Chris Needham VAT Director, GE
There are some who say that when a tax director is doing his or her job properly, they should keep quiet about it. Not everyone feels the same. Some tax direc- tors are vocal about tax policy, considering this to be a vital part of their work, and when it comes to indirect tax, there are few more outspoken than Chris Needham.
Perhaps this stems from his rare CV, a tax director who has worked for both a tax authority and one of the Big 4 accounting firms.
Needham has been a leading business figure in the push for European VAT reform.
He likes aspects of the European Commission’s proposals to change VAT rules, such as:
Moving to a destination-based system under the precondition that business gets easy access to information and that an easy to apply broad One Stop Shop (OSS) will be put in place.
More information; an EU webportal on information; more transparency in the
legislative process through a tripartite EU VAT Forum; publishing of VAT Committee guidelines and explanatory notes; and standardisation of VAT obligations and forms.
But dislikes others such as anti-fraud measures that increase the compliance burden on legitimate taxpayers and multiple VAT rates and exemptions.
“Business is the unpaid tax collector for the government and must bear the administration burden,” says Needham. “Legitimate businesses are partners with the authorities, not criminals.”
From: Global Tax 50 International Tax Review
