Adrian Romero (AR): During my studies, I was looking to get involved in a professional career that had a long-term life ahead and one day, reading an article in a business magazine, I found a phrase by Benjamin Franklin that says: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Next day, I applied and became part of the Tax Department of a leading regional firm in Mexico. A couple of years into the job, Transfer Pricing became a hot topic in Mexico so I was among the first people joining that practice, and after that, in 2009 I decided to start Grupo Consultor EFE.

TL: What do you consider your greatest professional achievement so far?

AR: I could say that watching our firm grow firmly each year and having the opportunity to work with hundreds of multinational clients is part of that, but what I really appreciate is not based on the number of offices, staff members or money we make, but the places I have been to and the people I’ve met along the way. This year, our efforts have brought me the opportunity to create and fund a non-profit called “Esperanza Contigo, A.C.,” which manages a foster home in Tijuana with the greatest development plan in our region for kids above four years of age. Sadly, most of these children aren’t going to be adopted by a family, but our home gives them the opportunity to live a happy life and, when they grow older, they will be able to study a professional career that helps them find jobs or launch their own company with our sponsors’ help. I plan to replicate this in future years in other Latin American countries and get more people involved along the way.

TL: Is there anything in particular about taxation in Latin America that interests you?

AR: I can safely say that many, if not all, of the tax systems in Latin America are similar, and some of them are a replica of Mexico’s Tax Law. The most interesting point for me is getting to know the ability of the tax administrations to introduce new laws regarding global topics like money laundering, transfer pricing, electronic invoicing and accounting, among others, and the way local taxpayers react because of cultural and politics issues.

TL: Are there any questions you would like to ask your fellow Latin America tax panellists during the live event?

AR: Yes, specifically what tax topic has been the most relevant in the last couple of years in their country, and what do they think it will be for the following years.

TL: What specific issues regarding taxation in Latin America are you planning on discussing during the live event? Are there any particular aspects you are hoping to analyse further?

AR: As a specialist in Transfer Pricing, I think I can provide good insight on this issue for the Latin American region, plus some general topics that have been very controversial in Mexico, such as electronic accounting, which may end up in other Latin American countries someday.

TL: Are there any other hot topics you would like Taxlinked to address in a future live event?

AR: I think any topic, even if it’s not trending can be very interesting with the participation of the right people, so I would recommend topics related to “Treaty Shopping,” “Intangibles,” “Interests,” etc.

TL: Tell us an interesting fact about yourself – it could be anything you want to share with the community!

AR: I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to be part of this webinar and congratulations for creating this great platform for all of us tax and law professionals around the world. Keep it up!.

Les Recordamos que este 10 de Marzo tendremos la Webinar ¨Taxation in Latin América¨ en donde nuestro socio director será uno de los panelistas invitados.