As business becomes increasingly global and moves further and further into the digital space, an understanding of how tax functions in these spaces is key for any corporate tax practitioner.
Ahead of our 2020 National GST Intensive Online event, we caught up with APAC Indirect Tax Manager for Uber, Steven Ren CTA. Steven, who has been a Chartered Tax Adviser with The Tax Institute for the past six years, is presenting Session 3 in Part 1 of the series, Indirect Tax in the Digital Space: A Domestic and International Perspective.
An essential topic for an increasingly digital world, Steven’s session will explore GST/VAT issues arising in the digital sector, with a focus on Australia and providing a comparative view with respect to other jurisdictions.
“The session will provide an understanding of the commonalities and differences between the VAT systems in legal design, interpretation and administration across the Asia Pacific region especially as they apply to digital businesses,” Steven explained.
“Specifically, by reference to these commonalities and differences, the session will illustrate how VAT/GST impacts business decisions.”
Delving into how the design, implementation and administration of VAT/GST regimes can have tax and commercial impacts, delegates can expect to explore the sessions topics through examples applicable to real-world practice.
“The session will provide practical examples of how managing the requirements of different GST/VAT systems will require management of a broad range of business stakeholders including legal, sales, operations, and finance. It will explore the impact of current trends in VAT/GST reforms and also provide illustrations of difficulties in managing any changes to VAT/GST systems.”
Steven will also explore how the future administration of the Australian GST system may be impacted by international developments.
The 2020 National GST Intensive Online – be part of the conversation
Australia's pre-eminent program for GST practitioners and corporate advisory specialists, this year our National GST Intensive is running as a highly flexible series of 3 webinars. Offering a total of 11.25 CPD hours to delegates, it is presented by leading practitioners.
Working with your schedule, delegates can access pre-recorded session content when it suits them, then follow up with interactive webinar sessions to engage with speakers and peers on the topics and ideas raised. You can also choose to register for the whole series, register for any of the three webinar parts, or for individual sessions.
Part 1 of the webinar series launches on Monday 24 August, when content for the three expert sessions is released:
- Session 1: Keynote Address - GST, Tax and Economic Reform in a Post COVID-19 World, presented by Dr John Hewson AM, ANU
- Session 2: Hot Topics, Issues and Tips, presented by Elke Bremner, FTI, Ashurst and Virginia Gogan, Australian Taxation Office
- Session 3: Indirect Tax in the Digital Space: A Domestic and International Perspective, presented by Steven Ren, CTA, Uber
The live Q&A will then take place on Friday 28 August, 11.30am - 12.15pm AEST. Register for Part 1 here or learn more about the rest of the sessions here.
About the presenter, Steven Ren
Steven has almost 10 years of experience advising in indirect taxes across the Asia Pacific region. Currently the APAC Indirect Tax Manager for Uber, he is responsible for advising on the indirect tax implications of new products to be introduced into different markets, managing tax authorities with respect to audits, rulings and data requests, implementation of tax technology solutions, advising on M&A activities and managing indirect tax filings and SOX internal controls.
Prior to joining Uber, Steven was a director at KPMG, advising clients in a range of sectors on indirect taxes.
When he is not advising on indirect tax in the digital age, Steven is a keen traveller and scuba diver. These days, like many of us, he’s enjoying perfecting his baking skills
