Tax Counsel (Fiscalist)

Responsibilities

• To provide advice on Dutch tax matters, as well as on international taxes, transaction taxes, transfer pricing to all internal clients.
• Ensure proper tax compliance in countries of operation (CIT, VAT, GST, WHT, PIT…).
• Oversee direct and indirect tax compliance, tax reporting and tax payments across the Dutch sub-group, assigned entities and ensure compliance with all tax obligations;
• Assist in preparing corporation tax footnotes and disclosures for consolidated financial statements;
• Review of annual financial statements and preparation of the tax returns of entities of the Dutch sub-group as well as assigned entities, in an accurate and timely manner prior to submission to statutory body. In addition, assist in preparing and file the annual corporate tax return of the top holding entity;
• Monitoring (mainly) and assist with tax payments (CIT, VAT, WHT) to Dutch Tax Administration;
• All tax related matters in respect of the group in the territories assigned to the role, including direct, indirect taxes and payroll taxes;
• Assist and/or manage tax audits and investigations, including post-entry customs audits and discussion of all material audit issues;
• Assist in dividend planning jointly with the Finance department, including arranging the filing and payment of dividend withholding taxes;
• Assist in the withholding tax process (including annual preparation of certificate of residence, maintenance of separate tracking schedule for certificates and treaty forms, submission of documents as appropriate, maintaining schedule of statutory withholding tax rates and providing updates to the Finance Department);
• Assist with preparation of financial and other supporting data for inclusion in Transfer Pricing documentation and review of final reports;
• Prepare tax audit updates and provisions for inclusion in quarterly tax compliance and litigation reports, as applicable;
• Respond to ad hoc queries and assist with projects relating to the tax affairs of the Group;
• Keeping informed of developments in tax legislation and briefing the tax team appropriately;
• Provision of technical support and advice to the group in respect of all aspects of tax, where appropriate, and researching and understanding technical matters and presenting them in a comprehensible and practical way;
• Review work of Finance staff to ensure all relevant deadlines met;
• Tax planning during pre-sales phase using external advisers when necessary;
• Identify tax efficient structures, highlight any tax risks and ensure that corporate structure permits a balanced optimization of taxes paid;
• Assist in establishing new companies / branches where necessary for tax structures / changes in law or other reasons;
• Review tax clauses in draft contracts (client contracts and subcontracts) and participate in contractual and tax discussions.

Requirements

• University Degree with finance / tax specialization (ACCA, ACA, CTA or similar);
• 2 to 4 years relevant experience in the oil industry or equivalent professional experience (including Big 4 experience) – an exposure to legal and international tax matters is a pre-requisite;
• Candidate should speak Dutch and English fluently and be able to prepare documents for presentation and be able to deal with tax authorities in this language;
• Very good understanding of Dutch statutory accounting (including lease accounting), tax requirements and audit processes;
• Good knowledge of international tax law, transfer pricing and general tax compliance;
• Understanding of CIT, VAT, GST, WHT, PIT regimes;
• Strong analytical skills and critical thinking;
• Good knowledge of double tax treaties;
• Solid tax reporting and IFRS knowledge. Knowledge of IAS 12 (Income taxes);
• Very good in IT skills – Excel/Word …and agile with systems;
• Familiarity with Sarbanes Oxley or equivalent internal control framework (e.g. ICOFR) is a plus;
• Petroleum Industry experience is a plus;
• GloBE rules knowledge/ experience is a plus;
• Ability to build positive relationships with internal stakeholders, external advisors and tax authorities.