Big 4 Tax: SALT or International? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Choosing groups within one Big 4.
SALT (state and local tax): minimal compliance work, no transfer pricing, opportunity to freely move/handle work for indirect, corporate income, and m&a tax groups within SALT your first associate year and your summer within the group.

International: common interaction with transfer pricing and general m&a groups, some compliance work expected.

Thoughts?

[dabigchina]

International.

Never believe them when they tell you minimal compliance. when push comes to shove, you will do compliance work. Salt compliance is the most miserable compliance work possible, too.

[joeschmoe]

This is not even close in my mind. International >>>>>> SALT.

[Anonymous User]

What are hours like amongst the two? Exit opps?

[Anonymous User]

What are hours like amongst the two? Exit opps?

In my experience international had much better hours than SALT (and they pay more, at least for the big4 that I was at).

Both international and salt can exit into in house compliance roles but I think overall exit ops are better for international tax people (with a higher likelihood to go in house as tax counsel imo).

[Anonymous User]

Debating whether to go after an international tax position (have a fairly influential soft-referral if I choose to take it) or get out of law entirely.

Can somebody speak to intentional tax? How shitty is the work-life balance? What's the pay for a JD and a few years of experience? By higher likelihood of going in-house as tax counsel, what kind of likelihood are we looking at (particularly compared to biglaw).

[Anonymous User]

Debating whether to go after an international tax position (have a fairly influential soft-referral if I choose to take it) or get out of law entirely.

Can somebody speak to intentional tax? How shitty is the work-life balance? What's the pay for a JD and a few years of experience? By higher likelihood of going in-house as tax counsel, what kind of likelihood are we looking at (particularly compared to biglaw).

Are you a big law tax associate currently?

[Anonymous User]

I used to work in ITS at pwc. This isn’t even close, as everyone mentioned. SALT is predominantly CPAs doing compliance work (with the insane busy seasons). There is SALT M&A, but those associates usually end up having to do compliance work.

ITS in most areas seems to be 70/30 attorneys/CPAs. It’s a lot more structuring, due diligence and memo drafting. I only had to do compliance when I needed more utilization hours.

A lot of attorneys I know who left my ITS team went into startups and small companies as tax counsel. I think they still have to do tax compliance to an extent, but they do get the “counsel” title.

[Yugihoe]

Can someone explain utilization hours to me? There is some kind of requirement? Is it not like a regular corporate job where you just do whatever X assignment / project you're assigned?

[hangtime813]

Can someone explain utilization hours to me? There is some kind of requirement? Is it not like a regular corporate job where you just do whatever X assignment / project you're assigned?

utilization is chargeable hours (billable) a week divided by 40. Ex: If you charge 36 hours a week you are 90% utilized.

[Anonymous User]

What are hours like amongst the two? Exit opps?

In my experience international had much better hours than SALT (and they pay more, at least for the big4 that I was at).

Both international and salt can exit into in house compliance roles but I think overall exit ops are better for international tax people (with a higher likelihood to go in house as tax counsel imo).

Sorry wrong necro -- same anon as below

[Anonymous User]

Debating whether to go after an international tax position (have a fairly influential soft-referral if I choose to take it) or get out of law entirely.

Can somebody speak to intentional tax? How shitty is the work-life balance? What's the pay for a JD and a few years of experience? By higher likelihood of going in-house as tax counsel, what kind of likelihood are we looking at (particularly compared to biglaw).

Bump