MUMBAI: It seems, following a directive from PM Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is leaving no stones unturned to change the image of India from being too aggressive on taxation to being strict but friendly on corporate taxation. The CBDT, which has been… – Continue reading
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has welcomed a change to the Government’s approach1 to improve tax compliance by large companies but remains sceptical about the effectiveness of a ‘special measures’ regime to target tax abuse. John Cullinane, Tax Policy Director, said: “We are pleased that the framework for improving… – Continue reading
A BALANCING ACT in London, folly and redemption in America’s District of Columbia and sheer hypocrisy in Brussels. And in every case, Barbados and many of its Caribbean neighbours were placed in the negative international spotlight at a time when some of the world’s major financial centres are casting about… – Continue reading
IT is ironic that what was almost at the centre of the BEPS project has ended up in not having a concrete agreement and with a vague promise of some review by the year 2020. One may recall that it was the big digital companies and their tax affairs that… – Continue reading
A study from Confindustria, the Italian business association, has estimated that tax and social security contributions evaded in Italy amounted to EUR122.2bn, or 7.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in 2014. Confindustria described tax evasion as “a serious obstacle to Italy’s economic and social development because it penalizes equity,… – Continue reading
It was Kerry Packer who famously told the nation’s politicians “if anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax they want their head read” because “as a government I can tell you you’re not spending it that well that we should be paying extra”. The words have gone down in… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released its first tax transparency report, outlining for the 2013-14 year, the tax information published by the ATO covering income tax of certain corporate taxpayers with total income of AUS $100 million or more. Of the 1,539 total number of companies disclosed in the ATO’s… – Continue reading
Apple CEO says the company pays ‘every tax dollar we owe’ amid debate in the US over corporations avoiding tax by using offshore units Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook has dismissed as “total political crap” the notion that the technology giant was avoiding taxes. Cook’s remarks, made on CBS’ 60… – Continue reading
Footwear is one of the industries with high export turnover. However, the profitable industry is being controlled by companies from South Korea and Taiwan. According to the Vietnam Leather & Footwear Association (Lefaso), with 800 enterprises and 1 million workers, FIEs account for one-fourth of total number of footwear makers,… – Continue reading
As the Government of Jamaica moves on its agenda to prevent revenue leakage through transfer pricing legislation, local companies are still waiting to see what impact the changes will have on their operations. The new law allows for the detailed examination of the accounts of companies with associates and branches… – Continue reading
Case law Chevron appeal to the Full Federal Court Chevron Australia Holdings Pty Ltd has appealed the decision of the Federal Court in Chevron Australia Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (No 4) [2015] FCA 1092 to the Full Federal Court. For details of the Federal Court decision, please… – Continue reading
The Delhi High Court held that the taxpayer’s advertising, marketing, and sales promotion expenses were not an “international transaction” under provisions of India’s tax law, and thus, could not be the basis of a transfer pricing adjustment. The court further held that a “bright line test” as applied by the… – Continue reading
The Council of the European Union released details of a possible draft EU directive, addressing certain “anti-base erosion and profit shifting” (anti-BEPS) initiatives. The issues addressed concern certain international aspects of the proposal for an EU “common consolidated corporate tax base” (CCCTB), and reflect issues that are directly related to… – Continue reading
A list of tax paid by Australia’s biggest companies, released by Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan on Thursday, may have raised more questions than it answered. Nevertheless, we needed it. This is just the beginning of a long journey towards tax transparency. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released the data for… – Continue reading
The European Parliament has spelt out the legal steps needed to improve corporate tax transparency, coordination and an EU-wide policy convergence in a resolution voted on this week. Parliament’s drive to persuade EU member states to act to counter aggressive corporate tax planning and evasion by multinationals in Europe was… – Continue reading
Group companies, irrespective of the jurisdiction, will have to conform to common standards The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently released 15 action-plans to address the issue of “Base Erosion & Profit Shifting” or BEPS, which has led to misalignment between where taxes are paid and where value… – Continue reading
Liability below the mid-point of the range in IPO prospectus TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2015 /CNW/ – Spin Master Corp. (“Spin Master” or the “Company”) (TSX: TOY) announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”), which resolves a previously disclosed transfer pricing matter arising… – Continue reading
Not only is Dec. 31 the deadline for any last-minute, year-end tax planning you may be contemplating, but it may also be the last day to come clean to the tax man if you still have an undisclosed Swiss bank account. If that’s you, consider getting your act together and… – Continue reading
On December 8, there was a brief note in the media about the fact that Malta had managed to include a reference to flexibility into a European Council communiqué on taxation. You would be forgiven for overlooking it, assuming it was just a pedantic attempt to score political points. Think… – Continue reading
According to a research report titled “Illegal Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013”, recently published by the Washington based research institute Global Financial Integrity (GFI), Bangladesh stands 26th in the list of 149 developing nations, in terms of flight of capital including money laundering (The Daily Star, December 10, 2015)…. – Continue reading
Initiated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2013 and endorsed by the G-20, the OECD’s “Action Plan to Address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)” includes 15 key areas to encourage more transparency, better reporting and more cooperation between countries in which multinational companies operate. On October… – Continue reading
IP regime To comply with the OECD’s BEPS reports and more specifically its action plan n° 5 regarding harmful tax practices, the Luxembourg intellectual property (“IP“) regime under article 50bis of the Luxembourg income tax law (“ITL“) will be repealed as from 1 July 2016. As such, the Luxembourg 80%… – Continue reading
In the wake of the final OECD BEPS reports issued in October, the European Council adopted amendments to Directive 2011/16/EU providing for the automatic exchange of information concerning advance cross border rulings (ACBR) and advance pricing arrangements (APA) between Member States. The amendments, which will come into force from 1… – Continue reading
As the UK government continues its quest to grab upwards of £500 million in overdue taxes on undeclared overseas bank accounts, the subjects of tax avoidance and tax planning are in the headlines. While many people may be slightly confused as to the difference between tax avoidance and tax planning… – Continue reading
On the 29th of September of this year, one of the most important and controversial norms of the tax reform: the general anti-avoidance rule came into effect. This norm intends to cutback aggressive tax planning providing new faculties to the Chilean IRS. Indeed, this norm has incorporated what is widely… – Continue reading
Mexico has recently gazetted new transfer pricing documentation requirements, which will be effective from the 2016 tax year. The legislation was submitted to Congress by the Government on September 8, 2015, and published in the Official Gazette at the end of November. It will introduce the country-by-country (CbC) reporting framework… – Continue reading
Re-launching the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Basis (CCCTB) Corporate taxation in the EU needs to be fundamentally reformed. Today’s corporate tax systems in EU Member States were conceived in the 1930s, when cross-border trade was more limited, business models were simpler and products were tangible. But as business evolves, so… – Continue reading
WHETHER he is being straitjacketed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or it’s a case of his own ignorance of how economies work, Dr Peter Phillips is recklessly betraying the cause of Jamaican businesses. The finance minister, with the tacit support of the Cabinet – and his self-serving cabal –… – Continue reading
Nokain Tyres is appealing a tax adjustment for 2007-2010 that requires the tiremaker to pay an extra 87 million euros. The adjustment includes an additional 55 million euros in additional taxes and 32 million in punitive taxes that must be paid by January 2016, Tyres and Accessories reported. Nokian described… – Continue reading
The $160bn (€146.5bn) merger of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer with Dublin-based Allergan is an “opportunity” for Ireland, according to IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan. Last month Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, announced plans to merge with Botox manufacturer Allergan in a deal that will create the world’s biggest drug… – Continue reading
The tax commission of the ruling coalition (the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito) on 10 December 2015 reached an agreement for a draft outline of tax reform proposals for 2016. Among the items in the draft outline are proposals for transfer pricing documentation rules based on Action 13 (Transfer… – Continue reading
The Belgian Minister of Finance has just shared new insights on how Belgium will be addressing the outcome of the OECD/G20 project in relation to Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”). He opted to do so via the “Plan to combat tax fraud”. The title of his policy note is… – Continue reading
Provisions under new article 76A of Mexico’s tax law reflect certain items of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project—in particular expanded transfer pricing disclosure requirements that will apply for the 2016 tax year. Background The Mexican government’s 2016 federal budget, presented 8 September 2015, included proposals for… – Continue reading
Executive summary On 9 December 2015, the UK released draft clauses for Finance Bill 2016 as well as consultation documents. The key items released include: A new requirement for large businesses to publish their tax strategies as they relate to or affect UK taxation. This sits alongside new ‘special measures’… – Continue reading
In 10 years between 2004 and 2013, Ghana has lost a cumulative $4 billion to illicit financial flows. A report issued last week by the Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advisory organization found that every year $401 million leave the shores of Ghana illicitly. The report… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a Taxpayer alert on arrangements involving the use of offshore entities which source goods (procurement hub) on behalf of Australian resident multi-national enterprises (MNEs) (TA 2015/5). In the alert the ATO announces that it is currently reviewing arrangements involving the use of offshore… – Continue reading
the company will make a complaint against the decision Nokian Tyres plc (HEX:NRE1V) has received a renewed reassessment decision from the Tax Administration, according to which the Company is obliged to pay EUR 87 million additional taxes with punitive tax increases and interests concerning tax years 2007-2010. Payment must be… – Continue reading
Celebration, FL One of the basic principles of the 3.8% “net investment income tax” (NIIT) under §14111 is that the tax does not apply to individuals who are classified as “nonresident aliens” for U.S. income tax purposes, as defined in §7701(b).2 What was not clarified in the statute, however, was… – Continue reading
Dear clients and cooperation partners, This newsflash will tell you about findings reflected in court judgements with regard to application of resale price method, and in particular – contradictions in calculation of arm’s length profit level. Recent transfer pricing judgements in Latvia lead to increased controversy in application of resale… – Continue reading
Check out the most important news stories which captured the headlines at the corporate level in India and internationally. SBI will issue EMV chip and pin based debit cards to its new customers to ensure enhanced secure transactions. EMV chip and pin feature protects against skimming and card transaction frauds…. – Continue reading
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has a strong opinion on almost every subject, especially politics. He’s also quite happy to share that opinion with anyone who will listen to or read what he has to say. Icahn’s comments this week on how to stop future tax-motivated corporate inversions such as the… – Continue reading
DuPont and Dow are now officially combining and Piper Jaffray analyst, Brett Wong, thinks further consolidation is coming with Monsanto (NYSE: MON) likely to renew the pursuit of Syngenta (NYSE: SYT) towards the beginning of the year. Piper thinks a renewed bid for Syngenta would be viewed negatively by investors… – Continue reading
Hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue could be up for grabs as the Tax Office announces reviews of multinationals using offshore hubs in Singapore to minimise their tax. The ATO has issued a warning to multinationals to come forward immediately to discuss their overseas hub arrangements, if they have… – Continue reading
Stricter Tax and documentation requirements for foreign transactions “Amazon, Facebook, Google and Starbucks pay little taxes …” or “Luxembourg attracts international corporations” – headlines like these have 62 states and the OECD called into action. The result was “base erosion and profit shifting” BEPS shortly. Even the German SME sector… – Continue reading
Something unusual is happening with the Irish corporation tax in 2015 — so unusual that Ireland’s top tax man felt obliged to write to the parliament to explain what is going on. But the explanation left a lot to be desired. According to government data, Ireland received 57.7 percent more… – Continue reading
What is abundantly clear to anyone who has a passing interest in the manner in which tax disputes are dealt with in the UK is that the legislation in Finance Act 2014, concerning accelerated and partner payment notices (the APN legislation), marks a significant shift in the rules of engagement… – Continue reading
You have probably read about the OECD’s comprehensive base erosion and profit shifting (or BEPS) action plan aimed at tackling undesirable international tax planning by corporates. In recent years, the EU, particularly the European Commission, has put substantial effort into accelerating BEPS-like measures in an EU context. A striking example… – Continue reading
Dec. 14 — The Coca-Cola Co. filed a petition in U.S. Tax Court challenging a proposed $9.4 billion income adjustment related to the company’s transfer pricing for tax years 2007-09 (Coca-Cola Co. v. Commissioner, T.C., petition filed, 12/14/15). If the adjustment is sustained, the company could face a tax bill… – Continue reading
Ghana’s new Income Tax Act (No. 896 of 2015) will come into force on January 1, 2016. It is intended to improve tax compliance and administration and broaden the country’s income tax base by rationalizing tax breaks. In the new Act, there are specific provisions governing the imposition of income… – Continue reading
This article is the fourth and final part in a series examining the Canadian and U.S. income tax implications of the temporary assignment of an employee from Canada to the U.S. Specifically, these articles address the situation of an employee remaining employed by a Canadian entity, but temporarily assigned to… – Continue reading
