Merja Raunio
Senior Advisor, Helsinki
Contact
Merja Raunio is a Helsinki-based Senior Advisor and one of the leading transfer pricing specialists in Finland. She has more than 30 years’ of experience in tax law, with a strong background in both domestic and international corporate taxation. During her career, she has worked with a wide variety of tax and transfer pricing planning projects, as well as with dispute avoidance and resolution covering both domestic processes and mutual agreement procedures.
Merja has co-authored several books and publications on tax-related topics, including transfer pricing, and she regularly contributes articles to legal journals.
Recognitions
Merja is recognized as one of the leading experts in the country in her field by international legal publications such as Women in Business Law (Euromoney), ITR World Transfer pricing (Euromoney) and Best Lawyers (Legal Media).
This is what clients say about Merja:
“Ossi Haapaniemi and Merja Raunio are both very experienced professionals and the co-operation has always been smooth, flexible and professional. I can always trust they deliver what we expect, and often even more.”
– The Legal 500 2023, Tax
Career
Roschier (2017-)
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Partner (2004-2017); Tax Advisor (1992-2004)
Yrittäjien Oikeussuoja Oy, Lawyer (1990-1992)
Law clerk, trained at the Bench (1990)
Helsinki Tax Office, Tax Secretary, Tax Inspector (1987-1988)
Memberships
Member of the Finnish Bar Association
Member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA)
Member of the Association for Finnish Tax Professionals
Publications
Finnish chapter in “Transfer Pricing Explorer Plus”, online collection, IBFD 2020
“Finland – Landmark Ruling on the Tax Administration’s Duty to Respect the Taxpayers’ Choices”, co-author M. Urpilainen, International Transfer Pricing Journal, volume 26, 2/2019
“Asiantuntijatodistelu veroriidoissa” (Expert witnesses in tax disputes) in publication “Parempaan yritysverotukseen” (Towards better corporate taxation) edited by S. Penttilä, P. Nykänen and M. Nieminen, Edita Publishing Oy, 2019
“Varojen jakaminen ja verotus osakeyhtiössä” (“The Distribution of Funds and Taxation in a Limited Company”), online publication updated 2019, co-authors, L. Romppainen, O. Ukkola and K. Kotiranta, ST-Akatemia Oy
“Suullisten käsittelyjen tarpeellisuudesta erityisesti siirtohinnoittelua ja veronkiertoa koskevissa veroriidoissa” (The need for oral hearings especially in tax disputes concerning transfer pricing or tax avoidance), co-authors Ossi Haapaniemi and Mika Ohtonen, Defensor Legis 4/2018
“Siirtohinnoitteludokumentoinnin merkitys liiketoimien tunnistamisessa” (Transfer pricing documentation in the delineation of the transactions), Verotus 4/2018
“Siirtohinnoittelu” (Transfer pricing), co-author J. Karjalainen, Alma Talent Oy 2018
“Varojen jakaminen ja verotus osakeyhtiössä” (“The Distribution of Funds and Taxation in a Limited Company”), 4th renewed edition, co-authors, L. Romppainen, O. Ukkola and K. Kotiranta, ST-Akatemia Oy, 2018
“Korkeimman hallinto-oikeuden tapaus KHO 2014:119” (“Supreme Administrative Court Precedent KHO 2014:119”), co-author S. Takalo, SVA ry 15-vuotisjuhlajulkaisu, 2017
“Landmark Case on the Ability of Tax Authorities to Disregard and Recharacterize Transactions”, International Transfer Pricing Journal volume 22, 1/2015
“Varojen jakaminen ja verotus osakeyhtiössä” (“The Distribution of Funds and Taxation in a Limited Company”), 3rd renewed edition, co-authors, L. Romppainen, O. Ukkola and K. Kotiranta, KHT-Media 2014
“Supreme Administrative Court Ruling on Location Savings”, International Transfer Pricing Journal volume 20, 4/2013
“Corporate Loss Utilization through Aggressive Tax Planning”, International Transfer Pricing Journal volume 19, 6/2012
“Supreme Administrative Court Ruling on Interest Rate Reflecting Creditworthiness of Individual Companies”, International Transfer Pricing Journal volume 18, 4/2011
“Liiketoimintamallin uudelleenjärjestely siirtohinnoittelun näkökulmasta” (“Business Model Restructuring from the Transfer Pricing Perspective”), co-author E. Gert, Verotus 4/2011
“Rahoitustransaktioiden siirtohinnoittelu – onko konserniin kuulumisella vaikutusta?” (“Transfer Pricing of Financial Transactions – The Impact of Group Affiliation”), co-author K. Svennas, Verotus 2/2011
“Siirtohinnoittelu laskusuhdanteessa” (“Transfer Pricing During Recession”), co-author E. Gert, Verotus 1/2010
“Yritystoiminnan uudelleenjärjestely” (“The Restructuring of Business Operations”), co-authors N. Blummé, T. Pitkänen and L. Äärilä, KHT-Media Oy 2008
“Konsernitukea vai markkinaehtoista hinnoittelua” (“Intra-Group Subsidy or Arm’s Length Pricing”), Verotus 1/2008
“Siirtohinnoittelu” (“Transfer Pricing”), co-author J. Karjalainen, WSOY Pro 2007
“Verouudistus 2005” (“Tax Reform 2005”), co-authors H. Niskakangas, K. S. Tikka, T. Honkavaara, M. Helminen, A. Lundén, M. Laitinen, T. Räbina, J. Leppiniemi, E. Kiviranta, H. Ranta-Lassila, P. K. Mattila and K. Äimä, WSOY 2004
“Voitonjaon verosuunnittelu osakeyhtiössä” (“Tax Planning of Profit Sharing in a Limited Company”), co-authors L. Romppainen, M. Malmgren and O. Ukkola, KHT-yhdistyksen palvelu Oy 1998
Recent speaking engagements
Sections “Kotimaisen verotuksen ajankohtaiset kysymykset” and “Oikeustapauksia yritysverotuksetsta” in ST-Akatemia Oy’s “Yritysverotus 2020” video training package
Presentation “OECD:n BEPS-projektin vaikutus kansainvälisen yrityksen verotukseen” (“The impact of the OECD BEPS-project on the taxation of an international company”), Suuri veropäivä 2015
Education
University of Helsinki, LL.M. (1987)
Tampere University, doctoral researcher (2018-)
Languages
English, Finnish, Swedish
The Legal 500Very experienced professional; co-operation has always been smooth, flexible and professional.