Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on March 3 advised that it will accept 2014-15 profits tax returns in which assessable profits are computed on a fair value basis while the government continues to consider its response to the decision in Nice Cheer Investment Limited v CIR. . . .
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been scrutinizing the tax affairs of more than 200 multinational corporations for the past 18 months, and expects to litigate tax disputes arising from this activity beginning the second half of 2015, Andrew Mills . . .
The Italian government on January 24 passed a law that significantly expands its new patent box regime, allowing additional categories of intellectual property and outsourced activities to qualify, and dispensing with the requirement to obtain a ruling to determine income attributed to IP in many cases, writes EY in a January 27 tax alert. See, EY.
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.
The US IRS has released its annual “no rule” list, adding FATCA issues to the list of issues that the agency will “not ordinarily” address in private letter rulings or determination letters. . .
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 . . .
The EU Council on December 9 announced an agreement to add an antiabuse provision to the parent-subsidiary directive to stop multinational tax avoidance. The antiabuse rule will be a minimum standard; countries may adopt stricter national laws if they choose . . .
Spain and Canada have signed a protocol their update their tax treaty, the Spanish government announced on November 18. The new protocol would update . . .
The Irish government on October 23 published Finance Bill 2014, which gives effect to the taxation-related measures previously announced in the government’s 2015 budget.
Included are changes to Ireland’s company residence rules which slowly close the “double Irish” corporate tax loophole. Beginning January 1, 2015, all . . .
Irish tax proposal will not eliminate “double Irish,” say attorneys: Even if Ireland eliminates the Irish incorporated non-resident company, 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 under Ireland’s existing tax treaties with those nations, write Jeffrey L. Rubinger and Summer Ayers LePree of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP in an October 23 website post. See, Bilzin Sumberg.
China and Russia on October 13 signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation. The agreement would replace a tax treaty signed by the countries in May 1994. Under the new agreement, dividends . . .
The US Treasury Department has updated its FATCA website, reporting that Poland has signed a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States as of October 7. Agreement
The UN’s Financing for Development Office has released papers authored by prominent international tax professors in preparation for a workshop, “Tax Base Protection for Developing Countries,” to be held on Sept. 23.
The workshop is the second of a . . .
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 U.S. IRS, on July 29, released an advance copy of Notice 2014-45, which expands on Notice 2014-44, released its July 21, concerning dispositions of assets following a section 901(m) covered asset . . .
The OECD, on July 21, released the full version of its standard for automatic exchange of tax information. Included is an overview of the standard, the full text of the Model Competent Authority Agreement and the Common Reporting and Due Diligence Standard, commentaries on the model agreements, and seven annexes, including model multilateral and nonreciprocal competent . . .
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.
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
Caterpillar and its auditor and tax adviser, PwC, at an April 1 Senate hearing, defended against allegations that Caterpillar improperly shifted U.S. profits from the sale of replacement parts to a Switzerland subsidiary. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing followed up on the subcommittee’s March 31 report, which alleged that Caterpillar improperly avoided or deferred $2.4 billion in U.S. tax from 2000 to 2012
See also: Reuters ,USA Today, CNN Money, The New York Times
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on December 10 said it is reviewing arrangements where an Australian resident multinational establishes a controlled foreign . . .
Mauritius and Morocco signed a tax treaty on November 25, the Mauritius goverment . . .
The National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, Ministry of Finance, on November 23 released guidance on the tax treatment of payments made by profit seeking . . .
The EU and Liechtenstein on October 28 agreed to automatically exchange tax information on the financial accounts of each other’s residents beginning . . .
The US IRS has issued final guidance under section 871(m) on dividend equivalent payments made to foreign corporations and nonresident aliens. The regulations, published in the Federal Register on September 18, establish . . .
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 UAE Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) said August 18 that while Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have agreed to simultaneously launch a value added tax (VAT), the countries have yet to settle. . .
“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 UN’s Financing for Development Office has released the United Nations Handbook on Selected Issues in Protecting the Tax Base of Developing Countries, compiling in one publication ten papers authored by prominent international tax professors . . .
Data suggests that while the existence of a patent box regime incentivizes multinationals to shift the location of their patents, the shift is usually not accompanied by an increase in research activities or . . .
The US is disappointed with much of the OECD/G20 base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) plan output, particularly work on permanent establishments (PEs), though it supports efforts on country-by-county reporting, dispute resolution, hybrids, and interest stripping, US Treasury officials said June 10–11 in Washington at the 2015 OECD International . . .
Amazon has confirmed that as of May 1 it began booking profits from sales in the UK, Italy, Spain, and Germany in the country where the sale actually took place rather than in low-tax Luxembourg. See, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Independent, International Business Times, The Guardian, Tim Scott – Tax is an Accrual Business, Out-Law.com
German firm Roever Broenner Susat has joined Mazars’ international integrated partnership, Mazars announced April 21. As a result of the merger, Mazars will have 12 offices in Germany with 1,000 staff members, including 68 partners. The firm . . .
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. . .
KPMG International has named William O’Mara as its new global head of audit, effective March 1 . . .
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