The Brazilian Federal Revenue Department on June 8 issued Normative Instruction 1568/15 modifying the calculation of transfer prices based on Brazilian commodities methods applicable to imports and exports, writes PwC in a tax alert. See, PwC.
The OECD on June 8 released model domestic legislation and competent authority agreements to implement the transfer pricing country-by-country (CbC) reporting plan developed under the OECD/G20 base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) project. The work furthers action 13 of the OECD/G20 BEPS plan and . . .
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled, in BMC Software Inc., decided March 13, that accounts receivables created under a transfer pricing closing agreement are not a related-party loans causing partial disallowance of the . . .
The South African Revenue Service on February 12 released draft guidance interpreting special tax incentives for headquarters companies, designed to encourage MNEs to locate operations in South Africa as a gateway to African investment. The law, effective for tax years after January 1, 2011, provides special tax breaks for qualifying. . .
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on December 9 published on the Internet 35 more leaked Luxembourg private tax rulings. The documents originated from the big four accounting firms, as well as from smaller Luxembourg-based tax firms and law . . .
The OECD on October 31 released a discussion draft on the artificial avoidance of permanent establishment ( PE) status, addressing commissionaire structures, the avoidance of PE status through specific activity exemptions, and other issues. The draft responds to Action 7 of the OECD/G-20 Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), issued
. . .
UPDATE: OECD to hold January 21 consultation on draft rules to stop avoidance of PE status: Requests to attend or speak are due January 9.
Poland’s President, Bronislaw Komorowski, on Sept. 17, signed into law changes to the thin capitalization rules that reduce the debt-to-equity ratio to 1:1, broaden the definition of “qualifying entity,” extend the rules to indirect relationships, and introduce new methods to determine tax deducible interest limits, writes KPMG Poland in an Oct. 2 report. For discussion of the new law, see KPMG (PDF 126 KB).
The US IRS, on August 26, released its 2014–2015 priority guidance plan, which details the tax guidance it intends to work on from July 2014 through June 2015.
Notable international tax changes . . .
“Any retroactive tax would be borne by US taxpayers in the form of a credit,” notes US deputy assistant secretary, Robert Stack. See: Financial Times
The Guideline for Tax Risk Management of Fees paid to Overseas Related Parties, issued June 30, interprets Announcement 16, released in March, writes EY. See: EY
A European Parliament committee has published letters from EU member state officials describing tax ruling practices, efforts to combat tax avoidance, and compliance with EU spontaneous exchange of information directives. The letters, published by. . .
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance has announced it will modify transfer pricing rules for business restructuring, the profit split method, and reporting for companies merged or dissolved, writes PwC in a March 19 report. Amendments also revise advance pricing agreement requirements and introduce reverse calculation of revenue using the profit standard of the same trade. See, PwC.
The European Commission has enlarged its state aid investigation into private tax ruling practices to cover all 28 European Union states. “The Commission will ask Member States to provide information about their tax ruling practice, in particular to confirm whether they provide tax rulings, and, if they do, to request a list of all companies that have received a tax ruling from 2010 to 2013,” the Commission said December 17 in a press release . . .
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
The European Commission’s inquiry into whether Ireland granted illegal state aid to Apple by granting the company favorable tax rulings could turn into a long-running court battle, said Finance Minister Michael Noonan on July 3.
“We will provide a detailed, technical, legal rebuttal to the Commission’s position and, if necessary, defend our position in the European courts,” said Noonan, in comments before the Dáil. He added that if the matter goes to court, it could remain unresolved for three to five years . . .
The international tax practices of countries spill over national boundaries and negatively effect other nations, particularly developing nations, concludes a International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff report.
The 85-page report, “Spillovers in International Corporate Taxation,” dated May 9 but released publicly on June 25, analyzes tax spillovers and suggests . . .
-NEW: Analysis by Dr. Constantin Gurdgiev, at true economics
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on December 10 said it is reviewing arrangements where an Australian resident multinational establishes a controlled foreign . . .
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.
The US IRS signed significantly fewer advance pricing agreements (APAs) in 2014 as compared to the two previous years, according to statistics released by the goverment on March 30. A total of 101 APAs were signed in 2014, as compared to 145 in 2013 and 140 in. . .
In comment letters released February 11, business representatives argued that the OECD should not adopt a proposal to limit MNE interest deductions using a group-wide test, as proposed in a discussion draft released under OECD base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) plan. Just over 100 comment letters were released in response to the discussion draft, issued December 18 . . .
In a July 2 report, Deloitte analyzes significant corporate tax proposals in a tax reform package released by the Spanish government on June 20. The corporate tax reforms include a reduction in corporate tax rates for 2015 and 2016; new anti-hybrid rules; changes to controlled foreign company rules; loss of deductions for intragroup profit participating loan interest; modifications to net operating loss carryforward rules, and changes to transfer pricing definitions, documentation, and valuation method hierarchies, writes Deloitte. For more details, see Deloitte.
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.
The EU Commission on October 8 launched a public consultation on an EU-wide common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). Through the . . .
The OECD has published entries in its online library for the 13 final reports to be delivered under the OECD/G20 base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) plan, adding summaries of 11 reports that reveal some of the content of the coming . . .
Canada resolved 115 Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) program cases through negotiations with other countries during FY 2014/2015, slightly more than the annual tally of settled negotiable MAP cases in preceding periods . . .
The Indian government has announced that it has settled 35 transfer pricing disputes with the US in the information technology services and information technology enabled services industries thanks to a framework agreement signed . . .
The State of California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has concluded that some payments received pursuant to a cost sharing arrangement (CSA) constitute gross receipts for purposes of the California sales factor. In TAM 2015-1, dated . . .
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
India’s Bombay High Court on October 10 ruled in favor of Vodafone in a transfer pricing dispute, potentially resolving about two dozen other Indian tax disputes involving whether the transfer or issuance of undervalued shares by an Indian company to an overseas related party . . .
Update: For the Bombay High Court decision, see Vodafone
An unpublished draft report written by PwC in its role as contractor for the European Commission concludes it would be good for the economy if the EU requires banks to publicly release data such as turnover, profit and loss, and taxes, on a country-by-country basis, according to an Oct. 2 article by EurActiv. The PwC report will
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
EU lawmakers have nothing to fear from Google’s “double Irish” tax scheme because the purpose of the structure is to avoid current inclusion of US tax, not avoid EU tax, Google’s director of public policy & government affairs, Nicklas Lundblad, told a European Parliament committee investigating the tax affairs of multinationals on November 16. Lundblad was joined by representatives of Amazon, Barclays Bank, The Coca-Cola Company
. . .
The UK on October 5 released draft regulations to implement country-by-country tax reporting to tax authorities . . .
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