EMEA Chapter holds Winter meeting in Madrid: on January 25-27, 2012, TEI's EMEA Chapter held its Winter meeting in Madrid at the offices of Garrigues, the largest legal and tax services provider in Spain and Portugal. Garrigues, which was awarded as the European Law Firm of the Year at the 2011 British Legal Awards, hosted the event as Education Day Sponsor.

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More than 70 European tax professionals participated in the two-and-a-half day event, which was focused on "Responsible Tax Management & Efficient Utilization of Cross-Border Losses." David Penney, TEI International President, joined the EMEA Chapter for the meeting.

On the first meeting day, the Indirect Tax Committee hosted a discussion on the future of VAT with Donato Raponi, Head of Unit, VAT, TAXUD, of the European Commission.

On the second day, the conference began with the Chapter Day: a day of committee meetings, chapter updates, and other presentations. EMEA Chapter President, Lluis M. Fargas, welcomed the participants and provided a general overview of the tax changing environment in Europe.

Next, the chairs of the chapter's committees provided updates on the Institute's advocacy work in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Commission environment on the CCCTB (Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base), as well as on the EU's proposed Tax Directive on Finance Transactions, Carbon Taxes, Energy Taxes on Utilities, and the OECD's Transfer Pricing rules relating to Intangible Property. Afterward, the very much appreciated and valued roundtable sessions took place. Participants had the opportunity to discuss different tax subjects, exchange information, get advice from their peers, and share their experiences dealing with different tax issues and administrations around Europe.

Professor Pasquale Pistone, from the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law in Vienna, spoke about the tax treatment of...