We examine our subject mostly from the point of view of the taxpayer; membership is limited to practitioners who act for or in the interests of taxpayers. We were founded in 1975 and are the only association devoted solely to the study of this subject.
The object of our Association is to disseminate and exchange information about international tax planning. This we do in three ways - through our meetings, through our publications and via the internet.
Our next meeting is in Monte-Carlo (15-17 March 2009). It is followed by meetings in Zurich (7-9 June, 2009); Grand Cayman (15-17 November, 2009) and Geneva (21-23 March 2010).
The general pattern of our meetings is that in the morning the speakers deliver their talks and in the afternoon members have the opportunity to address questions to each speaker and to explore his topic in more detail. At the conclusion of each meeting, members receive by e-mail a summary of all the talks given at the meeting.
An important feature of membership of the Association is the opportunity it offers to form contacts with practitioners in other jurisdictions. The programmes at our meetings are not overcrowded – deliberately so. There are opportunities during each of the two days and at the receptions in the evenings to mingle with other members.
It is virtually impossible to come away from a meeting of the Association not having learned something new and useful, and not having made at least one contact which proves valuable.
Talks given at past meetings are available on the website as summaries and transcripts. At the conclusion of each meeting, every member who has an e-mail address receives a summary of the talks given at that meeting. The Summaries are also printed in the issue of itpa News following the meeting, and the Transcripts appear in the next issue of the itpa Journal. The Summaries and Transcripts are an invaluable resource, especially for those members who were unable to attend the original meeting. While the Summaries and Transcripts are necessarily obsolescent, a search of these materials can often reveal a clue to the solution of a difficult problem.
Between the meetings, members receive the itpa News and the itpa Journal. These are published three times a year. The itpa News contains (among other things) a summary of the proceedings of the last meeting and the programme and booking forms for the next two. The itpa Journal has an edited text of the proceedings. There are also occasional publications. For 2006, these were Retirement in Europe: The Tax Aspect and Retirement in the Caribbean: The Tax Aspect. In 2007 the Private Foundations Handbook and Ten Retirement Destinations were published, and in 2008 (with The Bank of Cyprus) Cyprus Tax Treaties.
Each
member also receives each year a hard copy of the
Directory of Members. Like its internet counterpart, it contains the address and the telephone and fax number of each member, the name of his firm and his position in the firm. It is perhaps the most significant advantage of belonging to the Association, that a member faced with a problem involving another jurisdiction, has the telephone and fax number of a fellow member practising in that jurisdiction - often someone he has met and spoken to in the course of one of the Association's meetings.
Members can advertise the services they provide in the Green Book, a directory of services with a circulation of over 5,000 selected recipients. Entries in the Green Book are free, and each member may have up to five of them. Members may also take full-page or half-page advertisments in this publication.
Members also receive an annual diary, with stick-on labels to mark the dates of the meetings during the year and their early booking dates.
- view on our website, or download if he wishes, any part of the Portfolio of Laws, which contains the trust laws and company laws and other relevant laws and tax treaties of the major offshore jurisdictions (and see under Tax Treaties below);
- be listed on our website in our Directory of Members, which includes the member's address, fax and telephone numbers and all the descriptive text of the hard copy, and which may be visited by other members, who are in possession of the passwords;
- advertise in our Directory of Services, which is open to the public and, if he also has a website, to install a hyperlink between the two;
- appear as a sponsor of that part of the Portfolio of Laws which is devoted to his jurisdiction;
- read (or download) verbatim Transcripts of recent papers delivered at ITPA meetings;
- read headnotes and download judgements contained in the International Trust Cases;
- install a reciprocal hyperlink between his website and the Links@itpa page of the Association's website;
- access the ITPA Yearbook, which contains articles of interest to members, and contribute articles to it;
- have an e-mail address in the form of his name@itpa.org (an address, it may be said, more easily remembered by clients, and intending clients, than many other e-mail addresses, but not requiring him to abandon any existing address or to search two mailboxes). No charge is made for this facility and the rental of the address is paid by the ITPA;
- peruse the programmes for the next two meetings of the Association, and, if he decides to attend, to make a reservation (space permitting).
- download earlier ITPA Publications.
Current membership either begins on 1st January and ends 31st December of the same year, or begins on 1st July and ends on 30th June of the following year. This also applies to existing members who renew their annual membership. New members joining after 1st January enjoy the benefits of membership until 30th June of the following year. New members joining after 30th June in any year will enjoy the benefits of membership until 31st December of the following year.
Full members:
- A member pays an enrolment fee of £120/euro155/US$240 and an annual subscription of £355/euro465/US$710. Members are entitled to appear in the Directory of Members and Directory of Services. Members have unlimited and unrestricted access to the website and have the right to attend all meetings of the Association.
Library members:
- If you do not plan to come to meetings or access the website, you can become a Library member for £110/euro145/US$220 a year plus an enrolment fee for new members of £35/euro45/US$70, and receive all the Association's publications (excluding the diary).
Students and Trainees:
- Membership is open to bona-fide students and trainees without enrolment fee and at a reduced annual fee of £100/euro130/US$200. Application should be made to the Registrar, enclosing evidence of student or trainee status. A limited number of bursaries are available for each meeting, to enable students and trainees to attend the meeting at a reduced fee. A student or trainee awarded a bursary contributes one-third of the attendance fee and the Association contributes the other two-thirds (travel, hotel and other expenses being the responsibility of the student or trainee). Application for a bursary should be made to the Convention Director.
Please note that the membership list may not be used as a mailing list, except with the prior consent of the Committee.
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