Juan Carlos is the International Tax Services (ITS) Leader for Ernst & Young Central America and the Dominican Republic, currently based in Costa Rica. He joined the firm in 2002. During 2008 and 2009, Juan Carlos moved to the Dominican Republic, where he led the local tax practice.  His experience includes over 20 years in Central America tax law. He specializes in international tax planning, supply chain planning, transfer pricing, corporate tax advice, foreign investment, corporate multi-jurisdictional structures and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He leads the Central America incentives team. He has participated in the design and implementation of regional tax planning structures in projects for different industries and lines of business, tax modeling, transfer pricing, international trade and tax incentive systems.  He mainly advises companies in the oil and gas, insurance and consumer products industries.

During 2001, he worked for another Big Four firm in Barcelona, Spain as a foreign tax attorney and member of the International Tax Practice Group.  There he engaged in international tax planning structures and international executive services projects throughout Europe and Latin America. Mr. Chavarria has presented in local and international seminars on foreign investment and international tax issues in Costa Rica and the Central American region.  He regularly publishes articles on Tax Notes International, Tax Analyst, and International Tax Review.

He has J.D. from the University Escuela Libre de Derecho (Costa Rica), and has studies in Business Administration and Finance from Fidelitas University (Costa Rica). He also holds a Masters in Law and Economics from Utrecht Universiteit, Law School and Economic Institute (The Netherlands), and a Master’s Degree in International Trade and Foreign Enterprises from the Universitat de Barcelona, Faculty of Management and Economics (Spain). He is a Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica (AmCham) and Chair of the Tax Committee and a member of the International Fiscal Association, Costa Rican