qc@quinonescruz.com     +57 (1) 618 2883

DIEGO QUIÑONES CRUZ | PARTNER

+57 (1) 618 2883

DIEGO QUIÑONES CRUZ, Esq., D.Phil (Ph.D), LLM, APCLB
Dr. Diego Quiñones is recognised as a litigator in domestic and international tax law. He has acted as counsel or co-counsel in some of Colombia’s biggest corporate tax controversies (pioneering transfer pricing cases for Prodeco, CIT conditional discount cases for LG and Cencosud, financial derivatives cases for Citigroup and AbinBev), constitutional tax cases (he filed the constitutional action before the Constitutional Court which allowed all taxpayers to offset their losses against the CREE tax), and local tax cases in recent years (e.g. 9-figure USD litigation for Claro regarding the business tax in the case of Comcel v. Tumaco, and simple annulment actions which have led to the annulment of various Municipal tax statutes, including those of La Calera (real estate tax issues) and Maicao (energy and real estate tax)).

He is also recognised for his tax policy expertise, where his background as a political scientist, who worked in a political strategy firm prior to working as tax lawyer, and his experience in empirical tax law research and teaching (at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, and Universidad del Rosario, among others) strengthen his profile. In this capacity he was part of the team that assisted the Colombian government and the Interamerican Development Bank in introducing a major overhaul of the entire tax system via L.1607/12, led policy projects for the CGN which resulted in major changes in the tax rules for Non for profits, policy projects for AbinBev regarding excise taxes which resulted in innovative public-private partnerships to develop new products and boost local agriculture, and has spearheaded changes in the tax treatment of public transport infrastructure for SACSA.

Having recently completed his Doctorate in Law at the University of Oxford (under Prof. Judith Freedman), where he researched corporate tax behaviour and cooperative compliance, Dr. Quiñones is highly involved in the tax academia at a national and International level, having appeared as a speaker at global-level IFA events (e.g. he was a Speaker in two separate Panels at IFA RIO) and in academic conferences in Europe (e.g. Oxford, WU, Amsterdam, Exeter), the US (NYU), and Latin America. He has been a member of the Academic Commission of the ICDT, and has taught CIT, Constitutional Tax Law, Tax Policy, and International Taxation at Universidad del Rosario, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Externado, and Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, among others.

Dr Quiñones has been admitted to practice in the State of New York and in England and Wales, so he can provide advice for clients with interests in these jurisdictions. Dr. Quiñones is licensed to practise in England and Wales, Colombia, and in the State of New York.

Practice Areas:
Tax litigation and administrative tax controversies; tax policy design, lobbying and consultancy; national and international tax planning and advisory; estate taxation; advice on local taxes; advice and litigation regarding tax penalties; Constitutional tax law.
Education:
University of Oxford (Dphil., 2019). New York University School of Law (LL.M., International Taxation, Vanderbilt Fellow, 2011); New York University Stern School of Business (APCLB – Advanced Professional Certificate in Law and Business, Vogelstein Fellow, 2011); Universidad del Rosario (Specialization in Tax Law, 2011); Universidad de los Andes (LLB, Cum Laude, 2009; BSc in Political Science, 2010; Minor in Asian Studies, 2010).
Languages:
Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and (basic) Mandarin Chinese.