It pays to have a career in taxation

There is a surge in demand for taxation professionals. As more and more Indian companies go global and a large number of multinationals set up shop here, the demand for tax professionals—especially those with exposure to international taxation—is soaring.

Taxation professionals play a crucial role in the global tax compliance strategy of large corporations, especially in managing their global tax risk, reporting and compliance obligations. Says Sudhir Kapadia, Head (Tax & Regulatory Services), KPMG India: “Companies in emerging markets such as India and China look for optimal tax solutions to deal with increasing tax complexities and rising tax competition among countries.”

The work areas for these professionals include: global direct/indirect tax compliance issues, managing tax risks in mergers and acquisitions to ensure that cash flows are optimised, transfer pricing compliance in areas such as intercompany pricing arrangements between related business entities (including transfers of intellectual property), among others.

Analysts believe that the demand for taxation professionals in the industry will grow at a moderate pace—one reason being that the role of the tax department in any company is limited to a support function, i.e., it’s not revenue earner.

However, at the same time, the need for such professionals will grow exponentially in tax consultancy firms. “It is critical to the success of any global tax compliance strategy to have the right people, with the right skills, focussed on the right issues at the global and local levels.

Companies need quality tax resources and for that they outsource their tax needs to global taxation consultancies like the Big Four— Ernst & Young, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, KPMG and Deloitte,” says Saket Jain, Partner, Vito India, a firm that specialises in financial services recruitments.

Fact box Who’s hiring: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and BMR & Associates, among others Who’re they hiring: Chartered Accountants, indirect tax lawyers, and, in some cases, people with certificate courses in international tax At what levels: At all levels; most jobs are available at the middle level. In consultancies, professionals join at the level of Associate Managers and Assistant Managers (two years of work experience), Managers (four-to-five years of work experience), Senior Managers (six-to-seven years of work experience) and Partners (10 or more years of work experience) At what salaries: Associate Managers start at Rs 5-7 lakh per annum while Assistant Managers get around Rs 8-10 lakh p.a. Managers can earn between Rs 15 and Rs 25 lakh p.a. Senior Managers can get upwards of Rs 50 lakh p.a. Partners get to earn above Rs 1 crore p.a. plus perks and other benefits What are the numbers like: It is expected that the demand for taxation professionals will grow at 10 per cent annually. Incidentally, the Big Four currently employ around 3,000 tax professionals in India