At WTax, our commitment to excellence is deeply rooted in the dedication and expertise of our various departments. Specialising in providing end-to-end withholding tax recovery services for institutional investors, we strive to maximise withholding tax reclaim benefits. In this series, we spotlight the different divisions within our company, showcasing the depth of our expertise and the passion that drives our teams.
We begin with our Service Department, featuring insights from Julia Bricker, Managing Director for North America. In a recent interview, Julia shared her perspective on the challenges our clients face, the solutions we provide, and the unique strengths that set WTax apart.
Understanding Client Challenges
Julia begins by explaining that most of WTax’s clients are institutional investors, asset managers, pension funds, hedge funds, insurance companies, and non-profit organisations. Julia highlights a unique observation when we initially start speaking to prospective clients: the assumption that their withholding tax recovery is being managed sufficiently and all opportunities are maximised. “Often clients don’t realise there are gaps in their process until we start engaging with them,” she explains. “They assume everything is under control, only to discover additional opportunities for recoveries and solutions for administrative burdens they didn’t know could be alleviated.”
However, once WTax starts educating them, clients quickly realise several key issues:
- Incomplete Coverage: Many clients discover they are not fully covered in certain markets and are not benefiting from more complex claim mechanisms like European Court of Justice (ECJ) claims.
- Administrative Burdens: Clients struggle with the large volumes of paperwork, which are often time-sensitive. “The documents clients receive often require them to take a tax position, and they sometimes feel ill-equipped to make a call without knowing the consequences of this,” Julia notes. This uncertainty often prevents clients from taking advantage of the most preferential tax treatments available to them.
- Lack of Transparency: Clients often have no clear understanding of what has been recovered and what hasn’t. “The reporting they’ve historically received has usually been quite messy and fragmented,” Julia says, adding that WTax’s reporting clarifies the withholding tax situation for clients from the outset.
- Timing of Reclaim Submissions: WTax files reclaims much sooner than typical processes. “We’re filing reclaims in the year following income payment, which means clients can reinvest that money and benefit from reinvestment returns,” Julia emphasises.
Addressing these challenges effectively is crucial to ensuring that clients receive the maximum possible tax recoveries and streamlined processes.
Our Comprehensive Solutions
WTax addresses these challenges through a multi-faceted approach. All clients have dedicated service representatives and access to our tax technical team for questions. This dedicated support ensures clients receive timely and accurate assistance tailored to their specific needs. Julia explains, “Our teams focus solely on withholding tax recovery, providing expert assistance and support.”
Our success-fee basis aligns our interests with those of our clients. “We are incentivised to act quickly and explore all opportunities for recovery,” Julia emphasises. This approach has led to significant successes, such as being the first to unlock Korean withholding tax recoveries for US RICs, a milestone no other provider had achieved. Additionally, because we work on a success-fee basis, we are motivated to take on complex opportunities and explore previously uncharted areas to maximise recoveries.
WTax also manages all administrative tasks on behalf of clients. “We complete as much of the paperwork as possible, ensuring the burden for clients is kept to a minimum,” Julia states. This comprehensive administrative support removes the burden from clients, allowing them to focus on their core activities.
Achievements and Client Trust
One of the proudest achievements of the Service Department is its high client retention rate. “99.2% of our clients stay with us. The exceptions to this have only been clients changing investment strategies or moving to pooled funds eliminating the need for our service,” Julia shares.
This high retention rate is a testament to the quality of service and trust WTax has built over its many years in operation. We have seen clients join us from other service providers and compliment us on our attentiveness and effort to reduce the work for the end client as well as our creative approach and desire to constantly “crack the code” on new opportunities.
Custodians also hold WTax in high regard, with one recently referring to WTax as their favourite third-party provider.
A Hands-On, Flexible Approach
Flexibility and a hands-on approach are core to WTax’s service model. “We want to take care of as much of the work as possible for our clients,” Julia explains. This includes sourcing documents needed from tax authorities on behalf of clients, like tax residency certificates.
WTax is also adaptable to clients’ needs. While we employ a sophisticated reporting portal for real-time updates on claim statuses, we are happy to accommodate client needs and preferences, often assisting with customised board reporting. We adjust to a client’s preferred method of communication and this ensures that we meet the unique needs of each client.
Furthermore, “our global position, with offices around the world, ensures seamless communication with tax authorities,” Julia adds. An important aspect of this global presence is the ability to interact with tax authorities in their local time zones, facilitating smoother and more effective communication.
Our robust technology infrastructure further sets us apart. “To illustrate, we quickly integrated with the German Tax Authority’s new portal, something many of our competitors have yet to achieve,” Julia points out. This investment in technology underscores WTax’s commitment to staying at the forefront of tax recovery innovations. Our advanced technology, including the use of automated processing, ensures efficiency and accuracy in managing complex tax recovery processes.
Internal Growth and Client Relationships
Julia highlights the structure and size of the service department, consisting of around 70 people, including Client Service Executives, Managers, and Heads of Service. These teams interact with various back-end teams, such as the Claims Processing, Queries, Data, Finance, and Tax Technical Teams. Many hires into the service department come from within WTax, bringing a deep understanding of the claims process.
Julia also mentions WTax’s Head of Learning and Development, who came from the service team and is now training all new joiners. This internal growth ensures that WTax maintains a high level of expertise and service quality.
Client relationships are a top priority. “We love building relationships with our clients, getting to know them and hearing about the challenges they’re facing so we can continue to build solutions which address their needs,” Julia shares. WTax also keeps clients updated on withholding tax news through the WTax Client Newsletter and often assists with matters beyond withholding tax.
Looking Ahead: The Future of WTax
Julia envisions a future where WTax continues to expand its services and deepen its technological capabilities. “A natural progression will be to service custodians more, as they look to outsource complex tax recovery tasks,” she says. The goal is to further automate and streamline processes, making tax recovery even more efficient and effective for clients.
In conclusion, the Service Department at WTax exemplifies the company’s dedication to providing unparalleled service and expertise in withholding tax recovery. Our hands-on approach, technological advancements, and unwavering commitment to client success position us as industry leaders, ready to tackle the evolving challenges of the global tax landscape.
If interested in learning more about our services, speak to a withholding tax specialist today.
This article serves as part of an ongoing series to highlight the exceptional teams at WTax. Follow us for more insights into our various other departments, showcasing the full spectrum of our capabilities and commitment to excellence.
