On the 16th of December, in the RPA auditorium Miguel Klingenberg, Managing Partner Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Spain, and Professor Saldanha Sanches together with Patrick Dewerbe and Nuno Pena, RPA tax partners, debate the introduction of IAS in Portugal and in Spain.

The “Tax Iberian Meeting: IAS Tax Implications” will take place at the Rui Pena, Arnaut & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, RL (RPA) auditorium, on the 16th of December, at 2.30 p.m. The conference will have Professor Saldanha Sanches, well known tax expert, Miguel Klingenberg, tax partner and managing partner of Fresfields Bruckhaus Deringer Madrid, Nuno Pena and Patrick Dewerbe, RPA tax partners.

The Portuguese Government budget for 2009 includes provisions to the adapted ate the tax legislation to the transition from local GAP to IAS.. “This change will have a tax impact that we need to understand and determine. With this meeting we think we can contribute for the debate on the tax implications resulting from the transition to IAS.  In Portugal we haven’t seen much discussion addressing this topic, and I think that the Spanish lived experience in 2008 will be a very important tribute for the Portuguese debate looking forward 2010”, says Saldanha Sanches.

“The IAS was introduced in Spain this year and we’ve checked important tax implications. Our experience will allow knowing advantages and difficulties of this tax and legal change” recognizes Miguel Klingenberg.

Patrick Dewerbe adds that “this meeting will be a privileged forum to promote reflection and debate about a little discussed issue, but with relevant tax implications in Portugal. It will be interesting to collect the Spanish experience to forecast what can happen in Portugal with the contribution of Professor Saldanha Sanches. The professor is the person that in Portugal has been following the implications between tax and accounting, and more specifically those resulting from the transition to IAS”.

Professor José Luís Saldanha Sanches has a PhD in Law from the Lisbon Law School and he is a professor and a jurisconsult in tax law, tax balansheet and accounting, finance law and public finance.
Among different functions he had in parallel with his academic career, the highlight goes to the representation of the finance minister in the Monti Commission for the European tax harmonization, in 1996. Between 2000 and 2005 he was member of the revision commission. Saldanha Sanches is the author of several papers and articles and he is one of the most well know Portuguese tax experts.

Miguel Klingenberg is the managing partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Spain and  the partner responsible for the Spanish Tax practice.  He is an expert in Spanish and international tax law.  During more than 25 years, he has advised on the tax aspects of acquisitions, reorganizations and sales of listed and non listed companies, real estate and finance transactions, including the financing of all kinds of assets, structured debt issuances, securitisations, tax for structured products and derivatives.   He has a Law and Business Administration degree from Universidad Pontifica Comillas (ICADE, E-3) and is a member of Asociación Española de Derecho Financiero and the International Fiscal Association.

Nuno Pena has a law degree at the Portuguese Catholic University and a post degree in fiscal and management at the Tax and Fiscal Superior Studies Institute. Founding partner of RPA, Nuno’s main practice areas include civil, commercial and corporate litigation and taxation – national and international tax planning and tax litigation. In 2004 he has received from the Portuguese Bar Association the Specialist Lawyer title in Fiscal Law.

Patrick Dewerbe has a law degree at the Portuguese Catholic University and he attended a master course in account in the Business and Work Sciences Superior Institute. Between 2000 and 2003 he was head of the Portuguese Tax Desk of Ernst & Young LLP in New York. He joined RPA in 2007 as partner. Patrick’s main practice areas consist of cross border transactions, corporate reorganizations, tax based structured finance, real estate tax planning and more recently balance tax and IAS.