Internation Philanthropy: Creating the Right Climate

Erich Baier Bilanz-Data Wirtschaftstreuhand GmbH Erich Baier is a Certified Tax Advisor in Vienna. He is the owner and CEO of Bilanz-Data Wirtschaftstreuhand GmbH, a tax-law firm in Vienna, which concentrates on domestic as well as international tax-planning. He is also a member of the American Tax Institute in Europe and Deputy President of the Commission on Inheritance and Estate Tax within the International Association of Lawyers.
James Carleton Farrer & Co James specialises in advising charities and other not-for-profit bodies about their UK and overseas operations and has particular expertise in cross border art and heritage law, both in relation to UK and non-UK resident individuals and charitable organisations. James writes and lectures regularly and has had articles published in the International Journal of Cultural Property, Christie's Bulletin for Professional Advisers and Charity Finance.
Richard Cassell Withers LLP Richard has practiced in Washington DC and London. He advises on US and international tax, trust and estate planning and charities and foundations on cross border charitable gifts and structures. Richard regularly speaks at conferences and co-authored a paper for ABA Tax Section on International Estate Tax on partnership interests. He speaks and writes regularly on cross border tax and philanthropy. He is a Member of District of Columbia bar and solicitor, ABA, Law Society, STEP International Committee and the European Association for Planned Giving Advisory Board.
Graham Davies Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Global Trustees Graham Davies is Director of Family Philanthropy and Head of Trust Services at the Charities Aid Foundation. He is a Research Fellow in the field of economic development at Cambridge, and has worked in private banking and trusts. Prior to this he was a management consultant working with the World Bank, OECD, and UNDP. Graham is a specialist in investment, trusts and advising on philanthropy.
Helen Donoghue European Charities' Committee on Value-Added Tax (VAT) Helen has worked on the issue of charity taxation for over twenty years. She is currently the Director of the Charities’ Tax Reform Group (CTRG), set up in 1982 to make representations to the UK Government on charity taxation and it has since become the leading voice for the sector on this issue. She was involved in the formation of ECCVAT in 1992. ECCVAT provides a forum for charities and NGOs to work together to research the impact of VAT and other taxes on the work of NGOs and to make representations to the EU institutions on behalf of the sector.
Ludwig Forrest King Baudouin Foundation Ludwig, a Project Manager at the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels, has been involved with the launch of the Giving in Europe website providing information on legislation and tax regulation in cross border philanthropic transactions. Fostering and simplifying the European cross-border giving environment, creating the right climate for international philanthropy and helping donors and beneficiaries to find effective solutions for cross-border philanthropic intentions are his main objectives.
Dr Dragan Golubovic European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) Dragan Golubovic is a Senior Legal Adviser at the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, an affiliate of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), in Budapest. He previously served as Executive Director of the Human Rights Program at the Central European University in Budapest. Prior to that he lectured on the subject international trade and Corporate Law at the School of Law in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.
Francis Houben Legal & Tax Management SPRL Francis Houben, founder of Legal & Tax Management SPRL and a former KPMG senior manager), is a Brussels-based legal and tax adviser with international expertise in taxation and related matters affecting not-for-profit organisations, especially helping non-profits to set up in Belgium. He specialises in income, inheritance or gift taxes and VAT aspects of cross-border non-profit operations, including advising US not-for-profit entities establishing in Europe. Recently he contributed to the creation of an interactive online cross-border giving database, providing legal and tax information to potential donors, beneficiaries and intermediaries.
Peter Jenkins Ernst & Young Peter Jenkins is Global Head of Indirect Tax at Ernst & Young. Peter is regularly involved in discussions on problems arising with the VAT systems in different member states, developing planning ideas and methodologies, and monitoring current developments, particularly in relation to the establishment of the common system of VAT in the EU. He has taken particular interest in the development of EC case law in relation to VAT and its bearing on national legislation in the member states. Before joining Ernst & Young, Peter had seventeen years experience in Government, serving mainly in HM Customs & Excise, where he was involved in 1972 in the detailed preparations for the introduction of VAT in the United Kingdom from 1973. He also served on secondment in the Treasury, where he was Private Secretary to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Geoffrey Howe. Peter is a recognised Indirect Tax expert, and has contributed many articles to specialist magazines and periodicals, as well as to the national press.
Ineke Koele Van Mens en Wisselink Ineke Koele has been a Partner at Van Mens en Wisselink since 1998, having worked at the company since 1990. She is a Specialist in international tax planning and a regular speaker at both domestic and foreign fora. Currently at the University of Utrecht, Ineke is writing her doctoral dissertation on the subject of the international taxation of philanthropy. She is the author of many publications, especially in the field of international estate planning and charities.
Flemming Kofod-Svendsen Danish Fundraising Association Flemming Kofod-Svendsen has been the Secretary-General of the Danish Fundraising Council (ISOBRO) since November 2001. Previously he was a member of the Council of Europe and a member of the Danish Parliament from 1984-1994 and 1998-2001. He also served as the chairman of the Danish Christian Peoples Party from 1979 to 1990.
László Kovács European Commissioner for Taxation & Customs Union László Kovács has been a member of the European Commission, with responsibility for Taxation & Customs Union, since 2004 when Hungary became an EU member state. Prior to this, he was the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and served as a member of the Hungarian Parliament between 1990 and 2004. In 1995 he was Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Sheila Nordon Irish Charities Tax Research Ltd Sheila Nordon is Executive Director of Irish Charities Tax Research Ltd a sister organisation of the Irish Charities Tax Reform Group (ICTRG) with the specific brief of providing research, information and education on fiscal and regulatory issues that affect charities. Sheila represents ICTRG on the management committee of ECCVAT. She has previously worked at senior management level in local development and the private sector. She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and holds a Masters in Applied Linguistics (Univ. of Reading) and an MBA (University of Ulster).
Stephanie Simonard Cabinet Simonard Stephanie Simonard worked at the Paris office of KPMG Peat Marwick for twenty years before establishing her own practice in 1993, the year she was admitted to the Paris bar. Mrs Simonard’s experience includes close involvement with the negotiations leading to tax agreements between the US and France, in addition to testifying before the US Congress on legislative tax matters, writing numerous tax articles and spoken at countless conferences and seminars on international tax matters. She also prepared a major study for the European Commission on the effects of taxation and social security on executive mobility within the European Union.
Julian Smith Farrer & Co Julian is Farrer & Co's charity and community team's team leader and head of the museums and galleries group. He specialises in advising charities and non-departmental public bodies. He also participates in policy work for the Charity Finance Directors' Group, and is a regular member of CLA Working Parties responding to Charity Commission consultations, on topics ranging from investment to service provision to the voluntary sector. He is also a member of the EAPG Advisory Board. He writes and lectures regularly on matters relevant to charities.
Simon Weil Bircham Dyson Bell Simon, a solicitor in private practice, is Head of Bircham Dyson Bell’s Individuals Group. Having joined the firm in 1978 and become a partner in 1983, he specialises in charities, tax planning, investment property for charities and the resolution of potentially contentious issues arising out of wills, trusts and co-ownership of property for charities and private clients. He sits on the Committee of the Charity Law Association and on the Advisory Board of the European Association for Planned Giving. He is also a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Practitioners. Simon has helped to pioneer the development of real property investment pooling schemes for charities and advised in the creation of the Absolute Return Trust for Charities, the first common investment fund of hedge funds.
Charles Whiddington Field Fisher Waterhouse Charles is a partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse specialising in European and competition law matters. He is the author of many publications and books in the field of European and competition law and is the instigator of the proceedings underlying the Walloon case (concerning the laws in the Belgian province of Walloon that currently discriminate against foreign charity organisations).