Tax Planning

Assignment to be completed by all participants before the wrap-up session

Objective:

The main purpose of the assignment (Questionnaire) is to begin to understand the existing Tax Planning abilities of your organization and to improve/set up a Tax Planning System.
The assignment also serves to check the participants' understanding of the concepts and tools presented in the first part of the seminar.
There will be a wrap-up session to follow, where the experiences of the participants will be used to bring out the real problems and issues in understanding the tax position of your company and proposed solutions will be discussed.

Completing the assignment is a prerequisite to making the seminar and the wrap-up session meaningful.

Remember : this Questionnaire can be instrumental in understanding the tax position of your organization by implementing the knowledge gained during the seminar.

Questionnaire 1.
Understanding existing tax planning capabilities of your organization

Instructions for use:

"Yes" - who and how completing the task
"No" - reason why nobody is involved with this task
"Not sure" - why

1). Does a tax planning function exist in your organization?

    a) Tax understanding - is anybody in your organization studying all current tax legislation (tax laws, decrees, instructions, etc.), its future development, and understands what advantages and disadvantages it presents for your company?

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    b) Tax compliance - is anybody in your organization involved with timely and accurate preparation and review (including confirmation) of tax returns, reports, notices and related items?

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    c) Tax representation - is anybody in your organization involved with assisting tax authorities during tax audits and various stages of tax compliance?

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    d) Tax representation - is anybody in your organization involved in negotiating with tax and other authorities any tax breaks, tax reductions, and tax debt write-offs?

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    e) Tax optimization - is anybody in your organization involved with planning and management of operations to achieve the most advantageous tax position under the applicable tax laws (both domestic and international)?

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    f) What additional tax related functions (if any) exist in your organization?

2). Why do you think it is necessary to perform the following tax planning functions? (If you believe that it is not necessary, also explain why)

    a) Studying current tax legislation, monitoring its development, and understanding what advantages and disadvantages it presents for your company

    b) Tax optimization - planning and management of operations to achieve the most advantageous tax position

3). What organizational structures are involved with tax planning (if any)?

    a) Organization management

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    b) Special tax planning department

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    c) Company planning department

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    d) Company accounting department

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    e) Other organization structure

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

    f) Structure outside your organization (tax consultants, for example)

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

4). Do you think that the tax planning function in your company is in the right department within the organization?

Yes	Not sure	No

Please explain: _________________________

5). What kinds of sources are used in your company to monitor current tax legislation and its development?

Books	Special magazines	Electronic sources

6). Please describe some real situations when improper tax planning resulted in unexpected difficulties for your company.