The Luxembourg tax authorities released a tax circular January 9 detailing the tax treatment of income from Luxembourg limited partnerships and Luxembourg special limited partnerships, including specific guidance on entities whose activities that fall within the definition of an alternative investment fund, writes PwC in a January 14 tax alert. For details, see PwC.
Gireesh Chandra Prasad of the Financial Express, in an August 23 article, has quoted unnamed India Finance Ministry officials as stating that India’s tax authority will permit rollback of advance pricing agreements (APAs) to prior tax years only with adjustments for inflation. See, Financial Express
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance, in guidance released June 4, has provided definitions of terms used in transfer pricing, including the arm’s length principle, transfer prices, and business relationships, according to a July 2 KPMG article. See, KPMG.
Professor Itai Grinberg of Georgetown University Law Center predicts that the parts of the BEPS plan to be implemented by the OECD Model Treaty will be implemented, whereas “everything else is subject to substantial doubt.” See: SSRN
“The Senate standing committee on economics will this week write to Uber and room-sharing service Airbnb inviting them to make a written submission to the inquiry into the use of offshore tax havens by multinational companies. The next step will be to invite company representatives to appear at hearings as “guests” of the inquiry,” writes Fleur Anderson of Financial Review.
The financial results tax is now expected to go effect in 2017. See: TASS.
The Spanish government has published draft regulations, effective January 1, 2016, that require country-by-country reporting for multinationals consistent with guidance released under the OECD/G20 base erosion and profit shifting plan, writes PwC in an April 9 tax alert. For details, see PWC.
Italy’s parliament, on December 22, passed a law introducing a patent box regime and adding a new research and development (R&D) tax credit, among other measures, writes EY in January 2 tax alert. For discussion, see EY.
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is investigating whether PwC’s provision of both tax advice and auditing services to Caterpillar Inc. created a conflict of interest, and whether US rules should be modified to prohibit accounting firms from operating in these dual roles, according to a November 19 article by Michael Rapoport of the Wall Street Journal. For in-depth discussion, see Wall Street Journal.
Singapore’s Ministry of Finance announced, on August 27, that it will modify portions of the draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2014 and related subsidiary legislation in response to suggestions lodged pursuant to a public consultation. Press release, Annex (summary of GST consultation and responses)
India’s tax income tax department is considering requiring taxpayers to report indirect transfers abroad of assets located in India and may extend the reporting requirement to prior tax years, writes Gireesh Chandra Prasad of the Financial Express, quoting an unnamed tax official. For more details, see Financial Express.
Decisions on the advance pricing agreements may be released as soon as next Wednesday, writes Tom Fairless of The Wall Street Journal. See: The Wall Street Journal. More: Bloomberg. Related: MNE Tax.
A second man has been charged with crimes in Luxembourg for stealing and leaking confidential PwC client tax documents, including 548 private rulings, that revealed Luxembourg’s role in multinational tax . . .
Irish Tax and Customs on December 31 released guidance notes providing section-by-section commentary on many provisions of the Irish tax code. Included are the tax administration’s views on transfer pricing, anti-avoidance, double taxation relief, tax treaties, and charging and assessing nonresidents.
See, Notes for Guidance
Wisconsin Republican, Paul Ryan, was named chair of the US congressional tax-writing panel, the House and Ways Committee, on November 19. Ryan will lead the Republicans’ efforts to reform the US tax code. See, Release – House Speaker John Boehner
A Hungarian draft bill submitted to parliament October 22 would impose a tax on Internet service providers based on their customers’ Internet use, prompting calls for public protest. ISPs would pay a tax of Ft150 (62 U.S. cents) on each gigabyte of internet data used. The proposal may be modified to include caps on the tax. See, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Portfolio.
India is attempting to renegotiate tax treaties with Germany, France, Singapore, Italy, and South Korea to add corresponding adjustment provisions so that India can sign bilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs) involving these nations, writes Vrishti Beniwal in an August 26 Business Standard article, quoting unnamed Finance Ministry officials. See, Business Standard
Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority, on May 16, published a guide for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry that outlines the tax treatment of research and development and intellectual property-related expenditures. See, Guide
The French tax administration has released a list of transactions considered to be abusive tax avoidance schemes, including some intergroup arrangements, writes KPMG in an April 6 tax alert. Included on the list are some instances where profits are relocated to a low tax jurisdiction after restructuring, unjustified payments of commissions or royalties, and abuse of tax treaties by inserting a structure to disguise the true beneficiary of a royalty, the firm writes. See, KPMG.
“Facebook pays no UK corporation tax for a second year,” by Mark Sweney, The Guardian
The Thai Board of Investment has upgraded its program of tax concessions to encourage businesses to establish their headquarters in Thailand, writes KPMG in a September 9 tax alert. See: KPMG
Draft South Korean legislation would require taxpayers to submit a master file and a local file consistent with OECD rules, but not a country-by-country report, notes KPMG in an August 20 report. See: KPMG
Indonesia intends to gradually lower its corporate tax rate from 25 percent to 17.8 or 17.5 percent to compete with Singapore, reports Bloomberg Business in a May 10 article, quoting Luhut Panjaitan, the president’s chief of staff. See, Indonesia to Cut Taxes to Near Singapore Level in Profits Battle – Bloomberg Business.
Indonesia is conducting a review of all tax treaties with other nations to determine if they promote tax avoidance and is considering temporarily suspending them, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told reporters November 21, according to mulitple reports by the Indonesian press. See, Katadata (in Indonesian), Merdeka (in Indonesian).
Even if Ireland eliminates the Irish incorporated non-resident company, as proposed in 2015 Irish budget, the tax benefits of the “double Irish Dutch sandwich,”can still be achieved by setting up a Irish company managed and controlled in Malta or the UAE instead of a Caribbean nation because of provisions in Ireland’s existing tax treaties with those nations, writes Jeffrey L. Rubinger and Summer Ayers LePree of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP in an October 23 website post. See, Bilzin Sumberg.
A European Commission report released October 23 estimates that €177 billion in VAT revenues was lost due to non-compliance or non-collection in 2012. The VAT Gap study provides VAT collection trends among 26 EU Member States and analyzes the impact that the economic climate and policy decisions have on VAT revenues. See, report (985 kB), release.
A discussion draft released by China’s State Administration of Taxation on September 17 “is a highly significant document, clarifying the Chinese approach to TP investigations and analysis, introducing new TP methodologies, and significantly expanding TP documentation requirements,” writes KPMG. The new guidance also amends special and general antiavoidance rules. See: KPMG. More: Deloitte, DLA Piper, EY.
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