International Tax Service Providers

[Dave DeJonge]

We are reviewing our existing local/global foreign tax service providers. I would appreciate any responses.

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)?

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so?

3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)?

Thank you in advance.


Ben Alonzo, CPA
Global Tax|Accounting Manager
State Board of Administration of Florida
1801 Hermitage Blvd | Tallahassee, FL 32308
Phone: (850) 413-1467 | Fax: (850) 413-1465

[Dave DeJonge]

We do use an international tax service provider for markets requiring a tax consultant. We just hired three of the 4 big firms to participate in a consultant pool. You can contact Dino Patiag with any questions.

Kristina Taylor, CPA
Washington State Investment Board
Investment and Financial Services Director
(360) 956-4720

[Dave DeJonge]

Ben,

We use several tax service providers depending on the location:

Australia – KPMG: tax reclaims, we contract with them on an as need basis only;
India – Jayant Ghevaria & Co: annual tax return, we have contracted with them since 2010;
Romania – KPMG: we are required to file on a quarterly basis all transactions of Romanian securities, we have contracted with them since 2013;
Taiwan – Think-Do Better Tax Consulting Ltd: annual tax return, we have contracted with them since 2012.

For additional background on tax reclaims, our custody bank handles all tax reclaims. We hired KPMG for a couple of tax events that occurred with one of our alternative investments (Infrastructure) over a two year period.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

G Alan Myers
Portfolio Manager |Public Securities & Credit |NM Educational Retirement Board
(505)946-1988 |1596 Pacheco St. Suite #107 | Santa Fe, NM 87505 |alan.myers@state.nm.us

[Dave DeJonge]

We are reviewing our existing local/global foreign tax service providers. I would appreciate any responses.

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)? SWIB is considering the use of an external tax service provider.

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so?

• SWIB has representation in India (E&Y) for a tax return. Note - for India it must be prepared in country. This service has been in place for more than a decade.
• Our custodian does assist with certain reclaims.
• For certain US based LLCs, SWIB or a local CPA firm will file tax returns
• Various, less complicated, tax related forms are completed by SWIB staff

3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)? See above.

Cindy Griffin
Fund Accounting & Private Markets Manager
121 E. Wilson St., Madison WI 53703
P.O. Box 7842, Madison WI 53707
(p) 608.266.9136

[Dave DeJonge]

I received your email from Chuck and Dave. Please see my responses below.

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)?

Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund does use foreign tax service providers globally.

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so?

CTPF uses Jayant Ghevaria & Co. (Chartered Accountants) in India (Since 2010) and KPMG Limited in Taiwan (Since 2007).

Jayant Ghevaria & Co. (Chartered Accountants)
22 D/115, Motlibai Wadia Bldg, S.A.Brelvi Road, Fort,
Mumbai - 400 001 India.

Carolyn Lai
Tax & Investment Department
KPMG
68F, TAIPEI 101 TOWER, No.7, Sec. 5,
Xinyi Road, Taipei 11049, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

Note: We may have used Jayant Ghevaria & Company before 2010, but records go back to 2010 when I began saving the returns.


3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)?

They provide the following services:
• Annual Income Tax Return Preparation
• Filing on Annual Income Tax Returns
• Payment of Taxes Owed or Tax Payment Returns
• Calculation Income Gains/Losses
• Audits and verification of Tax Returns with Tax Authorities

Let me know if I can be of any additional assistance.

Thanks,


Angela Miller-May | Chief Investment Officer | Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund
203 N. Lasalle Street, Suite 2600, Chicago, IL 60601-1210
millermaya@ctpf.org | T 312-604-1403 | F 312-332-3346

[Dave DeJonge]

We are reviewing our existing local/global foreign tax service providers. I would appreciate any responses.

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)? We currently have two providers. One for India and one for Taiwan.

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so? India we use EY and Taiwan we use KPMG.

3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)? For India EY does returns, tax payment calcs, reclaims and withholding reviews. We are no longer directly invested in Taiwan but we still retained the contract with KPMG. There is no fee for KPMG unless we use them.

Note:
MN SBI issued a new RFP this last fall for Foreign Tax Services and we will be going to one vendor. Since the contract is not finalized, we cannot announce the vendor yet. However, with this RFP we expanded from India to include other markets where a presence of an accounting firm is required to be in the market place. We also added a request to provide tax guidance for our Private Market investments. The India market will be a yearly fee the other services will be charged per usage. After the contract is finalized, I would be able to share our vendor

Thank you in advance.


Paul Anderson, CPA
MN State Board of Investment
651-297-2287

[Dave DeJonge]

Ben,

On behalf of the Public School & Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri (PSRS/PEERS) we have provided below, answers to your questions regarding international tax service providers.

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)? Yes, the Public School & Education Retirement System of Missouri (PSRS/PEERS) does engage a foreign tax service provider.

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so? PSRS/PEERS currently uses Ernst & Young LLP (EY) in the countries of India, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania and Taiwan since July 2014.

3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)?

o In India, EY provides income tax registration assistance, taxable equity funds estimated tax computation, fund income tax return preparation, dividend stripping calculation, and individual fund tax Position Report preparation.

o In Pakistan, EY provides tax identification number registration assistance, income tax return preparation, capital gains advance tax calculation, and capital gains advance tax payment filing.

o In the Philippines, EY provides assistance with tax treaty relief documentation, and tax treaty relief application filing

o In Romania, EY provides income tax registration assistance, quarterly profits tax return preparation, and annual profits tax return preparation.

o In Taiwan, EY provides tax agent appointment application and translation fee for Power of Attorney, on-going tax agent services, business income tax return for bonds and /or T-bills, business income tax return for stock lending, and business income tax return for manufactured dividends.

Diane Luebbering, CPA
Senior Investment Accountant

Public School and Education Employee
Retirement Systems of Missouri (PSRS/PEERS)
P.O. Box 268, 3210 W. Truman Blvd.
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: 573-638-2118/Toll-Free (800) 392-6848
Fax: 573-638-2818

[Dave DeJonge]

Please see NM PERA’s responses to your questions below, in red:

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)? Yes, NM PERA uses foreign tax service providers that are located in their respective markets.

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so? NM PERA uses the following tax consultants: 1) KPMG (Rahman Rahman Huq, Chartered Accountants) in Bangladesh; 2) Jayant Ghevaria & Co. (Chartered Accountants) in India; 3) PwC in Pakistan; and 4) To Be Better Consulting in Taiwan. NM PERA has contracted with these consultants since before my tenure here at PERA, which began in January, 2016.

3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)? It appears that KPMG does ad-hoc work for us in Bangladesh (issued capital gain tax certificates); Jayant Ghevaria & Co., PwC and To Be Better Consulting prepare and file our annual tax returns in the markets they represent. Our custody bank reports transaction activity and amounts withheld for tax purposes to the consultants through their sub-custodians; the custody bank also files reclaims for us, so no action is taken by the tax consultants in this regard.

I hope this is helpful.


Christine Ortega
Portfolio Manager, Investment Operations
Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico
33 Plaza La Prensa
Santa Fe, NM 87507
P: (505) 476-9356

[Dave DeJonge]

I have responded in red below. If you have any questions, please let me know.

1. Does your organization currently use (or considering the use of) foreign tax service providers (local or global)?
We currently do use a foreign tax service provider as our custodial bank will not provide tax services for certain countries.

2. If so, which service provider(s) does your organization use, in what countries, and approximately how long have they done so?
We have used Ernst & Young since 2014 for the following countries: Bangladesh, India, Kuwait, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Taiwan, and Venezuela
3. What services do they provide (i.e. return prep/filing, foreign tax payment calcs, reclaims, etc.)?
Services include: preparation of estimated tax computation, income tax return preparation, computation of capital gains/losses; assist with tax registration as necessary, quarterly profits tax returns, and business income tax returns for manufactured dividends.

Denise Blain
Ohio PERS