Rafael Sayagués > EY Law Central America > San Jose, Costa Rica > Lawyer Profile
EY Law Central America Offices
EPIC Corporate Center, 5 floor
San Rafael, Escazú
San José
Costa Rica
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Rafael Sayagués
Position
Managing Partner Tax&Law EY Central America, Panama & Dominican Republic
Career
Rafael is one of the founders of the EY member firm in Central America, Panama & Dominican Republic (2002). He is the Managing Partner of the Central America, Panama & Dominican Republic practices. And until 2022 he was the Managing Partner of the Latam North region Tax and Law practices. He is also part of the Latin American Business Center (LABC) group in New York and the Strategy & Transactions (SaT) team.
His experience includes local and international tax planning, corporate restructuring and reorganizations, cross-border transactions design and implementation, overall mergers and acquisitions advisory (M&A), financing and investment structures, transfer pricing and supply chain planning, tax controversy, shared services’ centers design and taxation, cross-border taxation in the region, expatriate taxation, project financing, and international trade, free trade zones and tax incentive systems.
He is a member of the Family Business group that specializes in advisory services to family offices and organizations in areas such as corporate structuring, cross border planning, estate planning, asset protection, private equity, international tax compliance and reporting, corporate governance and structuring.
He contributes to various international tax publications such as International Tax Review and Chambers. From 2011 to 2018, he was ranked as a leading Band 1 lawyer in Corporate / Tax and since 2019 to 2024 he has been ranked as an Eminent Practitioner by Chambers Latin American Guide. In 2024 he was also ranked by Legal 500 as a “Leading Partner” and as “Highly Regarded” by International Tax Review.
Languages
Spanish/English
Memberships
He is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), International Fiscal Association (IFA), the American Bar Association (ABA), New York State Bar Association and the Costa Rican Bar Association. He is the Coordinator of the Tax Commission of the National Chamber of Business Associations (Unión Costarricense de Cámaras y Asociaciones de Empresas del Sector Privado (UCCAEP) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rica Free Trade Zones Association (Asociación de Zonas Francas de Costa Rica (AZOFRAS) and a member of the Americas Free Trade Zones Association (Asociación de Zonas Francas de las Américas (AZFA). He is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Costa Rica Chapter and Euro-Latam Chapter.
Education
He has an LLM in Tax from the University of Florida and a JD and undergraduate degrees from the Universidad de Costa Rica.
Lawyer Rankings
Guatemala > Tax
EY Law Central America‘s extensive regional footprint and position as the legal arm of the global consultancy firm are clear assets for multinational clients, which frequently turn to the ‘strong and committed’ team for advice on the full array of tax matters. The firm has a thriving tax controversy practice, with an impressive record in complex disputes going as far as the Supreme Court, while on the consultancy side, the team advises on compliance and tax issues related to M&A and corporate restructurings. Manuel Ramírez, whose specialties include international taxation and transactional tax, leads the practice in Guatemala (alongside Costa Rica-based partners Rafael Sayagués and Randall Oquendo). The sizeable team also includes experienced senior manager Ana Alfaro and manager Carlos Díaz-Durán, both specialists in tax litigation, and senior manager Cilia Castellanos, who focuses on tax consultancy.
Costa Rica > Tax
(Leading partners)The tax group at EY Law Central America leverages the bench strength of eight offices in seven countries to provide a comprehensive range of services to national and multinational corporates (including Johnson & Johnson and Huawei) involved in high-value, cross-border transactions. With an active client base spanning the medical devices, food, telecoms, pharmaceuticals and apparel sectors, the team assists with transfer pricing, business tax, international tax, tax policy and controversy, transactional tax and tax compliance reporting. Rafael Sayagués, who is managing partner of the tax and legal practices in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, brings expertise to such matters as corporate restructuring and reorganisations, the design and implementation of cross-border transactions and tax incentive systems. Other key figures include Juan Carlos Chavarría, who draws on over 25 years of experience in the practice area to advise clients on international trade, transfer pricing, tax modelling and tax incentive systems; Antonio Ruiz Rojas, who leads the transactional tax and tax controversy practice in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, and who specialises in the tax due diligence aspects of multi-jurisdictional deals; and indirect tax, customs and global trade director Carolina Palma, who manages matters relating to free trade zone structuring and compliance.