The 72nd Congress of the International Fiscal Association (“IFA”) was held September 2-6, 2018 at the Coex Convention Center in Seoul.  

The Congress, which is one of the world’s largest academic conferences with more than 2,000 participants from over 80 jurisdictions, was a forum for tax experts to share and discuss trends in international taxation and the latest tax policies.  

Kim & Chang actively participated in many official IFA events, and was also one of the sponsors for the Seoul Congress.  Our firm also hosted a reception during the Seoul Congress to introduce our global tax practice.  

Jiwon Park, a Kim & Chang attorney, participated as a Secretary for “Subject 2: Withholding Tax in the Era of BEPS, CIVs and Digital Economy.”  During the session, the history, function and limits of withholding tax was introduced as a main IFA Congress subject for the first time, and was followed by a lively discussion on topics such as withholding tax regime in the digital economy, and the application of the withholding method in the era of BEPS.  The session was based on an analysis of Branch Reports submitted by 38 jurisdictions, and contained an outline of each jurisdiction’s withholding tax system.  The Korea Report was prepared by Hae Ma Joong Kim, an attorney at Kim & Chang.

In addition, Michael Quigley, a foreign tax attorney at Kim & Chang, presided as Chair for Seminar B, which focused on “Alternatives to Resolving Tax Disputes” in various countries.  The session first explored the traditional Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) methods and methods specifically designed to handle increasing tax-related disputes (including MAP or APA), and was followed by a discussion on the possibility of dispute resolution through newer methods, such as Collaborative Dispute Resolution (“CDR”) or Supplementary Dispute Resolution (“SDR”).

After the IFA Congress, a Post Seminar was held by IFA Korea, where Kim & Chang attorney, Je Heum Baik, presented on the “Roles and Limitations of Withholding Tax System in Cross-border Transactions.”  Dr. Baik provided an overview of the changing roles of withholding tax in the international tax environment, and introduced some of the major issues arising in international or CIV-involving transactions, and proposed new roles of the withholding tax system.

Also, a Moot Court was held during the Seoul Congress at the Young IFA Network (“YIN”) seminar, at which Kwangseok Oh, a Kim & Chang attorney, participated.  Mr. Oh represented the taxpayer’s position on various issues relating to a fictional company’s tax obligations; he expressed his personal view and opinion on whether the fictional company’s permanent establishment (“PE”) or a place of effective management should be acknowledged, and the most appropriate method of taxation.

Finally, Kim & Chang was also active in contributing papers to the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (“IBFD”), an international tax research institution.  In the Special Edition for this year’s IFA Congress, two articles were published in the Special Edition – “Key Issues and Recent Trends in Criminal Tax Law in Korea” by Dr. Baik, and “Overview of Korean Supreme Court Case Law Regarding Beneficial Ownership” by Jae Chan Park and Im Jung Choi, who are attorneys at Kim & Chang.