Etienne Wong
Etienne has been a tax lawyer since 1990. He was an equity partner, and head of the International VAT Unit, at Clifford Chance LLP before being called to the Bar in 2014.
His experience includes advising on all direct and indirect tax matters relating to:
- real estate property development.
- real estate property investment.
- cryptoassets (e.g. DeFi, NFTs, ICOs).
- transfer pricing.
- outsourcing.
- power generation (e.g. solar, wind, biofuel).
He advises on all indirect taxes (e.g. SDLT, IPT, excise duties, plastic packaging tax), and is particularly expert in VAT, having advised on both contentious and non-contentious VAT issues across sectors ranging from:
- finance (e.g. FinTech).
- funds.
- charities and other non-profit organisations.
- real estate.
- healthcare.
- insurance.
- private equity.
- food.
- outsourcing.
- transport (e.g. aircraft, vessels, trains and automobiles).
- crypto assets (e.g. DeFi, NFTs).
Etienne has appeared in the First-tier Tribunal, the Upper Tribunal and the High Court without being led. His experience includes advising on European law and administrative law (i.e. legitimate expectation) in the context of VAT.
Etienne has a strategic, commercial approach and often works with professional advisers not only to establish the proper tax treatment of a project, but also to ensure that the end client achieves their business objectives.
- Legal Directory 2024 Bar Rankings
- Tax Journal - VAT in 2022
- Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards 2022
- Tax Journal Article - Ouroboros: VAT, HMRC, business, non-business
- Etienne Wong case note in the British Tax Review
- Tax Journal Article – VAT in 2021: the ‘teaser year’
- Old Square Tax Chambers ranked in Chambers and Partners for the UK Bar 2022
- Legitimate Expectation in the World of VAT
- Etienne Wong article for the Tax Journal
- Etienne Wong: HMRC v Royal Opera House
- End of Year Review Issue of Tax Journal
- Old Square Tax Chambers ranked as a leading set
- non-taxable transactions and VAT deductibility
- VAT Recovery by Holding Companies – Key Principles Explored
- VAT and the evolution of the special investment fund
- Ryanair: holding companies recovering VAT
- UPDATED Practice Note on Sukuk
- Tax Planning for 2019 – Key Haven Publications Ltd
- Spring Budget 2024 - Etienne Wong's expert comments
- Happy 50th Birthday, VAT! - Tax Journal
- The Tax Journal – VAT in 2021: the ‘teaser year’
- The Tax Journal – Wellcome Trust and the reverse charge
- The International Aspects of VAT on Legal Advisory Fees
- BlackRock: single supply, dual use – apportionment?
- Royal Opera House: VAT, opera and ice cream
- The Tax Journal – 2020 through the VAT lens
- Key Haven Publications LTD - Pre-Election Tax Planning
- Hybrid Seminar on 'Current issues in VAT’
- Current Issues with the Taxation of UK Real Estate
- In or Out of Scope of VAT: Disbursements & Compensation
- Legitimate expectation in the world of VAT
- Key Haven Publications 2022 – 40th Annual Oxford Four-Silk Sixteen-Speaker
- Key Haven Publications 2021 – 39th Annual Oxford Four-Silk Fourteen-Speaker Residential Seminar
- Key Haven Tax Planning Webinar
- KEY HAVEN PUBLICATIONS LTD – PRACTICAL TAX PLANNING 2019
- Current and New Issues with the Taxation of UK Real Estate
- Contributing writer to James Kessler QC’s Taxation of Charities & Non-Profit Organisations 13th edition 2022/2
- Contributing writer to Helen Tse MBE’s Doing Business After Brexit: A Practical Guide to the Legal Changes
- Writer of the tax chapter of the Outsourcing Practice Manual
- Co-author of the European Union chapter of the Inward Investment and International Taxation Review
- 39th Annual Oxford Residential Seminar – EU Law in the Post-Brexit World of VAT & Land
- VPG Annual Conference – Case Law Update 2021
- National Chair of the VAT Practitioners Group
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation
- Qualified as a solicitor in 1990
Etienne Wong is regulated by the Bar Standards Board