MR. GUILLERMO M. LUZ Topic: Understanding the ASEAN Economic Community Private Sector Co-Chairman National Competitiveness Council 3rd Floor, Tara Building, 389 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, Philippines,1200 Website: http://www.competitive.org.ph Email address: gm.luz@competitive.org.ph You may direct emails to Ms. Maureen C. Bañaga at m.banaga@competitive.org.ph Guillermo Manuel Luz is the private sector co-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, a public-private body that develops strategy for the long-term competitiveness of the Philippines through policy reforms, project implementation, institution building and performance monitoring. He is associate director of Ayala Corporation, the holding company of one of the oldest and largest business groups in the Philippines, with business activities in real-estate development, banking and financial services, telecommunications, water infrastructure development and management, automotive dealership and distribution, business process outsourcing, electronics manufacturing solutions, and new investments in power, renewable energy and infrastructure. From December 2006 to May 2011, he was executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Ayala Foundation, which manages projects in education, environment, entrepreneurship, arts and culture, and community development. He also served as director of Ayala Museum in 2010 and 2011. He was executive director of the Makati Business Club, a leading business organisation and think-tank, from 1987 to 2006 and served on its staff since 1983 and Secretary-General of NAMFREL from 1992 to 2006.
MR. BART KOSTERS Topic: Experiences in Tax Treaty Negotiations Senior Principal Research Associate Tax Services Department International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) Rietlandpark 301, 1019 DW Amsterdam,The Netherlands Website: http://www.ibfd.org/ Email address: B.Kosters@ibfd.org You may direct emails to Ms. Myra Flaminiano at M.Flaminiano@ibfd.org Mr. Lambert Kosters is a Senior Principal in IBFD. He has extensive expertise on tax policy with respect to the direct tax legislation, legal (tax) drafting, and tax treaties. After obtaining his master s degree in Law from the State University of Leiden in 1988, Mr Kosters started working in the Dutch tax administration where he successfully completed the postgraduate programme for tax inspectors. From 1992 to 2001, he was a senior staff member at the Dutch Ministry of Finance where he was responsible for tax treaty negotiations and application as well as for drafting direct tax legislation. Mr. Kosters is also a frequent instructor for the IBFD International Tax Training and IBFD government training assignments where he develops and provides courses in Principle of International Taxation, International Taxation of Permanent Establishments, Tax Treaties Negotiations Workshop and Avoidance of Double Taxation. He also participates in various IBFD Government consulting assignments and was the Key Expert Taxation in the European Technical Assistance Programme for Vietnam (ETV2). Recently, Mr. Kosters coordinated a study commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to analyze the effects of a number of tax treaties concluded by the Netherlands with developing countries. The aim of the research study was to analyze to what extent tax treaties concluded by the Netherlands with a number of developing countries give room for an unintended use of the treaties, and lead to loss of tax revenue for developing countries as a result of improper use, like a re-routing of investments from third countries via the Netherlands (treaty shopping). Mr. Kosters also lectures international taxation at the Radbout University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Furthermore, he is a permanent contributor on international tax matters for a leading weekly tax magazine in the Netherlands and is a regular speaker at tax conferences.
MS. YARIKA RUANGSIRI Topic: Thailand s Experience in Tax Treaty Negotiations Senior Tax Economist Bureau of Tax Policy and Planning Revenue Department of Thailand. Ms. Ruangsiri proposes policies and legislation regarding international tax issues, including international tax disputes, mutual agreement procedures, anti-avoidance of double taxation agreements, and advance pricing arrangements. She also organizes international training courses, seminars and study visits in Thailand. She is a member of the Thai delegation for negotiations of anti-avoidance of double taxation agreements and the Thai delegation for negotiations of advance pricing arrangements. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom. Ms. Ruangsiri graduated with a Masters of Science (M.Sc.) in Econometrics and a doctorate (Ph. D.) degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. She has graduated from the Thammasat University, Thailand with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB).
MS. CAROLINE MALCOLM Topics: TRACE Project; Audit without Borders; Base Erosion and Profit Shifting; New Standard in Exchange of Information; and Global TIN Counselor to the Director and Deputy Director of the OECD s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2, rue André Pascal 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France Website: http://www.oecd.org/ Email address: caroline.malcolm@oecd.org Ms. Caroline Malcolm, an Australian national, graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (BA). In 2012, Caroline graduated with a Masters of Laws (LLM) specialising in International Taxation from the University of Sydney, having completed her degree with studies at the International Tax Centre at Leiden in the Netherlands, and the University of London. She began working in the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration in January 2010. As an advisor in the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, Ms. Caroline led the Peer Review teams assessing tax transparency issues, including bank secrecy, in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Switzerland and Russia.
MR. WILSON P. TAN Topic: Accounting Standards Partner, Head of Assurance Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV&Co.) 2nd Floor, Elan 3 Building, Roxas E Ave, General Santos, South Cotabato Website: www.sgv.ph Email address: wilson.p.tan@ph.ey.com You may direct emails to Ms. Catherine G. Bautista at Catherine.G.Bautista@ph.ey.com Mr. Wilson is the head of SGV s more than 2,200 strong Assurance Services. He is the lead partner in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and, until July 2013, was the head of the Firm s Accounting Standards Group. He is an active member of Ernst & Young Asia Pacific Accounting Standards Group and a resource partner on financial instruments accounting and first-time IFRS adoption matters of EY Global. He performs financial audits, financial due diligence reviews, IFRS implementation, and structured transaction advisory, among others. He is also the Chairman of the Philippine Interpretations Committee. Wilson has vast experience in performing financial audits as well as IFRS conversion advisory for large companies in various industries such as infrastructure, banking, telecommunications, power generation and distribution, food manufacturing, oil refinery, gold/copper mining, among others. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of the East and a CPA board placer, he was sponsored by the Firm as a scholar to the International Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and graduated at the top 10% of his MBA class. He also attended the Pacific Rim Bankers Program at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA in 2008 and recently participated in the 2013 EY Strategic Leadership for Partners Program in Boston, USA. He is the recipient of Philippine Institute of CPA s (PICPA) Outstanding CPA in Public Practice Award in 2009 and PICPA s Special Achievement in International Professional Involvement in 2012.
MR. DAVID TANSEY Topic: Reducing Inequality Through Taxation Team Leader, Technical Assistance to the Bureau of Internal Revenue Asian Development Bank ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City Mr. Tansey is an international tax policy and administration consultant. David has Bachelor and Master degrees in Taxation, and a Master of Business and Technology degree, all from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is an associate member of CPA Australia. David has worked as consultant to, or employee of, several tax authorities in the Asia-Pacific Region.
MR. JEREMIAS N. PAUL, JR. Topic: Exploring Sustainable Financing for Public Health Undersecretary of the Domestic Finance Group Department of Finance 4/F DOF Building, BSP Complex, Roxas Boulevard corner P. Ocampo Streets, Manila Undersecretary Paul is a seasoned government official, having held various positions in the Department of Finance since 1990. In more than two decades now, he has practically done the rounds of all the units in the Department, including being Assistant Secretary of the International Finance Group and being Undersecretary of the Corporate Affairs Group. Jun Paul now heads the Domestic Finance Group, standing at the helm of government initiatives to reform the country s fiscal and tax systems, including the Sin Tax Reform law which restructures the decades-old Philippine excise tax system for alcohol and tobacco products. Undersecretary Paul is also an internationally recognized expert in corporate governance and energy and water sector reforms, frequently invited to speak at various fora. In 2005-2006, he served as Alternate Executive Director of the World Bank Group in Washington D.C. and spearheaded governance reforms in G-24 when the Philippines was Chair. He holds a Master s degree in International Affairs (Major in Economic Policy Management) from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Science in Industrial Economics and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering degrees from top universities in the Philippines.
MR. GIL S. BELTRAN Topic: Taxation of Extractive Industries Undersecretary of the Policy Development and Management Services Group and Chief Economist Department of Finance 4/F DOF Building, BSP Complex, Roxas Boulevard corner P. Ocampo Streets, Manila Undersecretary Beltran has been an Undersecretary of DOF since 2005, working on a variety of areas including fiscal policy, human resource and operations management, economic policy and research, and financial inclusion policies and strategies. He has been Executive Director of the National Credit Council since 1998. Mr. Beltran graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics in 1982 as class valedictorian from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts and a bachelor s degree in economics cum laude in 1978 from the University of the Philippines. He is also a Visiting Lecturer, University of the Philippines College of Public Administration from 2006 to the present and the Development Academy of the Philippines since 2010. He has held various posts at the World Bank as Alternate Executive Director from January 2003 to January 2005; and Advisor to Executive Director, from February to May 1995 and August to November 1990.
CHAIRPERSON TERESITA J. HERBOSA Topic: The Philippine Capital Market Chairperson Securities and Exchange Commission SEC Building, EDSA, Greenhills, Mandaluyong City Chairperson Herbosa applies the experience she had gained from more than 30 years of private law practice to execute and administer policies, decisions, orders and resolutions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the Philippines, SEC is the principal implementator of two major laws, the Corporation Code and the Securities Regulation Code (SRC). Under the Corporation Code, SEC is the registrar and monitor of all corporations and partnerships, while under the SRC, it is the regulator of all securities and capital markets. Since her appointment in May 2011, Chairperson Herbosa has implemented several significant projects at the SEC including among others the realignment of duties and functions of the operating departments and creating the Information Communication and Technology Department to take care of the automation of public services as well as internal operations of the SEC and the Corporate Governance Division to promote good corporate governance among publicly listed companies and secondary licensees; the acquisition of a new surveillance system to monitor PSE trades in line with the objective of the SRC to protect investors and eliminate insider trading and other fraudulent practices; she has simplified the registration of companies which resulted in the Philippines achieving the highest jump in the 2013 Ease of Doing Business survey conducted by the World Bank; she has proposed amendments to the Corporation Code; she has initiated the transfer of SEC main office to a suitable location within a commercial and business area; and has participated in relevant ASEAN initiatives toward the integration of capital markets in the region.
Chairperson Herbosa has led SEC in the fight against investment scams and written an article on the matter. She also stepped up enforcement actions against market manipulation and other fraudulent activities through investigations on the basis of tips, referrals and complaints and administrative proceedings toward imposition of fines and penalties, and the filing of criminal complaints. As head of SEC, she has strengthened inter-governmental cooperation by forging MOAs with several other government agencies on ease of doing business, exchange of information, facilitating endorsements relative to applications for incorporation, and prevention of fraud in procuring business registration. Apart from her job at the SEC, by law, Chairperson Herbosa is a member of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), heads the Business and Economic Sector of the Office for Competition under the DOJ, and is Chairperson of the Credit Information Corporation, a GOCC, which is the central credit bureau of the country. Chairperson Teresita J. Herbosa graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts cum laude and Bachelor of Laws cum laude from the University of the Philippines. She obtained her Master of Comparative Law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
MR. SHANAKA JAYANATH PEIRIS Topics: Code of Conduct for Granting Tax Incentives Tax Policy and Growth Drivers Resident Representative International Monetary Fund Rm 407 5-Storey Building BSP Complex A. Mabini Street, Malate Manila 1004 Tel Nos.: 632 708-7484/ 708-7793 Fax No.: 632 708-7483 Mr. Peiris was a Senior Economist in the Asia and Pacific Department, and Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the IMF covering ASEAN and South Asia, respectively. During the last 12 years at the IMF, he has also worked on Eastern and Southern Africa, Vietnam and Yemen. He joined the Economist Program at the IMF in 2001 after completing his D. Phil (PhD) and a lectureship in Economics at Oxford University. Earlier on, he interned at Deutsche Bank A.G. and the World Bank. He has published academic journal papers on a wide range of topics including monetary policy and inflation, bond markets, banking and finance, macroeconomic models for emerging markets and co-authored a book on Post-Stabilization Economics in Sub- Saharan Africa.
MR. BILL GARDNER Topics: Consumption Taxes vs. Income Taxes: Which is more equitable Subsidy vs. Tax Relief in Pursuit of Inclusive Tax System Chief of Party Philippines Facilitating Public Investment Mr. Gardner has been working in development for more than 30 years, specializing in effective tax policies, tax administration systems, and financial management systems for economies in transition. He has previously served as Chief of Party on projects in Armenia, Egypt, and Kyrgyzstan. Under his direction, each of these projects achieved significant successes the development, enactment, and implementation of the first comprehensive new tax code established through a democratic legislative process in Kyrgyzstan; the complete structuring of the Armenian tax administration system in concert with the development of an automated tax system; and the implementation of an integrated Model Tax and Customs Center in Egypt that led the way to future integration of the Sales Tax and Income Tax Departments. Prior to his work on development projects, Bill held a number of roles in local government affairs including as an economist on the revenue estimating staff of the Joint Committee of Taxation of the U.S. Congress and in the Office of Revenue Estimating and Economic Analysis of the Kentucky Revenue Cabinet. Ph.D. coursework, economics, University of Kentucky B.A., economics, Johns Hopkins University
Kim S. Jacinto Henares Commissioner Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Atty. Kim S. Jacinto Henares was appointed as Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in July 2010. Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Henares was Senior Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank Group, where she acted as Co Convenor, for an in behalf of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), for the Growth and Investmentt Climate Working Group of the Philippine Development Forum, a group created to establish the national strategy for increasing growth and improving the investment climate in the Philippines. She also implemented, supervised and monitored the World Bank s National Program Supporting Tax Administration Reform (NPSTAR) a US$11 Million loan package granted to the BIR to implement reforms in tax administration. Commissioner Henares was Deputy Commissioner for the Special Concerns Group of the BIR from August 2003 November 2005, and was a consultant to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue from January to August 2003. As an international development and legall consultantt to notable international organizations, she served as the trade expert to the EU funded ASEAN Single Window Project; as the international law expert to the USAID funded project for the development of the Philippines national strategy of accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention; as a consultant to the Change Management Component of the AUSAID funded Philippine Judicial Reform Project; and as the Large Taxpayers Unit Advisor to the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan. She has also served the Philippine Governmen nt in other capacities, most notable as a Governor of the Board of Investments; as Chair of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority; as a Director of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation and the National Power Corporation; and as a Representative of the Secretary of Trade and Industry to the Investmentt Coordinating Committee. Recently, she was appointed as a Member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, and will serve in this capacity until June 2017. A Certified Public Accountant and member of the Philippine Bar, Commissioner Henares academic background is highly distinguished, and covers both the accounting and legal professions. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, major in Accounting, from De La Salle University, and her Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. She obtained her Master of Laws degree, major in International and Cooperative Law, at Georgetown University, and has taken further studies at Canada s University of New Brunswick, McGill University, and the University of Toronto.
MR. NORITAKA AKAMATSU Topic: Capital Market Taxation Deputy Head Office of Regional Economic Integration (OREI) Asian Development Bank Mr. Akamatsu is also concurrently the Chair of Financial Sector Community of Practice and leads ADB-wide financial sector operations. At OREI, he leads works to support financial cooperation and integration initiatives of ASEAN and ASEAN+3. He serves as Co-chair of the Steering Committee for Capacity Building under the ASEAN Central Bank Forum. Prior to joining ADB, he was a staff member of the World Bank for over 20 years. From 09/2005 to 03/2009, he was the Bank s Finance & Private Sector Program Manager for Vietnam and Capital Market Advisor for East Asia & Pacific (EAP) Region. At the headquarters in Washington, he as Lead Financial Economist led Capital Markets Group of the Bank s Financial Sector Network anchor. He was a member of the Bank s crisis management team at the time of Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and has participated in the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) of the Bank IMF for various countries including the Philippines. He worked extensively on Central and Eastern Europe as well as Asia and has also been exposed to Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked for Nomura Research Institute in Tokyo and London. He holds MBA (Finance) from the University of Chicago and MSc in Economics from London School of Economics.