Patrícia Souza - Senior Tax Consultant, People Advisory Services - EY

Name: Patrícia Souza

Position: Senior Tax Consultant, People Advisory Services

Company: EY

Professional Background

EY Luxembourg, Senior Tax Consultant, People Advisory Services (Luxembourg): 2018 – Present

Tramontina, Head of Internal Operations (Germany): 2017 – 2017

EY, Senior Tax Consultant, People Advisory Services (Brazil, Germany): 2011 – 2017

Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce, Technology and Business Management Coordinator (Brazil): 2006 – 2011

Career Insider

Q: Why global tax, and how did you get started in the sector?

A: For the past 7 years, I have worked in personal taxation. At the German Chamber I already had many expatriate contacts, although they worked in a completely different field. A former colleague there convinced me to join EY as I always liked the idea of working in an international environment, helping others whilst being exposed to different cultures and backgrounds.

When I started at EY Brazil, I had the opportunity to work in different sectors there and after a year I had the opportunity to be part of the Human Capital department (subsequently renamed People Advisory Services). There we could communicate with the HR teams and provide compliance and immigration services for expats.

Click & Like on LinkedIn

Q: Has your own experience as an expat contributed to your work at EY?

A: Definitely. Although I have always been involved in expats’ communities and have tried to help them in my own country on a personal level, being an expatriate myself helped me to better understand the issues involved in the expatriation process. It also helped me develop my “professional taxation language” so I could better assist those individuals with no knowledge in this field.

Q: What at EY keeps you going to work every day?

A: At EY we are committed to building a better working world. I consider it as an opportunity to make a difference in peoples’ lives. To work with these fascinating people and be part of their personal and professional growth and development, as well as making a difference in our clients’ lives, motivates me to go to work every day.

I’m so proud of having the opportunity to work with a great team at EY Luxembourg whilst staying in touch with my former colleagues in Germany, Brazil and other EY offices from all over the world. They make me a better person and inspire me to become even better every day.

Industry Insider

Q: What aspect of global tax is likely to keep you up at night?

A: The poor understanding of double taxation treaties and how to apply them concretely. For example, in Europe most countries strive to respect them, but in my experience, it is not the case everywhere in the world.

Q: What is the most important strategic tip you can give to companies handling global mobility and taxation?

A: Companies that deal every day with global mobility, such as EY, should work to have mobility of its employees a part of the day-to-day career development for the benefit of their teams. In addition, to have a good mobility advisory support is really a differential. It is our goal to convince our clients to invest in time, people and money for getting adequate mobility advisory services, for it is essential to improving employees’ effectiveness.

Visionary Insider

Q: How can taxation practices in the global mobility industry get better in the next 5 years?

A: I assume that it will evolve a lot with technology. In Brazil for example, all the processes are digital; paper is neither used by our clients nor by the authorities. Even if it is not the case all over the world, I understand however, that the tax authorities are moving over to paperless and this is likely to increase each year. Luxembourg, for example, is striving to go into that direction.

Q: If you had to pick, which aspect of global tax is most needing change?

A: Compliance, because it lags behind in the use of digitalised systems, so the processes are slower.

Q: What are the major developments you currently see happening in the industry, and how do you feel about them?

A: Employee mobility itself can be defined as major development – as there are fewer barriers with the increase in remote working. Companies need to adapt to these changes as well as to tax and immigration laws. A good example is the opportunity for me to work from EY Munich, Luxembourg or Brazil; this wasn’t even thinkable 5 years ago. In our industry, we are working more to introduce technology, while partnering with other global mobility teams.

Either/Or…

• Short-term or long-term assignment? It depends on the business and on the employee.
• Airbnb or serviced apartments? Airbnb with friends, serviced apartment for business
• Excel or global mobility software? Global Mobility software
• Lump-sum or flex-ben? It depends on the needs of the employees and the business
• Facebook or LinkedIn? LinkedIn
• Outlook or Gmail? Outlook
• Taxi or Uber? Uber
• iOS or Android? iOS
• Mac or PC? Mac
• Computer or tablet? Computer
• Work hard or play hard? Work hard to play hard