Max specialises in advisory and contentious aspects of VAT. He is regularly instructed in relation to technical matters concerning exemptions and zero-rating, and has represented clients before the tax tribunals all the way to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Dr Yige Zu is an Associate Professor at Durham University, specialising in VAT law and policy. She is recognised internationally as one of the UK's leading academic experts on VAT policy with publications in leading UK and international journals and key international books on the subject. She is regularly invited to speak on VAT at international conferences, seminars and colloquia including presentations in the UK, EU, South Africa, Australia and China.

Richard works with the team to foster and drive VATCalc’s mission to digitalise VAT/GST and help automate the life out of tax headaches for our customers. Prior to VATCalc, he established Avalara’s VAT tech business, taking a major role in powering its stellar growth. Richard was on the leadership team for the 2018 Avalara IPO. Previously, Richard created vatlive.com, the world’s largest free VAT/GST info site, acquired by Avalara in 2014. In 2005, Richard formed TMF Group’s international VAT compliance service in 2004, which became its fastest growing unit. This is where he conceived and launched his first tax engine used today by thousands of insurers globally. Richard trained with KPMG in the UK, and went on to work with them and EY in Hungary, Russia and France.

Aleksandra Bal leads Stripe Tax’s Global Tax Team, overseeing indirect tax compliance across six continents and more than 13,000 U.S. jurisdictions. She is also a contributing author for Forbes on tax topics. Passionate about demystifying taxation, Aleksandra is committed to making tax more accessible and inclusive—helping businesses and individuals navigate complex tax landscapes with clarity and confidence.

Jean Claude Bouchard fell into the VAT pot some 56 years ago, started his career as a VAT consultant with CMS Francis Lefebvre where he stayed some 40 years, then joined TAJ (Deloitte) for seven extra years. During his career he has pleaded quite a number of cases and more specifically over 10 cases by the ECJ.

Ian is a Deputy Director in Indirect Tax Directorate in HMRC, currently responsible for policy on International VAT. He started his career with HMRC (and its predecessor department HM Customs & Excise) over 30 years ago and has worked in a number of roles, mostly in VAT but also other indirect taxes. For the last 20 years, Ian has been working on VAT policy, including a three-year secondment to HM Treasury (2008-2011), and has broad experience across a range of VAT policy areas, including extensive experience in international forums, including the OECD.

Ruth has been involved with VAT for more than 30 years. She started her career as a Customs and Excise Officer in Essex and moved into consultancy with a variety of well-known accountancy firms. She is the author of many articles and technical works on VAT.

Stephen Dale has worked in French taxation for some thirty years, having previously worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the UK and in France. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants’ Institute in England and Wales. Stephen worked for PwC and its predecessor firms from 1976 until retirement from PwC in September 2017. Stephen now works for Roosevelt Expertise – a French accounting firm.

Dennis Lui is CEO Tax Academy of Singapore and concurrently Deputy Commissioner (Indirect Taxes, Law and Investigation Group) at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Dennis was previously Chief Executive VITAL, Singapore Government’s Central Agency for Shared Services as well as Senior Director (Finance and Administration) Ministry of Home Affairs. Dennis graduated from Oxford University as well as the London School of Economics.

Elly Paterson is a policy professional working in tax policy for HMRC. She is Deputy Director for the VAT Infrastructure and Soft Drinks Industry Levy team, her teams lead on the policy for the infrastructure of the VAT system, including the key VAT IT systems and HMRC’s digital agenda for VAT. She has worked across a number of tax policy roles, including working on customs policy in the run up to Brexit, stakeholder engagement leading HMRC’s external engagement on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Prior to this she worked in direct tax policy working on property income policy and the exchange of financial accounts information with other tax administrations.

Rebecca founded The VAT Team after training at PEM, a mid-tier firm in Cambridge, and subsequently becoming a Director of vatadvice.org. She has a broad experience of VAT issues, particularly in education, charity/not for profit and property sectors. Her passion and technical excellence saw Rebecca elected as VAT Practitioners Group National Technical Chair in 2023, through which she sits on the JVCC and various other advisory boards, engaging with HMRC on behalf of stakeholders.

Sue is a VAT specialist with more than 30 years’ experience of VAT. She joined MHA in April 2017 and was made partner in 2020. Sue heads up MHA’s Indirect Tax services in the Kent Gatwick region. Sue spent 5 years as in-house Indirect Tax Manager at Saga plc. Before that Sue worked for a Big 4 firm in London and in Central Europe and initially she worked for HMRC. Sue is a Chartered Tax Advisor. Sue and her team offer practical, straightforward advice and are working with a number of private schools to prepare them for the introduction of VAT on fees.

Ed joined the ICAEW Tax Faculty in June 2022 as a Technical Manager, specialising in VAT, customs duties, and other indirect taxes. A Chartered Tax Adviser since 2017, he holds additional qualifications in customs duties and tax technology. Within ICAEW, Ed manages the VAT Committee (including its Duties Subcommittee) and the Technical and Oversight Committee. He also represents ICAEW on HMRC's Joint VAT Consultative Committee and Joint Customs Consultative Committee. Ed regularly contributes to ICAEW's TAXline magazine and The Tax Track podcast.

Gemma is Chief Economist. She leads the Institute’s work on public finances and contributes to economics-related work across the Institute. Gemma is a regular commentator on the radio and television – including BBC Radio 4, Times Radio, ITV News and Sky News – and in the print media. Gemma has a PhD in economics. She started her career as a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, eventually being promoted to lead its work on public finances and pensions. After that, she joined the Financial Times as economics correspondent, reporting on UK and global economic developments, before joining IfG in 2018.

Michael Thomas KC is a barrister at Pump Court Tax Chambers. He has acted successfully for taxpayers in a wide variety of disputes with notable wins in the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Court of Appeal. Michael also advises on the application of VAT to businesses and transactions.

John Whiting was the Tax Director of the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), a part-time role he held since the OTS was established. Until 2013 he was the Tax Policy Director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation; previously, he was a tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has also been a non-executive director of HMRC and is a Board member of Revenue Scotland.