BRISBANE: Australia has vowed a “very aggressive” crackdown on tax avoidance at weekend G-20 talks, as a row rages over Luxembourg’s sweetheart arrangements with multinationals. Closing corporate tax loopholes and endorsing a common reporting standard to increase transparency are set to be a primary focus of the G-20 summit in… – Continue reading
(AFP) The OECD Friday forecast competition heating up among countries wanting to attract revenue from big digital companies like Apple and Google, even as a row rages over Luxembourg’s arrangements with multinationals. Closing corporate tax loopholes and endorsing a common reporting standard to increase transparency are set to be a… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS — European Union authorities have accused the Netherlands of making a special deal with Starbucks that helped the company lower its taxes, creating unfair advantages over other countries in the bloc. The report by the bloc’s competition authority, made public on Friday, is a preliminary finding in a review… – Continue reading
The LuxLeaks scandal is a classical example of the growingly frequent clash between the level of integration of the European economy (and the global for that matter) and the national sovereignty. Greece was first to prove that four years ago when it put to the test the very survival of… – Continue reading
November 14: The European Commission (EC) today released a “non-confidential version” of its June 2014 EC decision to open an in-depth investigation concerning whether certain transfer pricing arrangements of a multinational entity with the Dutch tax authorities constitute state aid that is contrary to EU law. The investigation is identified… – Continue reading
Brisbane (Australia) (AFP) – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Friday forecast competition heating up among countries wanting to attract revenue from big digital companies like Apple and Google, even as a row rages over Luxembourg’s arrangements with multinationals. Closing corporate tax loopholes and endorsing a common reporting… – Continue reading
The UK has agreed to put forward a proposal to close its patent box tax break, which allows income from the commercial exploitation of intellectual property (IP) to be taxed at 10%, in a concession to German concerns about artificial shifting of profits between European countries.12 Nov 2014 Intellectual Property… – Continue reading
Northern Ireland is a serious player in the international market to attract more foreign investment. The comprehensive requirement: can Northern Ireland offer a competitive combination of access to markets, favourable domestic costs including employment costs, an adequate infrastructure base, a stable society and taxation policies that help to ensure attractive… – Continue reading
Irish lawmakers on Thursday debated new legislation that will close one tax incentive but expand another amid controversy over international corporate tax avoidance following an investigation into deals made by multinationals in Luxembourg. As part of the Finance Bill, Dublin would end the contested “Double Irish” system but a separate… – Continue reading
Minister confident as Luxembourg leaks overshadow finance ministers’ meeting in Brussels Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he expects the European Commission investigation into Ireland’s tax deal with Apple to be dropped, as he defended Ireland’s corporate tax regime yesterday in the wake of the Luxembourg leaks scandal. “My… – Continue reading
After the US bailed out the insurance conglomerate AIG in 2008, the company’s employees kept to business as usual—which included setting up complex tax structures to avoid taxes in Europe and Japan. In 2008, the company was on the brink of a bankruptcy that would have created huge losses throughout… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS – Dividend, interest and royalty payments that companies let pass through the Netherlands to avoid taxation have increased substantially in the past decade, the Netherlands Court of Audit has found. In a report published on Thursday (6 November), the court writes that tax laws and treaties that originally were… – Continue reading
The European Commission has requested information from seven member states in state aid cases involving taxation: Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Britain and has opened four in-depth investigations in Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta, European Commission Margaritis Schinas said today. He was commenting after a media report said… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS – Aid funding intended for private enterprises in developing country is being moved through offshore tax havens, potentially hindering tax collections in the developing countries it was meant to help. Government operated aid and development organizations around the world routinely route investments and funds through entities domiciled in offshore… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9afd1680-52e3-11e4-9221-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3IYBSVmwd For decades, regional authorities such as Wallonia have had to show great creativity in… – Continue reading
An overhaul of the Grand Duchy’s corporate tax law and administration is required Occupying a damp 1,000 square miles where the French, German and Belgian borders meet, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a far cry from the palm-fringed tropical island tax haven of popular imagination. In fact the country… – Continue reading
Bruton says new business can be won after end of ‘Double Irish’ with fresh tax proposals More than 1,000 new jobs could be created based on commitments received from US multinationals on a Government trade mission, the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Richard Bruton said. Speaking at the end… – Continue reading
Multinational firms which exploit loopholes to avoid paying tax in the UK will be pushed to “damn well pay,” David Cameron said on Thursday. The PM’s statement was denounced as disingenuous by global tax expert and UK economist Richard Murphy. Cameron’s comments follow recent controversy over the manner in which… – Continue reading
Ireland’s role in Apple’s affairs means the sums involved are material to Ireland Ireland has done extraordinarily well at attracting foreign direct investment, and the politicians and public servants involved must be hoping that when the current fuss over global tax competition subsides, that will continue to be the case…. – Continue reading
Introduction The economy has come to the forefront of the Second U.S. House District race between incumbent Democrat Dave Loebsack and Republican challenger Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Loebsack’s campaign accuses Miller-Meeks of being in favor of “special tax breaks to outsourcing corporations” and claims she partnered with a company that sent… – Continue reading
In June, the European Commission (“EC”) announced the opening of three investigations into tax rulings in Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and, in particular, into tax rulings applied by Ireland to Apple, by Luxembourg to Fiat Finance and, last, by the Netherlands to Starbucks. In October 2014, the EC announced… – Continue reading
Irish Finance Bill 2014: Last Sunday The New York Times in an editorial following the decision in Budget 2015 to eliminate the Double Irish tax dodge from 2021, said “Ireland, which for years used policies like the Double Irish to attract multinational businesses, appears uninterested in true reform. It will… – Continue reading
LUXEMBOURG — On the first floor of a rust-colored building near the main railway station, Marius Kohl spent years engineering this country’s most valuable export: tax relief. As head of a federal agency called Societes 6, Mr. Kohl approved thousands of tax arrangements for multinational corporations, sometimes helping them save… – Continue reading
There has been a lot of press coverage recently around the pricing and tax arrangements of multinationals, in particular Apple, Starbucks and Amazon. In this respect, the EU is undertaking in-depth investigates into these companies to establish whether the companies’ tax arrangements have breached EU State Aid rules. These cases… – Continue reading
Ireland puts an end to a tax loophole that saved Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook billions in taxes “Double Irish” might sound like a drink that corporate tax lawyers reach for at the prospect of paying higher tax bills, but it’s actually the name of a controversial — albeit legal… – Continue reading
Europe’s antitrust regulator is encroaching on what has been the preserve of national governments. There’s a new tax sheriff in town. Europe’s top antitrust regulator, the Brussels-based European Commission, has launched an unexpected assault on what it suspects are sweetheart tax deals for multinational companies, plowing into an area traditionally… – Continue reading
Ireland’s hard-pressed taxpayers are set for the first easing of austerity in seven years when tax cuts are announced in tomorrow’s payback budget. October 14 2014 will go down as a watershed in a painstaking economic recovery, four years since a banking collapse bankrupted the State and less than a… – Continue reading
The screw is being turned on American companies that use complex structures to whittle down their tax bills. But is the latest EU probe a paper tiger or a game changer? It was supposed to be good news. Amazon’s announcement yesterday that it would hire 1,000 staff was dressed up… – Continue reading
The European Commission’s recent action to crack down on special deals some European Union governments offer to corporations could be a blow to multinational corporations’ tax-dodging strategies. As we noted in a report earlier this year, three European countries (Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) are among the top twelve tax… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ba95cff0-4fcd-11e4-a0a4-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3G77zeNBz Brussels is challenging the “double Irish” tax avoidance measure prized by big US tech… – Continue reading
The UK government will continue to defend its ‘patent box’ tax break for income from qualifying intellectual property (IP) during discussions to develop a global corporate tax regime, a Treasury official has said.08 Oct 2014 Intellectual Property Tax Patents Corporate tax Life sciences Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Services UK Europe… – Continue reading
The UK government will continue to defend its ‘patent box’ tax break for income from qualifying intellectual property (IP) during discussions to develop a global corporate tax regime, a Treasury official has said.08 Oct 2014 Intellectual Property Tax Patents Corporate tax Life sciences Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Services UK Europe… – Continue reading
Amazon’s tax arrangements with Luxembourg are being investigated by E.U. regulators, as the online retailer becomes the latest global company to be accused of striking tax-minimising deals with member states that may break bloc rules. Corporate tax avoidance has come under the spotlight on both sides of the Atlantic in… – Continue reading
Amazon, the online retailer, is to face a formal investigation into its European corporate tax practices, the European Commission has announced. The Commission – the executive division of the 28-member European Union – says it will look at the tax agreement made between Amazon and Luxembourg. It suspects the deal… – Continue reading
Amazon is believed to have exploited a slightly different tax loophole in Luxemborg to wash away most local taxes The European Union (EU) made waves late last month when its antitrust regulators — a part of the trade-regulating body known as the European Commission (EC) — issued a preliminary finding… – Continue reading
The Californian corporation is Cork’s largest private employer, but has not won over all local hearts and minds. Now the city is at the heart of a fight over taxation that involves not just Ireland but also the European commission and the US senate Anger is mounting in Cork. The… – Continue reading
On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, the European Commission (the Commission) published its decision to open an investigation intoIreland’s transfer pricing practices. The Commission is also reviewing the transfer pricing practices of other EU Member States, including the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Any advanced pricing agreement (APA) or other tax ruling within the EU… – Continue reading
Fiat-Chrysler (FIA.MI) reiterated on Thursday that a tax agreement granted by Luxembourg to one of its subsidiaries was legitimate and said the potential financial impact of a European Commission probe into the matter would not be significant. A tax concession that Luxembourg authorities granted to Fiat Finance and Trade in… – Continue reading
By Gaspard Sebag and Aoife White October 01, 2014“My decisions, whether final or intermediate, are exclusively based on an analysis of compliance with EU rules and enforcement frameworks,” Almunia said in an e-mailed response to the Gibraltar statement. Gibraltar said it had “very little confidence in the work of EU… – Continue reading
The European Commission has extended the scope of its investigation into whether Gibraltar’s corporate tax regime favors certain companies, in breach of EU state aid rules. Related Stories Brussels to accuse Apple over illegal Irish tax deals: FT Reuters EU says Ireland swapped Apple tax deal for jobs Reuters EU watchdog to… – Continue reading
American technology companies are suddenly living in fear. European governments are finally standing up to the power of these giants that are happy to talk about the benefits their digital products and services bring to society while being accused of not paying their fair share of corporation tax, not doing… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS : The European Union’s tax investigation of Luxembourg focuses on a single unit of the Italian auto company Fiat. But the implications of the inquiry could in some ways be more far-reaching for multinational companies and their tax accounting than the bloc’s separate Apple-Ireland inquiry, experts said Tuesday. “I… – Continue reading
The European Commission’s crackdown on the deal between Irish tax authorities and Apple Inc. marks an expansion in the growing global war on tax avoidance by multinational companies. Governments that enable it are now a target. Tuesday, the European Commission said the Irish tax authorities failed to conform to international… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Brussels has challenged Luxembourg over a tax ruling offering potentially illicit support to a Fiat subsidiary, opening a… – Continue reading
The European Union has accused Ireland of swerving international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars from revenue collectors in return for maintaining jobs. European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the Dublin government in a letter published on Tuesday that tax deals agreed in… – Continue reading
The European Commission is expected to announce today that Apple, now one of the world’s biggest listed companies, got special treatment from the Irish authorities, when the American company sought assurances on tax issues in 1991 and 2007 – – from the latter year, Apple’s foreign tax rate tumbled compared… – Continue reading
(AFP) The European Union is to accuse US tech giant Apple of taking illegal aid from the Irish state through sweetheart tax deals over two decades, the Financial Times reported Monday. A European Commission investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in Ireland, where it has enjoyed a rate of less than… – Continue reading
European regulators are set to examine whether Apple violated EU law by striking special tax deals with the Irish government. The European Commission opened an initial investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in June, looking at whether the company’s two percent tax rate in Ireland — far less than the standard 12.5… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f0564d62-4803-11e4-b5ad-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3EsBYd5vW Technology companies “that go to extraordinary lengths” to cut their tax… – Continue reading
Ireland can adopt ‘wait-and-see’ approach on tax breaks, says Department of Finance Ireland supports the EU review of all patent box regimes – under which certain member states offer tax breaks for intellectual property – and has decided to take a “wait-and-see approach” on the issue until guidance is provided… – Continue reading
