deployed to advise on the more challenging aspects of the Patent Box, including notional royalties, marketing assets and streaming.

Real Estate Tax

Our industry-focused team has extensive experience in advising on all aspects of the real estate ownership cycle, from acquisitions to disposals, joint ventures through to compliance and transfer pricing. Comprised of specialists from across the Big Four accounting firms, the team thrives on complexity, advising on high value cross border transactions, and acts as a hub on European investments.

Property transactions often involve specific and potentially complex tax considerations. Whether you are an investor, developer or occupier, FTI Consulting offers a broad range of services – combining tax, surveying and accounting – that delivers practical and innovative solutions for clients involved in significant capital transactions.

Our senior team members are recognised as leaders in their field, having advised corporations, funds, governments and industry bodies in both the UK and internationally on all tax aspects relating to complex asset investments.

The areas in which we help our clients include:

Transactions, from fund and joint venture structuring advice, both in the UK and internationally, to tax structuring for acquisitions, development projects, disposals of real estate and tax due diligence on corporate acquisitions.
Capital allowances transaction advice and analysis of capital expenditure, including land remediation relief claims. This offering is enhanced by our experience in fixed asset process improvement and retrospective review to ensure optimal capital allowances and deferred revenue claims.
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT), land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) in Scotland and annual tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED).
VAT compliance and planning, including the complexities of mixed-use developments and fund/asset management fees.
Tax compliance and reporting for UK companies and non-resident landlords. We offer a “cradle to grave” tax compliance and reporting service with the benefit of being free from any audit conflicts.
Transfer pricing – we provide benchmarking and reporting services in relation to related party debt financing, management fee structures and lease agreements.
We advise both landlords and occupiers on all aspects of real estate lease transactions, from initial incentives to renewal, dilapidations and surrenders.

Read more about the Real Estate advisory team.

Restructuring Tax Advisory

FTI Consulting restructuring specialists develop pragmatic, workable solutions to client tax issues arising from refinancing, restructurings and reorganisations. Our team functions at the centre of any transaction, particularly where divestments are included in a restructuring plan, ensuring a tax-efficient execution of the plan and ongoing tax efficiency of the remaining business.

As part of a fully integrated service, the tax services team works alongside the restructuring specialists within our Corporate Finance practice to ensure seamless delivery of advice, particularly where refinancing and structural change are involved.

Our tax restructuring services include:

Structuring transactions for maximum tax efficiency, including pre-sale restructuring, debt-for-equity swaps and pre-pack administrations
Preserving tax attributes
Identifying cash opportunities, e.g., identifying and expediting tax refunds
Advising distressed debt investors seeking to consolidate, restructure and derive value from the underlying assets in those portfolios.

Please see Restructuring for further information.

Tax Depreciation

The Tax Depreciation team at FTI Consulting is recognised as a leader in its field. Our independent specialist team has a unique history and track record of delivering tangible savings and benefits for clients, on time and on budget.

Our experts include Chartered Tax Advisors, Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Accountants. Our senior team includes individuals with over 20 years’ experience providing tax depreciation advice.

We combine and leverage FTI Consulting advanced intelligence & analytics capabilities (ELSA+) with our own specialist knowledge to deliver unparalleled results and analysis.

We can supply a range of services:

Specialist Advisory:

Transaction Advice,
Technical Opinion,
Property Acquisitions,
Construction Cost Analysis and
Land Valuation for Tax Purposes

Fixed Asset Tax Reporting:

Process Review,
Design, Implementation and Embedding,
nowledge Transfer,
Assurance and Future Proofing

Compliance:

Annual Capital Allowances Report,
Process Assurance,
Identification of Additional Tax Relief and
Managing Change

We act for a diverse range of clients including FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 corporations, institutional investors and asset managers, private property companies, and high net-worth individuals.

Tax Strategy & Regulation

Increasingly, tax strategy has become an issue for the Board of Directors and stakeholders. It is a substantive business issue with implications for reputation, brand value, “licence to trade,” and business and financial relationships. Increasing regulation around Corporate Criminal Offence and Senior Accounting Officer requires that companies have strong governance to address tax risk.

FTI Consulting is in a unique and independent position to assist businesses in addressing these issues. Our team combines highly experienced tax professionals and market-leading strategic communications and public affairs specialists to provide a truly multidisciplinary service.

Examples of the services that we provide include:

Reviewing a client’s tax strategy, its implementation and application
Risk reviews for Corporate Criminal Offence and Senior Accounting Officer regulations
Reviewing relevant media and stakeholder engagement strategies
Independently reviewing historic tax planning (as planning that was historically viewed as benign may now become a target for criticism)
Advising and supporting Executive and Non-Executive Directors

Tax Technology Advisory

The digitisation of tax authorities has accelerated significantly in the last few years, with Making Tax Digital in the UK as well as many VAT, e-invoicing and corporate tax e-filings in Europe and beyond. In this world of digital taxation, regulators are collecting and analysing vast amounts of information.

Tax technology can provide taxpayers with the support they need to remain compliant, whilst also providing time efficiencies and enhanced reporting opportunities. Our Tax Technology Advisory team provides end-to-end advice across the tax technology spectrum, enabling our clients to solve their most pressing issues. Tax technology will also allow businesses to improve their overall tax processes — reducing risk, increasing efficiency and providing greater control over tax data and processes.

Our skilled team have extensive experience in advising on all aspects of tax technology and across all areas of taxation, from corporate tax automation, to indirect tax analytics, to statutory accounts and ERP integration. Comprised of specialists with Big Four accounting firm and software development backgrounds, our team offers unique client-focussed insights. We are also not aligned with any one tax software offering, meaning we are able to offer independent advice on the best possible solutions for each client.

The areas in which our Tax Technology Advisory team can help include:

Tax Technology Consulting – Our expert team advises tax departments on updates around new technologies, carries out current state analysis of clients’ existing use of tax software and tax data, and works with clients to build a vision of the future technology enabled tax function. From reviews to implementations, we support clients using our extensive experience and knowledge.
Tax Automation – We enable clients to move away from over-reliance on spreadsheets through assisting them with selecting and deploying tax software. Our team also helps clients with automating the gathering of tax data, the exchange of data in compliance processes and advises on using tools to perform effective modelling and planning on tax data. Our team can therefore improve efficiency and reduce risk, giving clients’ time back for higher value activities.
Tax Data Analytics – Our team are highly experienced in using data analytic techniques to review and improve the quality of tax data, creating diagnostic analytics for tax departments and deploying tax dashboards to monitor KPIs and tax metrics. We also perform reconciliations between data sources and prevent issues with filed data. Our experts help clients to get control of their data, to improve their business and ensure that they have full visibility of their business and tax requirements.
Tax Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Whether it’s machine learning, predictive analytics or natural language processing and generation, AI can mean many different things. Our experts work with clients to demonstrate where advanced technologies can create real value for their business; cutting through the hype to find a working solution for critical needs.
Online Filing - In the UK and beyond, businesses have to deal with many regulatory filings using government portals and APIs as well as submitting data in formats such as XML, iXBRL and SAF-T. Where clients need to deliver a solution for DAC 6 reporting, review MTD for VAT compliance, or ensure they are able to create a SAF-T or XBRL format document, our Tax Technology Advisory team has the team and the expertise to help.

Transaction Tax Advisory

All transactions have a tax implication. Our team is experienced in all types of domestic and cross border transactions. This ranges from acquisitions to disposals and restructurings, refinancings to initial public offerings, where we provide expert advice from the initial due diligence phase through to SPA negotiation and post deal implementation.

Our team of transaction tax experts can help clients:

Structure the sale of an asset or a company to mitigate tax liabilities and utilise available exemptions and reliefs
Structure the purchase of an asset or company tax efficiently with flexibility on exit or refinancing
Deal with historical and future tax exposures in negotiation and deal execution
Incentivise and retain key staff via tax and cost-efficient management incentive planning
Achieve tax-efficient returns on exit

We provide tax due diligence to both buy- and sell-side parties. This can be supplied either as a standalone deliverable or as part of our financial due diligence complete support to a transaction. For further information, please see Transaction Services.

Transfer Pricing

Our award winning team has substantial experience of transfer pricing projects and helps to develop and implement robust and pragmatic solutions for their clients. The team consists of individuals with backgrounds from international professional service firms as well as HMRC and works closely with the market leading FTI Consulting economic consulting practice.

In particular, the transfer pricing environment has been undergoing significant change in relation to OECD base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) programme that has included a review of transfer pricing. Going forward, multinational groups will be required to provide greater transparency of their operations and tax profile in the countries where they operate. In addition, greater scrutiny of the tax affairs of multinational groups is to be expected.

The FTI Consulting Transfer Pricing team draws on the unparalleled experience of our more than 120 economists who price complex commercial and financial transactions, undertake valuations of intangibles and stand as expert witnesses in litigation cases.

We are fully engaged with the BEPS programme and actively participate in OECD consultations on transfer pricing matters. Also, the team advises on the post BEPS environment providing practical solutions to ensure adherence to new OECD guidance.

Our team provides a fully integrated transfer pricing service supported by our deep international tax and economic expertise. As a member of the WTS Alliance, we have the capability to provide multijurisdictional transfer pricing support to our clients.

As FTI Consulting is free from audit and assurance client relationships, we will always be positioned to defend a client’s transfer pricing policies and advise them on an ongoing basis.

Our Services Include:

Advising on transfer pricing strategy which aligns tax compliance and business objectives
BEPS impact analysis and advising clients on solutions compliant with the latest OECD recommendations
Preparation of master file (global/local) documentation, including reviewing country-by-country reports and performing risk analysis
Managing disputes with tax authorities
Restructuring and/or acquisition advisory
Advance Thin Capitalisation Agreements (“ACTAs”) and Advance Pricing Agreements (“APAs”)
Pricing complex intra-group financial arrangements
Valuing intangible assets, for licensing or sale purposes
Optimising the tax efficiency of supply chains
Undertaking Diverted Tax Profits (“DPT”) risk reviews and mitigating DTP risk

VAT & Indirect Tax Compliance

VAT is a complex tax. Even a business not involved in the myriad of exemptions and reliefs can find itself with VAT issues leading to assessments and penalties from HMRC. Whether clients are looking to reduce cost, enhance cash flow or reduce risk, our team is able to provide commercial VAT solutions and advice based on sound principles and best practice.

For many businesses, VAT is a significant cost, both actual and from a cash flow perspective, and a heavy compliance burden. So getting the right advice is critical. Our highly experienced VAT professionals combine significant technical expertise with a hands-on approach to the delivery and implementation of VAT solutions across a range of industries.

Whether you are looking to reduce cost, enhance cash flow, structure a transaction in a VAT efficient manner or achieve competitive advantage, FTI Consulting can provide commercial solutions based on sound principles and best practices.

Also, we provide advice and support in respect of Customs and Excise duties, to ensure businesses have robust processes and controls and minimise the costs of international supply chains.

Our VAT and Customs and Excise services include:

Complex consultancy projects, including liability issues and value, time and place of supply issues
VAT cash flow planning
VAT refunds
VAT heath checks
Cross-border issues, including import and export, international services, intra-EU trade, intrastat and EC Sales Lists
Transaction support, including merger/integration issues
Partial exemption and capital goods scheme planning
Negotiating with HMRC to resolve disputes and minimise penalties
Customs and Excise process and control reviews
Indirect tax BREXIT supply chain reviews

Member of the WTS Global International Network. Locally rooted - Globally connected.

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