Mr. Sai Ree Yun, Managing Partner of Yulchon, Chaired the Plenary Session at IFA 2018 Seoul
2018.09.06.
The International Fiscal Association (IFA) held its 72nd Annual Congress in Seoul, Korea, from the 2nd to the 6th of September 2018. The main topics discussed were "Seeking anti-avoidance measures of general nature and scope - GAAR and other rules" and "Withholding tax in the era of BEPS, CIVs and digital economy" along with a variety of seminars of current interest in the tax world.
Mr. Sai Ree Yun, Managing Partner of Yulchon LLC, chaired the plenary session of the Congress that addressed one of the main topics, "Seeking anti-avoidance measures of general nature and scope - GAAR and other rules" on the 3rd of September.
Mr. Yun began the session with a presentation that provided a high-level overview of GAARs (“general anti-avoidance rules”), noteworthy GAAR cases, and discussed the real-world consequences arising from the application of GAAR.
The panel, which included some of the world’s leading tax professionals such as Philippe Martin, the President of the French Conseil d’Etat (Supreme Administrative Court) and Judith Freedman, Professor of Taxation Law at Oxford University, held an in-depth discussion on the general nature of GAARs, including the purpose, scope and requirements of GAARs and an analysis of the interactions between GAARs, specific anti-avoidance rules, and international GAARs.
Mr. Yun concluded the session by remarking that if a jurisdiction"s tax ecosystem is not ready, the jurisdiction should not adopt a GAAR, and if a GAAR is adopted, safeguard measures to protect taxpayers’ interests should also be adopted.
Established in 1938, IFA is the only non-governmental and non-sectoral international organization dealing with fiscal matters. IFA promotes the study and advancement of international and comparative law in regards to public finance, with a specific focus on international and comparative fiscal law and the financial and economic aspects of taxation.
Today, IFA has grown to be a truly global association with more than 12,900 members from 114 countries. Its annual congress is one of the most notable events for tax professionals worldwide, offering a valuable platform to exchange views on tax policy reforms and providing a forum for the comparative analyses of different tax models.
Mr. Yun, noting the particular importance of this event being held in Seoul, said, “The 2018 IFA 72nd Annual Congress in Seoul was an invaluable opportunity for Korea to present its advanced tax system and tax administration capabilities to the world and provides an insight for Korean companies to understand global tax trends and take appropriate actions to meet the challenges ahead.”
As an official sponsor of the Congress, Yulchon hosted a Cocktail Reception on 5 September at its office with more than 300 tax professionals attending the event and enjoying a pleasant networking evening.
