Angela Savin joins KPMG tax disputes team
KPMG has hired a new partner to its tax disputes team and new directors to its transfer pricing division in the UK as it looks to meet rising demand with more integrated legal and tax services for clients.
Angela Savin joins the Disputes and Investigations team and specialises in the resolution of tax disputes, overseeing some significant and complex cases.
Kriti Velji and Nick Stevart both join as directors in the transfer pricing team having worked on Competent Authority engagement at the New Zealand and the UK Tax authorities respectively. These recruits add to KPMG’s transfer pricing focused disputes team which also includes Peter Steeds, former Head of Transfer Pricing at HMRC; and Graeme Webster, who joined KPMG as a Director in 2018 to focus on Financial Services.
Kriti previously worked at the Inland Revenue Department in New Zealand for 25 years and has worked in transfer pricing and international tax since 2005. She has particular experience in conducting and concluding transfer pricing investigations, negotiating Transfer pricing disputes, concluding Advance Pricing Agreements (APA) and Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP). Kriti’s expertise is global having concluded many bilateral APAs with revenue authorities based in Australia, USA, UK, Korea, Japan and China.
Nick joins after 18 years with HMRC where he led their APA programme and the team of Delegated Competent Authorities working Non-Financial APA and MAP cases. He has also held performing governance roles on APAs and Diverted Profits Tax. Nick represented the UK at the OECD/G20 BEPS Action 14 (‘Making Dispute Resolution Mechanisms More Effective’) discussions and FTA MAP Forum together with Transfer Pricing Competent Authority negotiations across North America, Asia and Europe.
The appointments support the development and growth of KPMG’s tax, pensions and legal practice which grew its revenues by 7% for the financial year ending 30 September 2018, including 41% growth in its legal practice.
Michelle Quest, Head of Tax, Pensions and Legal Services KPMG UK said: “As the international tax environment becomes increasingly complex and inter-connected, we’re seeing a marked increase in scrutiny of transfer pricing and corporate transactions. These hires complement our recent recruitment and bolster the team in enabling us to offer a full service covering all taxes and different global tax authorities.
“Angela’s appointment increases the capacity of our successful disputes and investigations business, ensuring clients receive tax and legal services together, addressing issues such as dispute management and further enabling the tax practice to offer our clients legal advice privilege where appropriate.
“Attracting new joiners to KPMG, a huge tax practice, is testament to the breadth of opportunity that exists from working in a professional services firm which cuts across many different disciplines.”
Angela Savin commented: “Clients are spending more time managing tax disputes, and in particular corporate tax disputes. I’m looking forward to working with my tax colleagues in providing complete solutions which integrate dispute management and litigation services for our clients.”
Angela previously worked at Norton Rose Fulbright as a tax partner focusing on the resolution of tax disputes, overseeing some significant and complex cases, and working across a large number of industry sectors, including capital markets, real estate, and funds. Angela has particular expertise in the resolution of cross board tax disputes, working on matters involving allocation of taxing rights between states, double tax treaties and residence / permanent establishment disputes.
The announcement follows the recent hire of director International Tax Director Jennifer Cooper, who joined KPMG from EY, Alla Fokina who joined as a Transfer Pricing Director from PwC and Trevor Danks, a Transfer Pricing Director who returns to KPMG after spending time in industry.