Former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer to speak at Avalara Indirect Tax Summit 2020

LONDON, U.K. — September 3, 2020 — Avalara, Inc. (NYSE: AVLR) will open its indirect tax summit, Inspire Digital 2020, with a keynote from former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.

Mr Hammond will draw on his years of experience as a key member of the British Government to set the scene for Inspire Digital 2020. Speakers at this three-day thought leadership event will share insights on the indirect tax risks, as well as the wider business challenges and opportunities, arising from COVID-19, Brexit, EU tax reforms, and global expansion.

Mr Hammond will be sharing his thoughts on what the next few months hold as the U.K. and EU scramble to conclude a free trade agreement. He will also be reviewing fiscal and spending options for governments as they seek to tackle the huge debts being accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking on the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer shortly after the 2016 Brexit Referendum, Mr Hammond took charge of the British economy at a time of unprecedented uncertainty. 

Mr Hammond says: “The U.K.’s economy faces a ‘double whammy’ from the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit. British businesses, large and small, will face major challenges over the next 12 months as the economy begins to restructure in response to these twin shocks.”

Spread over three days, Avalara’s summit Inspire Digital 2020 offers a choice of sessions from global indirect tax experts. Attendees can either sign up for any or all of the sessions for free, or they can watch each session on demand after the event.

Day 1: Brexit and COVID-19 recovery
The first day of Inspire Digital 2020 focuses on stimulating business recovery in the current climate as well as what businesses need to do to prepare for post-Brexit trading.

Speakers include: Philip Hammond (keynote); Dr Anna Jerzewska, CEO of Trade and Borders; Chris Giles, Economics Editor at the Financial Times, and Emily Antcliffe, Director of Indirect Tax at HMRC.

Day 2: Making Tax Digital and 2021 marketplace reforms
On day two, attendees will gain essential insight on Phase 2 of the U.K. government's Making Tax Digital plans in 2021 as well as the reforms to legislation in the EU and U.K. for ecommerce and marketplace obligations that will impact businesses in 2021.

Speakers include: Francois Chadwick, Global Head of Tax at Uber; Andrew Daly, VAT Team Lead at Zalando; Dickel Sooriah, VP of Marketing EMEA at Mirakl.

Day 3: Global trading and breaking into the U.S.
The final day’s sessions will focus on learning to trade globally and avoiding tax pitfalls. Speakers will share their tips on how to sell into the U.S. successfully. There will be special sessions on the challenging Brazilian and Indian tax environments.

Speakers include: Piet Battiau, OECD; Lachlan Wolfers, Global Head of Indirect Tax at KPMG; Professor Rita de la Feria, Chair in Tax Law at Leeds University, and Rachel Le Mieux, Partner at BDO USA.

For a full list of speakers, visit avalarainspire.com.

Avalara VP of Global Indirect Tax Richard Asquith, who will host the event, says its lineup of high-profile speakers will share essential insights on the incoming legislations and tax reforms that businesses need to be on top of in order to survive the challenging months ahead.

Mr Asquith says: “Globally, tax authorities will soon be hiking tax rates and rolling out new taxes as they come to terms with the huge deficits being accumulated. On top of Brexit, this represents two seismic shocks.”  

The summit will capture how these tax changes will play out over the next six months and ongoing, and what major players in various sectors and geographies will do.

“We know taxes have got to go up, so what are they going to be?” says Mr Asquith.

For a full agenda and list of speakers, or to register for a free space at Inspire Digital 2020, visit avalarainspire.com.