TITLE: LATAM Tax Manager
Location: Bogotá (Colombia) OR Mexico City (Mexico)
Flexible Working / Hybrid - Office and Remote combination

Why BT Business

With over 175 years of heritage, BT is now the flagship business brand of BT Group. We’ve brought together our best people and capabilities into a B2B powerhouse serving 1.2 million business customers internationally.

We’re a global leader for secure connectivity and collaboration platforms for businesses of all shapes and sizes, from big household names and government departments, right through to sole traders and new start-ups. But it’s not just the technology that matters, it’s what it can do to help them build stronger, smarter, more secure businesses.

We value diversity and inclusion and believe in making a positive impact. We connect for good by championing digital inclusion and equipping people, businesses, and communities with digital skills to thrive.

As a member of our team, you will be part of an organisation that celebrates difference, fosters innovation and provides you with opportunities to be your best. With millions of businesses relying on us daily, joining BT means you can be part of a diverse and multi-skilled team that makes a significant impact to society.

Key Purpose of the Role:

The role will be a key part of the Lat Am Finance team, primarily managing all of BT’s tax compliance in all Lat Am countries that BT operates in except for Brazil. The role with all provides tax support for c. 20 countries with primary operations in Colombia and Mexico. A team of 3 tax professionals located in Buenos Aries, Bogota and Mexico City will report into the Lat Am tax manager. The compliance obligations include all direct taxes, indirect taxes and in some territory’s employment taxes. This role will include managing the preparation of internally and externally produced tax returns and driving process efficiencies. The role will be to develop a strong working relationship with finance and commercial teams across the region with the aim of optimising the tax efficiency of business decisions in the Lat Am Region. The role will report to the Business Tax Lead.

The candidate should be capable of becoming a key player in the business and support to the Lat Am region.

You’ll have the following responsibilities

This individual will be responsible for the following key tasks:

• Developing/maintaining Lat Am’s accounting control environment to improve the quality of finance processes that support tax compliance obligations, including documented procedures, standard processes, use of the GFSS team and reconciliation of group reporting to local statutory accounts.

• Provide support to global bid teams on tax aspects of bids.

• Working with Group Tax to inform and implement:

• Working with the Business and Group Tax leads to assist in development of the Lat Am tax agenda, identifying opportunities and managing risk

• To provide expert direct/indirect tax advice to the Lat Am business and BT partner organizations and make recommendations following negotiations with tax authorities on technical liability, compliance and operational tax matters across a wide range of subjects including product liability, property, international trading, mergers and acquisitions.

• Responding to day-to-day enquiries in respect of all aspects of tax both orally and in writing, and issuing accounting instructions and guidance where appropriate.
• Minimise Lat Am tax costs, both in terms of taxes paid and also external costs of compliance.

• Manage direct and indirect tax compliance, tax payments, filing and tax accounting.

• Providing support to Lat Am Finance in preparation of financial statemen

• Communication of tax ideas and concepts to the business community, and proactive involvement in the business to ensure that the business understand and complies with tax protocols.

• Minimise transfer pricing risk by working with colleagues in Group Tax and external advisers to obtain suitable comparable and documentation of our transfer pricing processes.

• Manage internal transactions, seeking to ensure that assets are owned in the correct entities, intercompany agreements are in place, and charges are raised in accordance with these

• Ensure proper and effective handling of all tax audits such that they are satisfactorily resolved, and that tax exposures are appropriately calculated and provisioned for.

• Providing tax support to sales/accounts teams on bids and new contracts, ensuring mitigation of taxes from cost/pricing perspectives, and that any internal tax costs that do arise are factored into our prices.

• Provide support and advice regarding the structuring of acquisitions and disposals, drafting of agreements and related matters, and eventual implementation.

• Assist with company rationalisations, including the business integration and elimination of surplus entities

• Customer contracts – Advice on structuring transactions to avoid Permanent Establishment issues and minimise the tax costs, particularly irrecoverable VAT and withholding taxes. Drafting of wording relating to tax matters and negotiating tax clauses with the customer

Indirect taxes (Andean Regional)

• Provide advice on the indirect / GST / VAT requirements for new billing and accounting systems in conjunction with BT Revenue Assurance teams and BT Operate and Design.

• Point of contact for other indirect taxes (.E.g. Stamp taxes, property taxes, environmental taxes etc).

• Provision of technical tax support to project teams as needed.

• To support the Business Tax Lead in managing overseas VAT and sales tax matters.

• Minimisation of the country’s indirect tax costs, both in terms of taxes paid and external costs of compliance.

• Manage country indirect tax compliance, tax payments, filing and tax accounting.

• Investigation, validation and payment of VAT assessments issued by tax authorities. Negotiation with same for assessment reductions/withdrawals as necessary.

• Compilation and submission of Voluntary Disclosures to tax authorities.

• Identify VAT planning opportunities and implement these within lines of business.

• Implementing local in-country tax control frameworks as part of the global tax control framework.

• Communication of tax ideas and concepts to the business community, and proactive involvement in the business to ensure that the business understand and complies with tax protocols.

• Winning new business – Provide assistance to bid and sales teams to ensure that new business is structured in a tax efficient manner as part of the winning new business process to providing enduring benefits to BT and its customers and suppliers.

• Intercompany Agreements – working with colleagues in Group Tax BT to agree the appropriate inter-company trading models with the business.
• Internal Transactions – seeking to ensure that assets are owned in the correct entities, and charges are raised in accordance with the Intercompany Agreements. Providing analysis and advice on the impact of new VAT legislation and rulings from European tax authorities and courts. To advise on the implementation of such rulings and legislation.

You’ll have the following skills and experience

Experience

• Experience and exposure to the cross-border tax issues inherent in a multinational business.
• Track record of successful integrating within a business environment to provide commercially focussed tax advice.
• Lat Am regional telecommunications tax experience and willingness to travel occasionally within the region and further as necessary

Skills

• Excellent communications and interpersonal skills with capacity to explain complex tax concepts in an accessible and businesslike manner.
• Energetic and resilient.

• Ability to manage external advisors.
• Ability to deal with tax authorities in the region.
• Recognised university degree.
• Professionally qualified accountant; ideally with a Big 4 tax training.
• Commercially focussed with the ability to construct workable solutions to business situations.
• Pragmatic and self-motivated with an ability to operate effectively within a working relationship with finance and sales personnel based on trust and successful delivery.
• Ambitious with a passion to contribute effectively to the business
• Strategic mindset with the ability to form and build relationships with senior executives across the businesses

Language Requirements

• Excellent verbal and written English language skills

Benefits

BT offers a superior global and diverse culture that fosters health and wellness for their employees.

• Competitive salary and on-target bonus plan
• Training and development opportunities
• Career progression in BT Security and across BT with our internal development programme
• Annual leave as per the local country leave agreement

BT values and supports diversity in all its manifestations. We want our workforce to fully represent the communities and customers we serve, because a diverse business is a better business. We value every colleague, their diversity, and the contribution they make. We do not allow any form of discrimination on the basis of race, age, gender, skin color, nationality, religion, sexual preference, physical or mental disability, and/or any other group protected by law. When we say you’re welcome at BT, we really mean it.

Who is BT Group
We're the leading communications provider with customers in 180 countries. Across the world we enable customer's digital transformations so they can thrive. Our focus is simple: be the global provider-of-choice for managed network and IT infrastructure services.