Operational Taxes

Beyond compliance: Shaping the future of tax operations

Your gateway to the latest insights, regulatory updates, and technology-driven solutions in the world of operational tax. Explore our expertise across the full spectrum of operational tax challenges, from compliance and reporting to digital transformation and withholding tax recovery.

Crypto Asset Reporting & DAC8

Get ready for CARF & DAC8: Stay ahead in crypto asset tax compliance:

Assess and interpret crypto reporting obligations for each relevant market, providing tailored guidance based on your operations and entity structure.
Review business activities to identify in-scope products, transactions, and nexus considerations, ensuring all reportable events are accurately captured.
Implement robust onboarding and data collection processes, addressing potential data gaps and streamlining compliance workflows.

Harness Advanced Technology for Seamless Compliance:

Integrate advanced technology, including AI-enabled data quality checks and seamless blockchain connectivity, to enhance data integrity and reporting efficiency.
Prepare, validate, and submit all required reports in line with local standards, and manage follow-up queries from authorities efficiently.
Deliver real-time dashboards and management information for comprehensive oversight across jurisdictions.

Future Trends:

Continuously monitor regulatory updates and emerging trends, such as asset tokenisation and decentralised solutions.
Ensure your compliance processes remain future-proof amid evolving international requirements.

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FATCA / CRS

FATCA and CRS are global standards, for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI). FATCA was introduced first by the US Internal Revenue Service and is implemented via a series of intergovernmental agreements, with the CRS being developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and implemented via local legislation in participating jurisdictions. Both standards aim to minimise offshore tax evasion by creating enhanced due diligence and information reporting requirements.

The OECD have recently published CRS 2.0 which will go live at the discretion of individual jurisdictions over the next few years. This introduces significant changes, bringing new financial institution types into scope and increasing the information required to be reported.

Our services support financial institutions in meeting these obligations, including:

Legal Entity Classification - We can help you by reviewing your entire group to determine the entity classification of each entity. When we do this, we also outline the follow up actions and compliance requirements as a result of the classification. We can also complete the relevant documentation (e.g. W-Series forms or self-certification forms on your behalf so that you can be confident that you are providing counterparties with valid and accurate documents.
Account Holder Due Diligence - We can help by outlining the documentation requirements and giving clear guidance as to how best to optimize the validation and reasonableness process. We can work with you to integrate our solutions into your onboarding and data management processes, clearing the way for straight through processing and accurate reporting.
Reporting - Our reporting tool can ingest the full account holder population and, based on the classification and tax residency details, determine the reportable population to produce the necessary XML files. We also check for data integrity and highlight any potential gaps or data quality issues. We can file the annual returns with the local tax authorities on your behalf.
Compliance Program - We can help you implement the necessary compliance program and establish clear policies and procedures. We are also able to perform periodic reviews of compliance by reviewing the implementation of the procedures, alongside a sample review of account holder documentation and classification.

The Central Electronic System of Payment Information (CESOP) is an EU reporting obligation introduced under Council Directive 2020/284 to strengthen the fight against VAT fraud in cross-border e-commerce. It requires payment service providers (PSPs) operating in the EU to collect and report data on certain cross-border payments to national tax authorities, which is then shared with a central EU database (CESOP). This reporting obligation went live in 2024 and is relevant for financial institutions holding a PSD2 payments/banking license for specific payment services such as credit transfers, direct debits, card payments, and e-money payments.

How we can help

PwC supports organisations with end-to-end CESOP readiness and compliance, combining regulatory expertise with technology solutions. Key areas of support include:

Impact assessments to determine whether and how CESOP applies to a business.
Data and process design to identify, capture and structure the required payment data for reporting.
Technology and reporting solutions to help automate data collection, validation and CESOP filings.
Regulatory and tax advisory on compliance, governance and operational implementation across multiple jurisdictions.
By leveraging its tax, regulatory and technology capabilities, PwC helps payment service providers prepare for CESOP reporting, implement compliant processes and manage ongoing reporting obligations efficiently. PwC can help organisations both with setting up their CESOP reporting process in-house as well as offer a full managed service where PwC will take on your raw data, apply data validations and CESOP logic to identify reportable payments, generate the XML reports and submit on your behalf.

European Investor Tax Reporting

We offer robust European investor tax reporting solutions, helping funds comply with diverse local requirements across major jurisdictions such as the UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Our services include:

Identifying and managing investor tax reporting obligations for each country’s specific regime.
Analysing fund structures and investor bases to determine which reporting rules apply, and providing tailored guidance on registration, eligibility, and ongoing compliance.
Calculating and certifying required tax figures (like equity ratios and deemed distributed income) to support accurate reporting.
Preparing and submitting tax reports to authorities and data hubs, coordinating with tax representatives, and ensuring all deadlines are met.
Supplying investors with detailed tax breakdowns and statements, enabling access to local exemptions or special regimes (e.g., PEA in France, PIR in Italy, BTIS in Belgium).
Monitoring legislative changes and updating processes so funds stay compliant as rules evolve.

Download our EITR Document

Stamp and transaction taxes are a key consideration for any institution that is active in the securities markets.

Our global network of specialists can support you to ensure you are compliant with the relevant regimes across the markets in which you operate, whilst appropriately minimising the cost of such taxes through accessing available exemptions and reliefs.

We advise institutions ranging from banks and brokers through to funds and asset managers, covering the full range of product and transaction types.

Key areas of support include the following:

Helping clients to understand which transaction taxes apply in their current or planned business activities, the related compliance obligations and accessing available exemptions.
Health checks to ensure that transaction tax obligations are being dealt with appropriately.
Designing and implementing operating and governance models to manage transaction tax risk, and to ensure efficient and accurate compliance.
Identifying and quantifying transaction taxes arising under fund transitions and helping clients to accessing available exemptions to minimise tax cost.

Withholding Tax & Reclaims

Withholding tax (WHT) leakage, inconsistent treaty application and complex reclaim processes continue to create financial drag, operational risk and investor dissatisfaction across European portfolios.

PwC’s Withholding Tax & Reclaims solution combines technology-enabled data processing, automated validation and local technical expertise to deliver a controlled, efficient and scalable approach to WHT relief and recovery. Our core capabilities include:

Automated WHT validation
Reclaim opportunity identification
Standardised reclaim processing
Tax document completion
Local technical review & submission
Transparent tracking and reporting

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ECJ Withholding Tax Reclaims

European Court of Justice (ECJ) reclaims represent a significant opportunity for global asset managers, pension funds, sovereigns and other investors to recover withholding tax suffered in breach of EU free movement principles. The value of ECJ reclaims across a portfolio can be substantial and of considerable importance to investors.

Core Capabilities:

Reclaim identification and cost-benefit analysis
Comparability analysis and technical argumentation
End-to-end claim filing and management
Claim resolution strategy
Local specialist engagement
Transparent tracking and oversight

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Global information exchange regimes demand rigorous operational tax processes. Our QI compliance services deliver the documentation standards, procedures, and regulatory foresight your organization needs to remain complaint in an evolving landscape.

Documentation, Tax Withholding & Reporting

Providing full-service review of customer documentation to determine applicable tax rates, and assist in preparing or reviewing documentation packages for upstream withholding agents.
Assisting QIs in designing in-house customer documentation review procedures, including regulatory checklists and change of circumstances monitoring.
Reviewing and commenting on Forms 1042, 1042-S, 945, and 1099, including reconciliations to source data where available.
Assistance in the filing of the above, and related forms.

QI Periodic Reviews

Conduct independent periodic reviews in accordance with the IRS requirements, including sample-based testing of accounts and transactions. Provision of periodic review report which is used by the QI when the Responsible Officer submits the three-year periodic certification to the IRS.
Assessing eligibility and assistance in the application for a waiver from the periodic review.
It is recommended to start the periodic review in January of the year following the year selected as the periodic review year.

Health Checks

Identify structural discrepancies in the design and execution of the QI processes and controls, and advise on how to (i) cure discrepancies as well as (ii) provide comments on how to improve from both an operational and customer journey perspective.
Analysis on processes, controls, work instructions and tooling to identify gaps, remediation steps, and advise on customer experience and operational excellence.
Assistance in drafting or updating processes and work instructions, including identification of logical controls.
It is recommended to conduct a health check in the year of, or prior to the selected periodic review year. This is so that the QI has a chance to remediate certain failures before the periodic review, thereby improving their position with the IRS.

Ad-hoc Technical Support

Provide you with a detailed response to any QI or US tax withholding and reporting questions that you may have.
Training workshops designed for the needs of your organisation. Access to the international PwC network means your training program can be matched to fit your global needs.