G20 finance ministers have agreed to a plan to create a multilateral instrument to implement tax treaty-related measures under OECD/G20 the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) plan, the ministers said in a communique following their February 9-10 meeting in Istanbul . . .
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 . . .
The UK and Croatia on January 15 signed a tax treaty in Zagreb, the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs has announced. The treaty would replace the UK/Yugoslavia Double Taxation Convention which both countries are currently . . .
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
The Finance Committee of the German Bundesrat on October 24 proposed tax amendments that would limit cross-border hybrid financing arrangements, amend the rules for intra-group transfers, and revise the rules for the participation exemption for capital gains on portfolio shareholding, notes KPMG in a November 4 report. For discussion, see KPMG.
The European Commission has announced that it is assessing different options for a new EU VAT regime for business-to-business (B2B) supplies of goods based on taxation at destination. The work is a step toward the goal of a complete overhaul . . .
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’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
The European Commission, on July 11, launched a public consultation on the potential economic consequences of going forward with a requirement that financial intuitions publicly report, on a country-by-country basis, their profit and loss before tax, their tax on profit or loss, and public subsidies received. The country-by-country reporting requirement is slated to take effect January 1, 2015. . .
Brazil’s tax authorities, in guidance released June 20, have made a “landmark change” to the withholding tax treatment of outbound payments for technical services and technical assistance in cases covered by a tax treaty, writes Deloitte in a June 27 report. For analysis of the new guidance, Interpretative Act No. 5/2014 (ADI RFB 5/2014), which can be applied retroactively, see report by Deloitte.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, on June 24, endorsed economic reforms, including a phased-in cut to Japan’s corporate tax rate. The rate would drop from 35.64 percent to below 30 percent beginning in 2015. Read more, at The Japan Times, The New York Times.
US Republican congressmen, in a June 2 statement, said they were concerned that some countries see the OECD base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project as a means to “raid the American Treasury.” . . .
Ryan, a global tax services firm, on June 3, announced that it has acquired Altus International, a Netherlands-based firm that provides transfer pricing, business restructuring, and valuation services. Release
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 OECD has released two discussion drafts on BEPS action item 2, which calls for development of model treaty provisions and recommendations regarding the design of domestic rules to neutralize the effects (double non-taxation, double deduction, and long term deferral) of hybrid mismatch arrangements.
Comments are requested by May 2014, Press Release; Discussion Draft on Treaty Issues; Discussion Draft on Recommendations for Domestic Laws; Analysis: EY, Deloitte
China and Monaco have signed the multilateral competent authority agreement, moving the countries one step closer to adopting automatic exchange of financial account information for tax purposes . . .
The US IRS on December 7 published corrections to final and temporary regulations (TD 9734) issued September 18, changing the effective date . . .
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
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The UK on October 5 released draft regulations to implement country-by-country tax reporting to tax authorities . . .
India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes announced September 24 that it will not impose minimum alternative tax (MAT) on companies that do not have have a permanent establishment or . . .
The US IRS has announced that it will hold a hearing on September 18 on proposed regulations released April 23 that provide guidance . . .
The US Treasury’s 2015–2016 priority guidance plan, released July 31, reveals that the US government intends to develop regulations implementing OECD/G20 base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) plan rules requiring country-by-country reporting by multinational enterprises for transfer pricing risk. . .
Germany and The Netherlands have agreed to immediately begin spontaneous exchange of tax information on some advance pricing agreements (APAs) and on Dutch innovation and patent box rulings, Germany’s . . .
The final version of the rewrite of Chapter 1 of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines concerning delineation of transactions, risk, recharacterization, and special measures will be “quite different” from draft guidance on the topic released last December, Joe Andrus, consultant and former head of the transfer pricing unit at the OECD, said . . .
The OECD on May 13 released comments to a discussion draft under action 11 of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) plan on improving the availability and analysis of data on BEPS and on monitoring the effectiveness and economic impact of actions . . .
Ireland and Pakistan signed a tax treaty on April 16, Irish Revenue and Customs has announced. The agreement . . .
Australia and the UK have asked G20 nations to join them in an effort to stop the diversion of profits by multinational enterprises, in an initiative designed to go “further and faster” than the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) plan, Australia’s . . .
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.
The OECD on April 3 released a discussion draft that provides recommendations on how countries can design effective controlled foreign companies (CFC) rules to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). Released in response to action 3 of . . .
The UK’s HM Revenue and Customs on March 30 announced that the UK and Bulgaria signed a double tax treaty on March 26. The agreement will enter into force . . .
The US Treasury Department has updated its FATCA website, reporting that Belarus has signed a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States as of March 18. The text of the agreement is available. See: Model 1 IGA
European Court of Justice Advocate General, Niilo Jääskinen, issued his opinion February 26 that freedom of establishment principles do not prevent Germany from imposing tax on unrealized gains inherent in assets located in Germany upon the transfer . . .
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