Taxation of cross-border M&A

For most regions of the world, tax uncertainty and complexity will continue to be a prominent feature of the deal landscape. Business leaders are faced with accelerated pace of change with greater government involvement and tax leaders need to adapt quickly to the changing tax environment. Some of the most important trends shaping current deal volumes and the future of M&A tax globally involve technology and digitalization which has made up deal volumes in this space. Also facilitating transactions is the greater comfort M&A players now have doing business virtually.

The comeback for special-purpose acquisition companies has played a larger role in certain regions and expected to continue in 2021. The need for specialty skills in technology, data and analytics are becoming an important part of the mix of capabilities that tax due diligence teams will need. There is the spurring movement toward greater environmental, social and governance (ESG) across global companies, with significant impacts on M&A markets. All these factors and more will need to be considered as M&A professionals navigate in the new reality of deals, transactions and restructuring ahead.