US Withholding Tax 2010
We are pleased to announce that Ross McGill will be chairing US Withholding Tax 2010 for IBC Events in London on 28th-29th September.
This conference takes place at a time of great change in the financial services industry. Banks are under scrutiny and being regulated more than ever before. The financial crisis is creating tensions between tax authorities and investors affecting cross border investment. The EU and OECD are trying to simplify withholding tax across 34 markets. The US is making the most swingeing and far reaching changes to its withholding tax policies. Financial institutions and investors must now cope with tightened QI regulations and by 2013 the new FATCA provisions of the HIRE Act will kick in. As a financial institution or as an investment management professional, if you’re not up the curve on these issues, the penalties and reputational damage of non compliance will be enormous.
The conference is divided into two industry specific days to provide a deeper focus on the issues and how they apply in practice. Day 1 focuses on compliance issues for financial institutions, whilst Day 2 provides information for investors and intermediaries. In total, there will be over 40 expert speakers, 17 topical sessions and 7 interactive panel sessions across the two days to help you get up to speed with these complex issues. Ross McGill will also be running a pre-conference briefing day on 27th September.
To book a place or to find out more about the conference, including the confirmed speakers, please visit the event website.
If you can’t make it to London in person, you can attend this event online at TConsult’s secure Online Conference Space for the event. This allows you to actively participate in the conference remotely, taking advantage of:
- a live video stream from the event
- opportunities to ask questions of the speakers in real time
- space to discuss the issues with other online delegates
- session summaries and recordings to help you catch up on anything you miss
- all of the conference resources, including speakers’ slides, in electronic form
You can access all of these resources direct from your own office. If you think online attendance at this event will be useful for yourself or your colleagues, then please visit tconsult-ltd.com/ustaxconference to find out more and to book your online place now. Online attendance starts from just £594 per delegate per day, if you book before 3rd September.
If you have any questions about online attendance at this event, please contact us.
JISC/CNI Meeting 2010
The UK Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and US Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), recently held their 8th international meeting to discuss Managing data in difficult times: policies, strategies, technologies and infrastructure to manage research and teaching data in a fast changing technological and economic environment. The event brought together experts from both sides of the Atlantic to explore and contrast developments affecting senior management in information systems in the education community and those responsible for delivering digital services and resources for learning, teaching and research.
TConsult was delighted to send our Creative Director, Kirsty Pitkin, to record the event. She produced detailed session summaries for the event blog and conducted video interviews with the speakers to identify the key issues and questions. The conference was split into parallel sessions, so these resources have been extremely valuable to delegates who wish to find out more about the parallel sessions they could not attend, and to those in the wider community who were unable to be in Edinburgh for the event.
It was a fascinating meeting, covering topics ranging from cloud computing through resource discovery and digital preservation to e-Science and open data policies.
To find out more about this event and to see the materials Kirsty Pitkin produced, visit the event blog.
Amplifying LIS Research Coalition Conference 2010
We are pleased to announce that our Creative Director, Kirsty McGill, will be amplifying the Libraries and Information Science (LIS) Research Coalition Conference – Evidence, Value and Impact: the LIS Research Landscape in 2010.
Kirsty will be providing live blogging updates, writing sessions summaries and conducting video interviews with a range of delegates, speakers and sponsors to help amplify the event to a wider, remote audience. These activities will help those who cannot make the conference in person to keep abreast of the topics and engage in the discussions online so they do not miss out on this valuable event. Kirsty explains her plans for the event in more detail in this conference newsflash.
The LIS Research Coalition Conference will take place at the British Library on Monday 28th June 2010. For more information or to book a place, please visit the conference website.
You can follow the conference updates on Twitter by following @LISResearch or the event hash tag #lisrc10. Kirsty’s session summaries and video interviews will appear at the LIS Research blog throughout the event.
Volcanic Disruptions
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With flights across most of Europe at an unprecedented standstill due to a cloud of volcanic ash, many conference organisers are finding their well-laid plans for upcoming events are in tatters. Both delegates and speakers are stranded all over the world in various time zones, with no clear indication of when the chaos might end. Decisions need to be made quickly, but could cost conference organisers heavily. |
If you are one of those panicking about the implications of the current situation for your event, we may have a solution for you…
Our Online Conference Space can be set up at short notice to provide stranded delegates with the opportunity to attend remotely via the internet. Delegates are provided with login details to your own unique conference space, where they can benefit from a live video stream, recordings of completed sessions, session summaries and interactive tools so they can ask questions and network with other remote delegates.
If you are looking for a way to avoid the disappointment and lost revenue associated with cancelling your event, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss how we can keep your event going, despite the travel chaos!
Remote Audiences
TConsult’s Creative Director, Kirsty McGill, gave a presentation at the first Transliteracy conference, which was held in Leicester at the brand new Phoenix Arts Centre on Tuesday 9th February. Kirsty presented a paper describing our work reaching remote conference audiences and our efforts to develop best practice in the field. Here is our recording of Kirsty’s talk, introduced by the event chair Professor Sue Thomas….
The event involved researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, who came together to discuss the concept and application of transliteracy, which the working definition defines as: the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. As Kirsty explains in her presentation, reaching a remote audience effectively involves a keen awareness of transliteracy and accessibility if you are to create a suite of resources that allows online delegates to get value from attending online.
We are continuing to develop our online conference spaces so we can offer conference organisers an innovative package to help them reach a wider audience and increase revenue. If you are interested in discussing the ideas raised in this presentation to see how we could help you with your event, please contact us or read more about our event amplification services.
Amplifying IDCC 09
We are very proud to have worked with UKOLN and the Digital Curation Center to amplify 5th International Digital Curation Conference (IDCC 09) in London from 3rd-4th December. The event attracted an online audience from across the globe, who made use of our live video stream, recordings of completed sessions, blogging and Twitter coverage.
The IDCC 09 organisers were keen that the output from this conference reached the widest possible audience – both during and after the event. The conference theme: “Moving to Multi-Scale Science: Managing Complexity and Diversity” was aimed not just at scientific researchers, but also policy makers, librarians, funding bodies, educators, publishers…. all those involved in data collection, use, management and preservation. The aim of the event was to promote the discussion of issues surrounding scientific data and to share experiences from current research projects in this area, so reaching out to those who could not attend and providing lasting online resources recording the event made event amplification a really useful facility for the organisers.
As part of an open event amplification model, we provided the following resources:
- Live video stream
- Live Twitter commentary on the dedicated @idcclive account, using the conference hash tag #idcc09
- Session summaries on the conference chairman’s blog, tagged #idcc09
- Video interviews with a cross-section of participants, collecting their views and responses to the event
- A customised event NetVibes page, which collected all of the resources together in one, convenient place
- Recordings of completed sessions for future reference
The feedback from this activity was extremely positive….
“The DCC sure knows how to put on a conf[erence] and how to share a conf[erence] using social media…. Great event! #idcc09″ ~ remote participant via Twitter
“Feedback has been great…Thanks again to you both – I think it was a huge success and the global audience would seem to bear this out!” ~ event organiser
This was a fascinating event to cover and we hope that the resources we have created really will help the Digital Curation Centre to spread the messages of this conference further and provide a useful record for future reference, particularly as the DCC moves into a new phase of its work.
If you are interested in amplifying your higher eduction event to reach a wider audience, then please contact us to discuss your needs and to obtain a no-obligation quote.
New Online Conference Package
As travelling and expenses budgets are being slashed in many sectors, attendance at national and international conferences is dropping. Environmental pressures are also leading many firms to look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint – including minimising air travel.
After our success at the recent Withholding Tax Congress, TConsult is launching a new package to help event organisers to reach this lost audience using the internet. Our specially designed online conference spaces compliment live events and bring the proceedings to an online audience in a convenient form.
We provide:
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a live video stream from the conference venue |
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analytical summaries of each session, written live by our specialist live blogger |
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tools for online delegates to interact with each other and ask questions of speakers in real time |
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video interviews with speakers and delegates |
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live commentary via Twitter |
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recordings of completed sessions |
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interactive tools for displaying presenters’ slides and other conference resources |
Our online conference spaces are highly focussed to help online delegates get a complete experience of attendance at the event, without needing to leave their office. This makes it an ideal solution for delegates who were prevented from attending the event by financial or environmental considerations. The recordings of completed sessions also make online participation a viable option for those outside of the event’s time zone.
“…the quality of the live streaming was very good and recordings were very useful! …The analysis/views was also impressive – particularly as it is updated so quickly…”
~ Online delegate at Withholding Tax Congress, 14th-15th October 2009
Once the event has finished, we make all of the online materials available as an archive. This can be used as an archive to add extra value to the purchase of a traditional delegate fee, or as an additional revenue stream, post-event.
There are therefore three potential revenue streams for event organisers:
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An online delegate fee |
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Access to the archive after the event for delegates |
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Access to the archive after the event for non-delegates |
All this with no need for additional resources or workload for the organiser. We provide all of the expertise, equipment and online space as a complete solution.
We think this new package is totally unique and we are excited to be pioneering this new dimension for live conference events. If you are an event organiser and wish to discuss the options and pricing, then please contact us.
Withholding Tax Congress Online Archive
Last week’s Withholding Tax Congress, held in London and hosted by our partners at Osney Media, was a great success. The event featured expert speakers from across all areas of the industry, together with detailed discussion of what we can expect in the future given President Obama’s remarks and Announcement 2008-98.
TConsult were proud to host the online version of this conference – which we believe to be the first of its kind for this type of event. Online delegates were able to view the proceedings as they happened via a live video stream, read live commentary, access analytical summaries of each presentation and interact in real time by asking questions via the conference chairman. The feedback has been very positive so far, with people as far afield as Australia and the USA signing in to experience the event online.
Now the event is over, we have a complete archive of the conference, which may still be of interest to those who could not attend either in person or online on 14th-15th October. We are making this available for the reduced price of £750. We were also aware throughout the event that many of the physical delegates felt a bit overwhelmed with the amount of information being delivered. We are therefore also offering access to the online archive to those who attended the live event at the special rate of £250, to help with the absorption process!
NB: The online archive for this event is now closed. Please contact us if you have any queries about this archive.
TConsult Powers Online Withholding Tax Congress
We are delighted to announce that we have been chosen to provide online conference facilities for the forthcoming International Withholding Tax Congress, presented by Osney Media from 14th-15th October 2009.
The live event will be held in London, where TConsult’s CEO Ross McGill will be chairing proceedings. To compliment the live event, we will be providing a full suite of online materials – including live video streaming and commentary – for those delegates who are unable to attend in person. A specially designed website will act as the online conference space, where online delegates can access all of the relevant materials, network with each other and interact with the live conference as it happens via a direct link with the conference chairman.
This event is essential for all QIs and NQIs and is filling up fast, but with many companies restricting travel and expenses, organisers were aware that some potential delegates may not be able to secure the budget to attend in person. Online attendance costs only £995, with no extra costs, making it a great alternative to ensure that you do not miss out on the benefits of this significant event.
NB: This online event is now closed.
Rapid Innovation
TConsult recently supplied blogging and media services to the UKOLN team organising Rapid Innovation - a communications event for software developers, held at the City of Manchester Stadium from 3rd-4th September.
The event was designed to help developers who are currently working on JISC funded Rapid Innovation projects at higher education institutions. Developers from over 50 projects were invited to attend in a bid to create a developer community and to provide practical communications training so the developers can better communicate with their programme managers and end users.
Organisers chose a “Dragons’ Den” format, similar to the popular UK television series. Delegates gave a 45 second pitch explaining their project, and then entered a “den” for an individual interview with a team of dragons – featuring a media expert, a technical expert and a lay person. The delegates received practical feedback about their pitch and advice about how to improve. On day two, the delegates were asked to repeat their pitch in only 20 seconds, using what they had learnt. In the interim there were various expert talks, code sharing sessions and opportunities to practice pitches, as well as a formal blogging interview with one of the media experts. The delegates were really positive about the feedback they received and the 20 second pitches on day two were so significantly improved that it made the dragons’ job of judging the most improved extremely difficult!
TConsult provided our Creative Director Kirsty McGill as a roaming blogger and media dragon for the event. In addition to leading a team of dragons in one of the dens, Kirsty conducted formal and informal interviews with delegates, speakers and other dragons using a mixture of video, audio, text and even a comic strip. Kirsty wrote blog entries for the event blog, created creative sequences using all the video footage taken throughout the event and produced podcasts and other multimedia materials for organisers to use on the event website, including this video, previewing the venue and final preparations before the event commenced:
Welcome To Rapid Innovation from UKOLN on Vimeo.
The full collection of videos and interviews will be available on the event website very soon.
We were proud to have been associated with this event, which was obviously so immediately beneficial to its delegates. Many of the developers expressed how useful it was to think about the way they communicate what their project is about, as they often get so embroiled in the technical details that they forget to ask “what does this do for my end user?”.
We look forward to working with UKOLN in the future at similar events as they continue this work with the JISC developer community!
US Tax Policy – The Perfect Storm?
Never, in thirteen years in this industry, would I have predicted that a US President would talk about withholding tax and use the term “QI” (qualified intermediary) in a public forum, let alone formally target foreign banks and inward investors, as well his own residents with dramatic changes to tax policy that could create a “perfect storm” for the US as an investment market.
Yet, since September 2008 there has been a steadily rising tide of concern, not to say aggravation, over the policy proposals by the US administration, together with the more procedural consequences of the IRS and US Treasury’s proposed changes to the enforcement of that policy. The result we are seeing may have significant, if unintended, consequences. Already, many non-US banks are writing to their US customers telling them to close their accounts and take their money elsewhere (where I wonder?). Others, predominantly the majority of financial firms who have not so far signed up to the QI program, are having to review a massive increase in expenditure for little or no benefit, in order to comply with the potential new rules. Many of the small and medium sized firms I’ve spoken to are actively considering divesting from the US, whether or not they have US customers, simply because the cost of providing asset servicing for the US market is viewed as prohibitive.
To consider the effects of this “perfect storm” we have to look at the way the elements are coming together. President Obama’s remarks in May this year came hard on the heels of swingeing proposals from the IRS to tighten up on the terms of the QI contract and also proposals from the US Treasury to more than double the penalties that would be applied to foreign banks for non compliance. The fact that the IRS intends to employ over 800 more enforcement staff and the US Treasury predicts penalty revenue to increase to over $300 million by 2018, is giving the community serious cause for concern. All this now puts the UBS case in perspective with the US and Switzerland battling it out over disclosure and France, Belgium and other markets adopting new “information sharing” principles, all of which sit at the heart of withholding tax.
The problem for US tax policy here is that the two main planks of the strategy – the use of the QI tax model and the underlying strength of the US economy are both fundamentally flawed individually and in concert. The QI program has not gained sufficient traction (or successful compliance) in the eight years since its inception, with only a small percentage of firms globally, usually the larger ones, having the financial resource to become and maintain QI status. This is partly due to a lack of constructive engagement with the community at a global level. The problem is compounded by the facts that the policy doesn’t take account of the simple reality that, for foreign financial institutions, the number of US customers (and the value of their assets) is relatively inconsequential to their overall client base and that the trigger for compliance is receipt of US sourced income, not that of simply having US customers. This means that, even though US tax policy is ostensibly aimed at US residents and their compliance, or lack thereof, the unintended consequence of using the QI regulations at this level, is that all investors in US, as well as their intermediaries, of any flavour, are impacted potentially to the tipping point.
All this would be moot, as it was in 2001 when the regulations were implemented, if it were not for the fact that today, the US economy can ill afford a mass exodus of foreign investor’s cash and has competitors waiting in the wings. And yet, that seems to be the road that US tax policy is sending the community down by targeting foreign financial institutions as well as their customers. As the industry meets in Hong Kong for its annual SIBOS conference, it’ll be exactly a year to the day that Lehman Brothers hit the headlines around the world and sparked the largest and deepest global recession for many years. Today, we know that China, India and all the Asia/Pac markets are coming out of recession faster, are more nimble and can spot the opportunity to draw inward investment away from the US more easily. I’ve heard in several markets that people can clearly see the tipping point on the horizon now. The problem is that, if such a tipping point does occur to any significant extent, the consequences may be much larger and longer lasting than any of us think. The reality is that in tax policy, we need balance and certainty not radical swings that create uncertainty for investors and hard pressed banks.
It’s seldom mentioned of course, but withholding tax is actually a key driver for the global economy. For every dollar taxed at a treaty rate or refunded to an investor after the fact, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars that enter the market concerned, precisely because of the availability of those refunds and the certainty that the treaties deliver. It would therefore seem more prudent to assess the available policy tools from both a principle and practical standpoint, engage with the community on the receiving end more extensively and constructively and make sure that the community is an early adopter of policy rather than an enemy to be defeated.
To that end, it’s perhaps fortuitous that we all meet again, one year on, in the shadow of this perfect storm, at the centre of the Asian markets – at SIBOS, where the SWIFT community can reflect on a year of turmoil of one kind and try to make sure we don’t end up in turmoil of an entirely different kind.
For those who are interested, I’ll be speaking at an Open Theatre Presentation at SIBOS on this very issue on Tuesday September 15th. You can also see other key market figure’s views at the Linkedin Withholding Tax Group. For those of you returning to Europe after SIBOS, the two-day Withholding Tax Congress in London organised by Osney Media will be solely focused on this issue and will be a “must attend” event for tax, compliance and operations staff. Finally, at the risk of blatant self-promotion, you can also get a broader view of this issue in my latest book “Investment Withholding Tax – Best Practice & Strategies for Intermediaries and Investors” published by Palgrave Macmillan in their Finance & Capital Markets series. You can’t say no-one told you!
TConsult CEO Appointed Conference Chair
We are delighted to confirm that TConsult CEO Ross McGill has been appointed to chair the forthcoming Withholding Tax on US-sourced Income conference organised by Osney Media. The conference will take place from 14-15th October in London, and will feature speakers from across the industry, addressing operational compliance issues for both Qualified Intermediaries and Non-Qualified Intermediaries. Ross will also be delivering a master class to help delegates utilise the insights they gain throughout the event and explore how to maximise innovative solutions within their organisations to overcome operational and strategic compliance issues.
Conference Background
In 2001 The United States Internal Revenue Service announced the most complex and advanced withholding tax regulations in the world. With 800 pages of rules, procedures, audit processes and penalties, the impact for financial intermediaries who manage US-sourced income was, and is, immense. With amendments suggested in the IRS’ notice 2008-98 and proposals by the Obama Administration, qualified and non-qualified intermediaries are set to see the regulator tighten the screws on financial organisations even further.
Increased documentation requirements, procedures requiring QIs to report both US and foreign securities transactions of US non-exempt recipients and proposed regulations to deal with QI sanctions in the case of abusive situations, are only a few of the proposed changes that will become costly for foreign financial institutions to implement and police. And if Chinese whispers from within the industry can be trusted, it will not only hit QIs, but largely impact NQIs too.
With the IRS under tremendous pressure to stop tax leakages and the Obama administration seeking to bring legislative changes to QI withholding tax regulations, both QIs and NQIs will need to re-evaluate and redesign approaches to operational and strategic compliance and technology involved, and make sufficient resources available in order to comply with tautening rules and to avoid vast penalties in the years to come.
Booking
You can find full details of the event programme and book a place by visiting the conference website. We look forward to seeing you there!
