The Milton Keynes office of Mazars has beefed up its international VAT offering in response to the region’s growing global links and its own expanding worldwide connections.
The international accountancy firm recently merged with major Chinese audit firm ZhongShen ZhongHuan while the Buckinghamshire area is a magnet for overseas companies looking to establish UK headquarters attracted to its central location, good transport links and strong entrepreneurial reputation.
Experienced international VAT managers Emma Robotham and Jo Styne, who both joined the firm recently, say this combination is generating new business.
Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, the United States and Canada account for most of the work but, following the ZhongShen ZhongHuan link-up, China is expected to feature prominently too.
Ms Robotham said: “International VAT can be a complicated area and companies require guidance through the complexities – so it is very important they get the right advice.
“Very often, for example, we find they hit problems in obtaining VAT refunds from abroad, but there are a number of other pitfalls such as clearing goods through customs”
She cited the VAT consequences of moving goods overseas and the arrival of VAT MOSS, introduced just over a year ago whereby the tax authorities in the country a company is registered will ensure VAT payments across the EU – 27 separate jurisdictions – depending on where the customer is based.
“The great thing about Mazars’ international reach is that with one engagement a company’s international tax arrangements can be addressed wherever they might be trading. The ZhongShen ZhongHuan merger is particularly pertinent given the amount of trade between China and the UK and the rising number of Chinese companies arriving on these shores, often through acquisition.
“Milton Keynes is very much an international centre and that means more and more companies will be in need of advice when it comes to the VAT intricacies of world trade,” stressed Ms Robotham.
