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Feature

  • Malaysia: Wealth management and tax planning in the wake of COVID-19

Case Summaries

Brazil

  • Private Letter Ruling No. 41 of 31 March 2020 — tax treatment of trust distributions to Brazilian beneficiaries

France

  • Wealth tax — The refusal to benefit from the 30% allowance on the market value of the principal residence held through a real estate company (French SCI) is constitutional

United States

  • US IRS private ruling — Modifications to trust agreement and creation of successor trusts did not cause unfavorable tax treatment for the trust
  • US beneficiaries may claim withholding tax credit for foreign non-grantor trust distributions

Legislative Developments

Argentina

  • Argentina offers repatriation of 5% of assets located abroad to obtain a reduction of the applicable Personal Assets Tax rate

Brazil 

  • Changes in the Transfer and Gift Tax (“ITCMD”) legislation

United States

  • Reduced interest rates offer family estate planning opportunities amid crisis
  • IRS requests comments concerning information reporting on transactions with foreign trusts and on gifts from foreign persons
  • High net worth taxpayers face IRS wealth squad

Author

David A. Berek is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Chicago office. With nearly 30 years of experience as a lawyer and tax accountant, and a multidisciplinary approach to wealth management, he was recognized as the top private client planning professional by Family Office Review in 2015. Mr. Berek also teaches as an adjunct professor in DePaul University's Master of Science in Taxation graduate program, and serves as co-editor of Baker McKenzie’s Private Wealth Management newsletter.

Author

Elliott Murray is head of the US Tax and Wealth Management practice in Geneva and is a partner in the Firm's International Tax and Global Wealth Management practice groups. Elliott has significant experience assisting high net worth individuals and families with US and international tax, wealth planning, and regulatory and family governance matters. Elliott is a member of the Firm’s EMEA Wealth Management Steering Committee, a co-editor of the Global Wealth Management practice group’s quarterly Private Wealth Newsletter, and has lectured at LLM programs on US tax and FATCA/CRS issues. Elliott has been listed in ALM Private Client Global Elite, Ones to Watch for 2017, 2019, 2019, and 2021. While at the University of Texas School of Law, he completed an internship (stage) at the European Court of Justice as a Dean Acheson Legal Intern.

Author

Adeline Wong heads the Tax Practice Group of Wong & Partners. She has more than 25 years of experience in the area of corporate tax planning, advisory, audit and investigation work. She has presented in both domestic and international tax conferences, including conferences organised by the Tax Executive Institute in the US, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners in Singapore and more recently, Bloomberg BNA's Global Transfer Pricing Conference in Shanghai. She is also a regular contributor to established publications on tax-related legislation and developments in Malaysia, such as Bloomberg BNA and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.

Author

Thierry Vialaneix joined Baker McKenzie in 2004 as a Local Partner and became a Senior Counsel in 2009. He handles all legal matters related to VAT and indirect taxes. He began his career with CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre, and subsequently joined Price Waterhouse Legal and Tax. Mr. Vialaneix also worked in the tax department of Ernst & Young and Landwell & Associés before joining Baker McKenzie, where he currently supervises the Paris office’s VAT practice. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Vialaneix has published several articles tackling VAT issues and has participated in various tax seminars.

Author

Charles Baudoin joined the Tax department of Baker McKenzie in Paris in 2015. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Charles was an associate in the tax department at another global law firm in Paris from 2007 to 2014.

Author

John Richard Cacharani is a US tax associate in Baker McKenzie’s International Tax and Global Wealth Management practice groups. John recently earned his LL.M. in taxation from the New York University School of Law. John received his JD from the Washington University School of Law, where he received the Scholar in Law Award and was a member of the Trademark and Unfair Competition moot court team. While in law school, John served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Carol E. Jackson on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and was a global legal intern for AB InBev. Prior to law school, John earned his BA from Northwestern University, and the EMMIR Erasmus Mundus Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations.

Author

Ida Varshavsky is an associate in Baker McKenzie's Tax and Global Wealth Management practice groups in Zurich.

Author

Bruna Barbosa is an associate at Baker McKenzie Zurich Global Tax Practice group. She has significant experience advising high-net-worth families and closely held businesses on US and international wealth planning matters, as well as income, estate, and gift tax planning. Bruna joins the Firm after practicing for six years as US tax attorney in Miami, Florida.

Author

James Gifford is a native of California, but has been based in Zurich since 2013. His past experiences include practicing at midsize tax boutique law firms in Canada and Switzerland and working as an in-house wealth planner for Rothschild Trust. James was previously an associate in our Palo Alto office.

Author

Daniel Hudson — a member of the Firm’s Tax Practice Group in Miami — practices mainly in the areas of international tax planning for multinational entities and high net worth individuals. He has authored several publications for Tax News and Developments and has spoken at Firm-sponsored trainings and conferences on tax issues. Active in the Firm’s pro bono activities, Daniel spearheads Baker McKenzie’s annual visit to the Camillus House Soup Kitchen, where the Firm serves dinner to hundreds of homeless and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Author

Glenn G. Fox is a partner of Baker McKenzie's Wealth Management and Tax Practice Groups in New York and a member of the firm’s Global Tax Wealth Management Steering Committee. He is a domestic and international tax, estate planning, and tax-exempt (charitable) organizations lawyer with vast experience working with closely held businesses, families and charitable organizations from the US and overseas. Glenn is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and has been recognized for fourteen consecutive years (2007-2020) as a "New York Super Lawyer" by the New York Times.

Author

Lyubomir Georgiev has practiced law since 2003 in the United States and Switzerland. He has assisted banks, insurance companies, fiduciaries, family offices, asset managers, and high net worth individuals. Lyubomir participated in the negotiations of the special arrangements between the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein and the UK on voluntary disclosure, tax compliance certification and tax information exchange. He heads the International Tax and Global Wealth Management practice in Zurich. Lyubomir has worked in Washington, DC and New York. Previously he was a member of the EMEA Wealth Management Steering Committee and Knowledge Management & Training head. Lyubomir is admitted to practice in Washington, DC, US Tax Court, England and Wales, and Switzerland as a foreign-qualified solicitor. He has been ranked in Chambers Global since 2012 as a foreign expert in practice areas such as UK tax and private clients, US private clients, and Liechtenstein tax and general business law.

Author

Paul O'Quinn is an associate in Baker McKenzie’s Tax Practice Group in Miami, Florida. He focuses on tax planning and tax controversy. Prior to joining the Firm, Paul clerked for the Honorable David Gustafson at the United States Tax Court.

Author

Olga Sanders is an associate in the International Tax and Global Wealth Management practice groups of Baker McKenzie New York. She is a domestic and international tax and estate planning lawyer.

Author

Simon Beck is a partner and chair of the North America Wealth Management Group at Baker McKenzie's New York office. Simon is an international tax and trust lawyer with vast experience working in the world's trust and financial centers. He has also practiced in Miami, London, Monte Carlo and Madrid, and was head of Legal, Compliance and Trust & Fiduciary Services for Coutts, one of the world’s leading private banking institutions, prior to joining Baker McKenzie. Simon lectures regularly on trust, financial service and compliance issues at global wealth management and international trust and estate planning conferences around the world.

Author

George Clarke is a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s North America Tax Practice Group in Washington, DC. His practice focuses on tax litigation and he is nationally-known for his work in civil and criminal tax matters. Mr. Clarke has authored several articles on tax law and is a contributor to the Forbes IRS Watch Blog as well as other blogs and publications. He is consistently recognized by Legal 500 as a leading adviser in tax controversy. Mr. Clarke also lends his talent to pro bono matters and has successfully represented non-enemy combatants unlawfully detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He is a certified public accountant (inactive). Before becoming a lawyer, he served in the US Marine Corps.

Author

Erin Gladney is a partner in the New York office of Baker McKenzie and a member of the Tax Group. Erin was named on The Network Journal’s “40 under Forty” list in 2016.

Author

Paul DePasquale is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Tax and Global Wealth Management practice groups in New York. He advises individuals and multinational entities on international and domestic tax planning, cross-border transactions and investments, and wealth management. He also advises financial institutions on regulatory, compliance and strategy matters. Paul previously worked in the Firm's Zurich and Hong Kong offices. He is a frequent speaker and writer on international tax compliance and information reporting.

Author

Steven R. Schneider is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Washington, DC office, and leads the Firm's passthroughs tax group. He started his career as a lawyer in the IRS' national office and has had many years of national-level law firm and Big-4 accounting firm experience. Mr. Schneider also previously chaired the ABA Partnership Tax Committee. He has been teaching an advanced tax course on drafting partnership and LLC agreements at Georgetown University Law Center since 2005, is a regular speaker at national tax venues, and has published numerous articles on tax for Taxes: The Tax Magazine, Tax Notes, Bloomberg BNA and Journal of Taxation, among many others.