big 4 SALT MA vs. International Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all, tax LLM trying to get some insight on International vs SALT MA. SALT MA offer was actually ~10% higher than my international offer so that threw me off my decision making a little bit. A little worried that starting offer is higher but earning potential further down the line is more limited on the SALT side.

Can anyone share what work is like for associates/senior associates day-to-day for both groups? Hoping to eventually move client-side/in-house and heard that international tends to have more of those opportunities. Thank you for any feedback.

[lawschoolstud23]

I vote international, and it's not close. Look at job postings for tax counsel/planning/advisory roles. Almost all are either generalist or M&A/international specific. International will open up many more doors. Most companies that are large enough to hire tax lawyers will have an international presence.

[CanadianWolf]

International tax is the better option.

Maybe SALT if you have an accounting degree and CPA license, otherwise International.

[Anonymous User]

International tax is the better option.

Maybe SALT if you have an accounting degree and CPA license, otherwise International.

OP here, would you still say international > SALT if the goal is to stay at big 4? Does SALT have lower earning potential than international?

[nealric]

International tax is the better option.

Maybe SALT if you have an accounting degree and CPA license, otherwise International.

OP here, would you still say international > SALT if the goal is to stay at big 4? Does SALT have lower earning potential than international?

In the tax world, SALT is considered a less technical and lower-end practice in general, and billing rates generally reflect that. On the law firm side, there are plenty of international practitioners in the v20, but SALT is often more of a midlaw practice (though there is some in Biglaw). On the corporate/client side, SALT a very systems-heavy undertaking (for things like tracking hundreds of thousands of transactions for sales and use tax). I think AI has huge potential in the SALT space.  

The downside of International is that a lot of people never make it over the technical hump to really become a partner-level advisor. People are more likely to wash out of International than SALT and work life balance is likely to not be as good because you are more likely to be intimately involved in fast-moving transactions. SALT also tends to be less popular, which may be one of the reasons why they are willing to pay more at the entry level. Sometimes there are benefits to going a route others don't want to go down.

But I'd still lean towards International. You can switch from International to SALT a lot easier than the other way around.

[hangtime813]

International tax is the better option.

Maybe SALT if you have an accounting degree and CPA license, otherwise International.

OP here, would you still say international > SALT if the goal is to stay at big 4? Does SALT have lower earning potential than international?

In the tax world, SALT is considered a less technical and lower-end practice in general, and billing rates generally reflect that. On the law firm side, there are plenty of international practitioners in the v20, but SALT is often more of a midlaw practice (though there is some in Biglaw). On the corporate/client side, SALT a very systems-heavy undertaking (for things like tracking hundreds of thousands of transactions for sales and use tax). I think AI has huge potential in the SALT space.  

The downside of International is that a lot of people never make it over the technical hump to really become a partner-level advisor. People are more likely to wash out of International than SALT and work life balance is likely to not be as good because you are more likely to be intimately involved in fast-moving transactions. SALT also tends to be less popular, which may be one of the reasons why they are willing to pay more at the entry level. Sometimes there are benefits to going a route others don't want to go down.

But I'd still lean towards International. You can switch from International to SALT a lot easier than the other way around.

Just wanted to add that the technical hump mentioned above is definitely not to be underestimated. Big4 and biglaw international tax partners are very expensive for a reason (tax in general is an extremely complicated area of law).

[nealric]

International tax is the better option.

Maybe SALT if you have an accounting degree and CPA license, otherwise International.

OP here, would you still say international > SALT if the goal is to stay at big 4? Does SALT have lower earning potential than international?

In the tax world, SALT is considered a less technical and lower-end practice in general, and billing rates generally reflect that. On the law firm side, there are plenty of international practitioners in the v20, but SALT is often more of a midlaw practice (though there is some in Biglaw). On the corporate/client side, SALT a very systems-heavy undertaking (for things like tracking hundreds of thousands of transactions for sales and use tax). I think AI has huge potential in the SALT space.  

The downside of International is that a lot of people never make it over the technical hump to really become a partner-level advisor. People are more likely to wash out of International than SALT and work life balance is likely to not be as good because you are more likely to be intimately involved in fast-moving transactions. SALT also tends to be less popular, which may be one of the reasons why they are willing to pay more at the entry level. Sometimes there are benefits to going a route others don't want to go down.

But I'd still lean towards International. You can switch from International to SALT a lot easier than the other way around.

Just wanted to add that the technical hump mentioned above is definitely not to be underestimated. Big4 and biglaw international tax partners are very expensive for a reason (tax in general is an extremely complicated area of law).

Agreed. I'm an in-house tax attorney, and while I do a lot of international work, I'm often awed by the technical depth of outside counsel. Granted, those folks have the benefit of more specialization than I do, but the thing about international tax is you need to know a lot about a lot of different areas of tax before you can tie it all together. For example, you can be a Subchapter K expert without knowing much about international tax, but a good international practitioner has a pretty solid Subchapter K background too. Additionally, the best international advisors often have a good working knowledge of several foreign tax regimes because they may be quarterbacking transactions that involve many jurisdictions at once and need to tie it all together even if there are SMEs for each jurisdiction.

[CanadianWolf]

Brief response as I am time limited at the moment:

The advice shared in this thread is spot-on outstanding.

[Anon2468]

I would absolutely never advise someone to pick SALT over international. A mediocre international tax specialist still has a ton of options.

The "technical hump" is overrated. Maybe if you want to be a partner in WNTS or at Baker McKenzie, but there are a ton of easy international projects that generate revenue and can get you to partner. For example, some people make a career out of international coordination or advising on easy inbound issues.

[nealric]

I would absolutely never advise someone to pick SALT over international. A mediocre international tax specialist still has a ton of options.

The "technical hump" is overrated. Maybe if you want to be a partner in WNTS or at Baker McKenzie, but there are a ton of easy international projects that generate revenue and can get you to partner. For example, some people make a career out of international coordination or advising on easy inbound issues.

I suppose, but I don't see being one of the less technical international niches as that much more exciting or lucrative than SALT.

[Anonymous User]

I would absolutely never advise someone to pick SALT over international. A mediocre international tax specialist still has a ton of options.

The "technical hump" is overrated. Maybe if you want to be a partner in WNTS or at Baker McKenzie, but there are a ton of easy international projects that generate revenue and can get you to partner. For example, some people make a career out of international coordination or advising on easy inbound issues.

I suppose, but I don't see being one of the less technical international niches as that much more exciting or lucrative than SALT.

The less technical international niches are the ones that make the most money...

The people advising on simple fund formation, simple cross border transactions, loan origination issues, etc. have the biggest books of business.

The super duper geniuses advising on -20 or whatever write some expensive opinions, but are not the rainmakers.

Accidental anon - anon2468

[nealric]

I would absolutely never advise someone to pick SALT over international. A mediocre international tax specialist still has a ton of options.

The "technical hump" is overrated. Maybe if you want to be a partner in WNTS or at Baker McKenzie, but there are a ton of easy international projects that generate revenue and can get you to partner. For example, some people make a career out of international coordination or advising on easy inbound issues.

I suppose, but I don't see being one of the less technical international niches as that much more exciting or lucrative than SALT.

The less technical international niches are the ones that make the most money...

The people advising on simple fund formation, simple cross border transactions, loan origination issues, etc. have the biggest books of business.

The super duper geniuses advising on -20 or whatever write some expensive opinions, but are not the rainmakers.

Accidental anon - anon2468

I think it's pretty rare for tax partners to be rainmakers period. Most of the time, the client hires the M&A partner and the tax folks just come with the package. High-end tax controversy folks can make rain, but it's hard for any tax-lead engagement to get anywhere near the M&A billing numbers. A big M&A deal can reach double digit millions on the bill, but even a very complex internal tax advisory is going to struggle to clear a million. However, making low seven figures as an SME isn't a terrible place to be if you want to stay in biglaw.