This week in Taxtech
I’m back from holiday now so a little disconnected from the day to day but I’ve been working on a few improvements for the newsletter which I think you’ll love:
Firstly, thanks to those of you who contributed to last week’s poll regarding additional online learning content for the summer. The response was an overwhelming “yes we want more” so I’ve rewritten the program to double the content, which now contains around 9.5 hours of content across 23 sources, spanning multiple providers and topics.
Secondly, through a tie up with the smart people at taxjobs.ai I’m now able to share In House tax and taxtech roles alongside those at the vendors and firms, I think this is huge as it both expands the total number of opportunities I’m able to share as well as capturing roles that a lot of you are seeking in industry
Finally, I’ve been upgrading the underlying analyst reports so they are more nicely paginated and contain charts and colour coding to increase legibility of the quantitative data
I hope you enjoy those improvements, but before you get there, this week I’ve profiled AVASK yet another emerging player in the European VAT technology space.
⭐ Vendor Spotlight: AVASK
AVASK: The Amazon Whisperer Trying to Become a Software Company
Amazon FBA sellers have known the AVASK name for a decade as the VAT-registration shop you call when a marketplace flags your listing. In February 2026, AVASK acquired SimplyVAT in a formally advised, real transaction — and it’s now selling itself as a “technology-led global compliance platform,” not an accounting firm with a helpline. As Amazon quietly reshuffles which tax agents it steers sellers toward, whether that repositioning is real or just a rebrand is the question worth answering now.
WHAT AVASK ACTUALLY IS
AVASK is a Southampton-based VAT, customs, and EPR compliance platform built for cross-border e-commerce and marketplace sellers, delivered through its proprietary Infiniti 3.0 platform (with a companion EPR engine, CiDATax). Its centre of gravity is Managed Services and Integration: registrations, filings, and national EPR-scheme representation across 50+ jurisdictions, wrapped around native API connections to more than 20 marketplaces — Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Walmart, Etsy, TikTok Shop, and more. Core regimes covered are UK/EU VAT and OSS/IOSS, US sales & use tax (via economic-nexus monitoring), customs and duties, and EPR/GPSR — with Canada GST/HST newly added via the SimplyVAT deal. There is no e-invoicing or CTC product. AVASK states it completes 500,000 VAT filings per year across an estimated 15,000–18,000+ clients, with roughly 150–270 staff and analyst-estimated ARR of US$40–60M. The natural longlist buyer: a goods-heavy, multi-country marketplace seller who wants VAT, customs, and EPR handled by one vendor instead of three.
WHERE IT BEATS THE MARKET BASELINE
AVASK’s integration roster — 20+ native marketplace connections, including several (TikTok Shop, Zalando, Back Market, bol.com, Allegro, Otto) that most VAT challengers simply don’t cover — is genuinely above baseline, and its customs/duties capability (HS classification, brokerage, import VAT reclaim) is a real differentiator most VAT-only competitors lack entirely. SOC 2 Type II certification is a credible security baseline for a services-heritage vendor. Where it sits at or below baseline: e-invoicing/CTC doesn’t exist as a product at all, AI is rules-based categorisation dressed in forward-looking language, and published entry pricing (~€93/month) diverges sharply from the quote-based reality once a seller needs more than one country — a pricing-transparency gap that shows up directly in customer reviews.
PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS
AVASK’s 2024 rename from “Accounting & Business Consultants” to “Global Compliance” tracks almost exactly with the Infiniti 3.0 launch — a portfolio built organically until the SimplyVAT acquisition broke that pattern. Compliance & Filing/Reporting is now estimated at roughly 55% of revenue, anchored to that 500,000-filings-per-year metric, with EPR/Customs/GPSR/consultancy at ~27% and calculation/integration/analytics splitting the rest. SimplyVAT adds ~73 VAT specialists and a Canada beachhead, but it’s a formally advised, structured deal (Northbound Group, DLA Piper, DMH Stallard) — not a leap into a new category. The operator read: this is a services business that has built real technology around its strongest existing workflows, not yet a technology business with a services option, and whether SimplyVAT becomes one platform or stays two branded silos is the thing to watch.
BUSINESS MODEL AND SIZE BAND FITS
Business model fit
B2B goods: 2 – Good fit — duties/EPR handling serves multi-country goods flows; not built for complex reverse-charge chains.
B2C goods: 3 – Strong fit — the core historical customer: marketplace-native goods sellers needing VAT, OSS/IOSS, customs, and EPR together.
B2B/B2C digital services: 1 – Patchy fit — the VAT engine technically covers OSS, but nothing in the product or marketing is built for this buyer.
B2B/B2C services (non-digital): 1 – Patchy fit — registration/filing helps, but the EPR/customs strength is irrelevant to this buyer.
Size band fit
Small: 2 – Good fit — self-serve entry pricing exists, but onboarding and true cost still skew toward assisted service.
Medium: 3 – Strong fit — the sweet spot: multi-country marketplace sellers needing VAT+EPR+Customs+GPSR bundled with the broadest integration roster in the category.
Large: 2 – Good fit — SOC 2 and multi-entity dashboards help, but no certified ERP add-on and no named SI/Big 4 partner cap the ceiling.
CUSTOMER AND EMPLOYEE SENTIMENTS
Customer sentiment is the largest independent sample seen across this profile series — and it’s consistent. Employee sentiment is genuinely mixed, and unusually well-documented for a vendor this size.
Trustpilot (~4.0/5, ~950–1,100 reviews): staff knowledge and dedicated account handling praised repeatedly; slow response times and delayed case resolution are the clearest recurring complaint.
G2 / Capterra / Gartner Peer Insights / TrustRadius: no profile found on any of them — a real diligence gap for buyers who start on structured review platforms.
Amazon seller forums (directional): sellers consistently rate AVASK above cheaper rivals like Avalara despite a real price premium.
Glassdoor (3.2/5, 82 reviews): WLB and individual colleagues praised; micromanagement and high turnover recur.
Indeed (2.6/5, 17 reviews): underpaid-for-workload and limited progression are the dominant themes.
RepVue: no profile — consistent with growth driven by Amazon SPN referral rather than a quota-carrying sales force.
The read: AVASK holds a Great Place to Work UK certification that sits oddly alongside its Glassdoor/Indeed scores — both can be true, but buyers relying on account-team continuity should weight the turnover signal, not the certificate.
IF YOU’RE BUILDING OR BUYING INDIRECT TAX CAPABILITY — HERE’S THE READ
For buyers: If you’re a Small or Medium goods-heavy marketplace seller — especially Amazon FBA — needing VAT, customs, and EPR handled by one vendor with genuinely wide marketplace connectivity, AVASK belongs on your shortlist. If you’re newly exposed to GPSR, the Responsible Person service bundled with VAT compliance is a real, uncommon convenience. If you’re a digital-services-only seller, don’t default here — nothing in the product is built for you, verify fit line-by-line before committing. If you’re an enterprise needing a certified SAP/NetSuite/Dynamics add-on, a named delivery partner, or any e-invoicing/CTC capability, treat AVASK as not-yet-ready and get the multi-country pricing model in writing before you sign anything.
For prospective employees:
Good move for compliance and account-management specialists who want hands-on, multi-country VAT/EPR/customs exposure at real operating scale.
Interesting for platform engineers working on Infiniti 3.0/CiDATax — genuine data-ingestion and rules-engine complexity, though AI/product-innovation culture is thin today.
Higher-risk in client-facing delivery roles given the Glassdoor/Indeed workload and turnover signals — probe team stability and escalation support directly in interviews.
Watch the SimplyVAT integration if you’re joining either brand: two separate operating structures today means real consolidation or restructuring risk over the next 12–24 months.
No RepVue data — sales-org health isn’t independently verifiable, though AVASK’s growth motion isn’t a traditional quota-carrying sales force in the first place.
Want the full 28 page analyst report?
A selection of of opportunities to connect in person and interact online over the next few weeks
AUGUST 2026
FTA Technology Conference and Expo 2026 (Conference)
Federation of Tax Administrators | 2–5 August 2026 | St. Louis Union Station, St. Louis, MO
The premier gathering for state tax administrators, software vendors, and compliance teams — a key venue for indirect tax automation vendors engaging directly with government decision-makers on emerging requirements.
Ready Before the Notice: A Sales Tax & VAT Audit Playbook (Webinar)
Anrok / KPMG / Fresh FP&A / OTTO-MATES | 5 August 2026, 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET | Online
Anrok, KPMG, Fresh FP&A, and OTTO-MATES walk through every phase of a sales tax or VAT audit — nexus, taxability, exemptions, rate, and assessment — and what finance leaders should do at each step, including negotiating a proposed assessment before it becomes final.
US International Tax Course 2026 (Course)
TEI — Tax Executives Institute | 3–7 August 2026 | Seattle, WA
TEI’s intensive week-long course for in-house tax professionals covering the full spectrum of US international tax — from Subpart F and GILTI through FDII, BEAT, and transfer pricing — with substantial CPE credit available.
The New Indirect Tax Technologist: A Skillset and Team Structure for the AI Era (Webinar)
Fonoa | 11 August 2026, 4:00pm CEST / 10:00am ET | Online
Tax leaders from NVIDIA, KPMG, and Fonoa discuss how to structure, hire, and upskill an indirect tax team that gets real value from AI — covering the emerging skillset and team design questions facing tax functions in the AI era.
SEPTEMBER 2026
E-Invoicing Compliance & Tax Technology Summit (Conference)
Tax Technology Summit | 2 September 2026 | Dubai, UAE
A summit convening global tax and finance leaders in Dubai to examine the next chapter of digital tax administration in the Middle East and GCC region, covering e-invoicing implementation, AI-driven compliance, and what Phase 1 live reporting means in practice.
Audits & Appeals Seminar 2026 (Seminar)
TEI — Tax Executives Institute | 8–10 September 2026 | TBC
A deep-dive seminar equipping in-house tax professionals with the tools and strategies to navigate IRS audits and appeals in an environment where tax administration has shifted significantly — covering preparation, documentation, and the appeals process.
Shared Services & Outsourcing Week 2026 — Autumn (Conference)
SSON — Shared Services & Outsourcing Network | 14–17 September 2026 | San Diego, CA
SSON’s autumn flagship conference covering finance, tax, HR, and IT shared services transformation, with a focus on AI adoption, automation, and the future of the GBS operating model.
Avalara CRUSH 2026 (Conference)
Avalara | 22–24 September 2026 | Fort Lauderdale, FL
Avalara’s premier annual conference returns as agentic AI reshapes tax and compliance. A key gathering for finance, tax, and technology professionals exploring the future of automated, AI-powered global tax compliance — with product deep-dives, partner sessions, and peer networking.
E-Invoicing Exchange Summit 2026 (Conference)
E-Invoicing Exchange | 30 September – 2 October 2026 | Hotel MOA Berlin, Berlin, Germany
The leading independent e-invoicing industry event returns to Berlin, bringing together enterprises, tax authorities, and technology providers to share insights on cross-border interoperability, regulatory readiness, and the growing impact of AI on e-invoicing and tax processes.
*any organisers or events I’ve missed? please let me know.
A curated selection of blogs, white-papers and on demand content published by multiple organisartions across the landscape, organised into a themed learning path.
AUGUST 2026
Market Intelligence, AI, Agentic Governance & Audit Readiness
August blends the strategic landscape — where the market stands, how AI is actually being deployed, and the emerging governance question that dominated Compliance Connect London — with a strong practical thread on audit readiness. Each week contains a mix of strategy, AI, indirect tax, and operational content so no single theme monopolises a week.
Week 1 · 4–8 August
Setting the Scene: Market Data, Regulatory Context & the AI Inflection Point
01📖 6 Insights from the 2026 Corporate Tax Technology Report Thomson Reuters / TEI 10–12 min
02📖 2026 Indirect Tax TrendsVertex Inc. 8–10 min
03📖 The Future of Tax: Connected Modeling and an AI-Enabled Tax Function KPMG 8–10 min
04📖 Sovos TaxScapes Q1 2026: Regulatory Changes in the Last 90 Days Sovos 10–12 min
05🎥Compliance Connect London 2026 — On-Demand Sessions Thomson Reuters / Pagero 90–120 min
06🎥 Sovos TaxScapes July 2026: What’s Changing in Indirect Tax — US and Global Sovos 45–60 min
Week total: 4 articles + 2 webinars · ~171–224 min (~2.5–3.5 hrs)
Week 2 · 11–15 August
AI Strategy, Agentic Governance & the Vendor Landscape
07📖 The Majority of CFOs Require Human Oversight of Agentic AI: 4 Governance Frameworks Anrok 12–15 min
08📖 AI Tools for Tax Professionals: Automate Smarter, Not Harder Sphere 10–12 min
09📖 AI for Indirect Tax: How Human-AI Collaboration Improves Compliance Fonoa 10–12 min
10📖 Best Sales Tax Software for SaaS Companies: 2026 Guide Kintsugi 12–15 min
11📖 5 Key Indirect Tax Trends from SYNAPSE 2026 Fonoa 10–12 min
12🎥 Beyond the Return: How AI and Automation Are Reshaping Tax Preparation Wolters Kluwer / CCH 50–60 min
Week total: 5 articles + 1 webinar · ~104–126 min (~1.75–2 hrs)
Week 3 · 18–22 August
Audit Readiness, Organisational Maturity & the Strategic Tax Function
13📖 Ready Before the Notice: A Sales Tax & VAT Audit Playbook Anrok / KPMG 20–25 min
14📖 Multi-State Tax Complexity: What Tax Teams Need to Know Wolters Kluwer / CCH 8–10 min
15📖 Beyond Compliance: How Tax Professionals Are Becoming Strategic Advisors Wolters Kluwer / CCH 8–10 min
16📖 Survive or Thrive? 2026 Will Test Tax Teams’ Limits Wolters Kluwer / CCH 6–8 min
17📖 Transforming Indirect Tax: 5 Insights from the 7th Annual VAT Management Summit Fonoa 10–12 min
18🎥From VAT Reporting to Real-Time Control: The New Era of VAT Compliance Sovos 45–60 min
Week total: 5 articles + 1 webinar · ~97–125 min (~1.5–2 hrs)
Week 4 · 25–29 August
Platform Strategy, the Vendor Market & the Indirect Tax Architecture Decision
19📖 Vertex Announces Strategic Investment in Kintsugi: Market Signal Vertex / Kintsugi 6–8 min
20📖 Tax Tech Strategy: Integrate Technology for Compliance Fonoa 10–12 min
21📖 Indirect Tax Transformation: Navigating Change, Embracing Technology Thomson Reuters 10–12 min
22📖 8 Best Cross-Border VAT Compliance Software: 2026 Guide Kintsugi 12–15 min
23🎥 Embracing the Future of Tax Compliance with AI Avalara 45–60 min
Week total: 4 articles + 1 webinar · ~83–107 min (~1.5 hrs)
August total: 18 articles + 5 webinars = 23 resources · ~455–582 min (~7.5–9.5 hrs)
*any cool content I’ve missed? please let me know.
A selection of open roles across tax tech vendors and tax advisory/consulting businesses who are involved in tax technology.
In house roles are provided courtesy of the smart people at https://taxjobs.ai
Use the column headers to sort, or the search function and don’t forget to navigate all pages!
*I do this using an AI agent and due to the volume, I don’t check every link, so please let me know if any of these don’t work or have disappeared when you follow them.
✌ Last thoughts
Thanks again for reading! If you have any feedback, suggestions, want to contribute, share news or would like to work together in any way, email me here or hit the button below! And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to get The Nexus each and every Friday!
