Limassol – Prof. Dr. Ben J. M. Terra, arguably Europe’s top authority on Value Added Tax (VAT), will join local expert Alexis Tsielepis to present the future of VAT in the European Union (EU) at a high-level seminar in Limassol early next month.
Tilted ‘EU VAT: What the Future Holds’, the seminar is organised by the Chelco VAT International Academy at Columbia Venue Center in Limassol in the morning of 3 May 2018.
Prof. Terra and Tsielepis will present to professionals in Cyprus the European Commission’s Action Plan and the upcoming key reforms of the EU VAT system that are expected to come into force in 2019 and 2021 and the proposed VAT rules for 2022.
They will also offer a rare insight into the definitive EU VAT system, the workings and intentions of the EU Commission, and a prophetic look into what the future of VAT holds.
Referring to the upcoming EU VAT reforms that aim at ensuring the ‘equal treatment of Member States in setting VAT rates,’ Prof. Terra set the tone of the upcoming seminar by saying:
“It seems to me that there is a huge potential for Cyprus to distinguish itself with four reduced rates, including the zero rate, under the new EU Commission’s proposals.”
Picking up on Prof. Terra’s eyebrow-raising quote, Tsielepis labeled the new VAT rules “harmonised but at the same time flexible,” adding that policy makers in Cyprus should move “swiftly and smartly.”
Tsielepis, Managing Director of Chelco VAT Ltd and Lead Instructor of the Chelco VAT International Academy, said that he felt privileged that Prof. Terra accepted his invitation to share his in-depth knowledge and insights of EU VAT with Cypriot professionals.
“I look forward to learning from him and teaching alongside him,” he added.
Prof. Terra studied international law at the University of Amsterdam and indirect taxation at the University of Leiden. He served as Head of Post-Graduate Training in VAT at Customs and Excises at the Ministry of Finance in The Hague, Professor of Law at the University of Leiden and Head of the Global Indirect Tax Practice of a big-four firm.
He has published numerous articles and books on indirect taxation and is also a consultant of the OECD, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. At present Dr. Terra is an indirect tax and European tax law lecturer at the Católica Global School of Law in Portugal and at the Lund University in Sweden.
Tsielepis is widely considered as the foremost expert on VAT in Cyprus. With 15 years of experience in VAT strategic consulting, he advises businesses on international VAT matters and lectures at local and international VAT conferences and schools.
He has written a number of tax syllabuses, chapters, articles and a book on matters pertaining to Cyprus and EU VAT. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds the Expert in European Value Added Tax Degree, which he earned with the highest grade ever awarded in the history of the coveted diploma.
The seminar is open to professionals whose businesses and operations are directly or indirectly affected by VAT, those offering professional services related to VAT and policy makers.
For more information on the seminar, visit www.chelcoVAT.com.
