MTN has consistently prided itself as the foremost telephone company that is getting Nigerians talking the most. Now the South African company is about to set tongues wagging across networks with revelations that it has routinely been shipping billions of naira overseas to avoid paying its fair share of tax… – Continue reading
THE House of Representatives on Tuesday postponed its vote on the Income Tax (Amendment) (No 2) Act, 2015, which includes provisions for the introduction of transfer pricing rules in Jamaica. Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips agreed to postpone taking a vote on the Bill, also referred to… – Continue reading
Multinational oil giant Chevron has been hit with a tax bill of about $300 million after losing a landmark profit-shifting case that could have global implications for the way tax is assessed. The Australian Tax Office’s case in the Federal Court case has been closely watched by the tax and… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Technologies that are developed in India but their patents registered in tax havens may come under the domestic tax net from the next financial year, when the country is expected to adopt a new world standard aimed at preventing abuse of double taxation avoidance agreements. Many multinational and local… – Continue reading
Introduction The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently replaced Revenue Procedure 2006-54 for requesting assistance under the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) article of US tax treaties, and Revenue Procedure 2006-9 for requesting advance pricing agreements (APAs). New Revenue Procedures 2015-40 and 2015-41 largely track draft procedures issued in 2013 (Notices 2013-78… – Continue reading
Oil and gas giant Chevron faces a massive tax bill after losing a long-running battle with the tax office over allegations the company used internal lending to reduce its Australian taxes. The Federal Court this morning ruled against Chevron in a landmark legal case that had argued the US multinational… – Continue reading
Cross-border transactions have always been a challenge to tax authorities India’s transfer pricing rules and the rising number of litigation over transfer pricing assessments have been a concern for the global business for some time. According to estimates by some experts, India has the highest number of transfer pricing litigations…. – Continue reading
On 21 October, the European Commission (“EC”) adopted its first decisions in its investigation into Member States’ tax rulings. The investigation, which began in June 2013, has also targeted tax rulings given to Apple and Amazon as well as Belgium’s so-called “excess profits regime”. Although the investigation is conducted under… – Continue reading
Chevron lost an appeal in Australian federal court that will see the US supermajor pay more than US$232 million (A$322 million) in back taxes, in addition to fines, after losing a case with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The Aussie federal court ruled against Chevron, stating the company wrongly shifted… – Continue reading
its tax bulletins, the legislation will apply to transactions even between unconnected parties if the non-Jamaican party is in a tax haven. In addition, it will take into account the use of captive insurance companies, that is, insurance companies established by a parent group or groups with the specific objective… – Continue reading
Luxembourg and the Netherlands lost a bit of luster as tax havens for some of the world’s biggest companies this week, as the European Union fired its latest salvo aimed at multinational tax dodging. Yet the Netherlands is on pace to maintain its attractiveness as a tax-friendly address for multinationals,… – Continue reading
The Vietnamese arm of U.S. soft drink giant Coca-Cola has paid its 2014 corporate tax, worth some US$20 million, for the first time in two decades due to losses, according to a report the firm submitted to Ho Chi Minh City authorities in May. The taxable profit of the company… – Continue reading
Foretelling significant changes in tax structures around the world, newly released PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) report reveals that the future of businesses is dependent on how well their asset managers deal with this emergent tax risk. Titled, ‘Asset Management 2020 and beyond: Transforming your business for a new global tax world’, the… – Continue reading
Indian equity markets retaining their early gains were trading in a range in early noon session, on value buying activities by market-participants. Sentiment got boost with the statement of finance ministry that the country will grow by 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal, slightly higher than international rating agency… – Continue reading
The European Commission today announced a decision that Luxembourg and the Netherlands granted selective tax advantages to two multinational corporate entities, and as such, these “tax advantages” are illegal under EU state aid rules. The EC concluded that the tax rulings granted by the tax authorities in Luxembourg and in… – Continue reading
Zambia Revenue Authority-ZRA- Commissioner General Berlin Msiska says Africa needs to work together to address illegal Financial Flows. Mr Msiska says international cooperation is required because illegal financial flows affect all regions of the continent. He says African Tax administrations can achieve a more effective and efficient relationship through initiatives… – Continue reading
Since 2002, there has been a steep escalation in transfer pricing disputes in the country, the ‘Taxsutra’s TP Trends Report’, is a perfect compendium which encompasses this escalation. The Chapter under which Transfer Pricing provisions were introduced was with the intent to ensure that there is no avoidance of tax…. – Continue reading
Ireland’s budget statement for 2016 (Budget) was delivered by the Minister for Finance last week. The Budget’s primary focus was on personal tax matters, which is somewhat unsurprising given the general election early next year. However, the Budget also contained two key announcements on Ireland’s corporation tax system. In line… – Continue reading
The new Indian Government, led by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, assumed office in May 2014 with the election promise to deliver on reviving economic growth, investor confidence and bringing consumer demand back on track. The key stated goal is to move away from a control-and-command economy towards a market… – Continue reading
Major tax administration reforms are expected after Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General John Njiraini was made to cut short the release of quarter one performance on Monday following a call from State House. KRA has already moved to deepen its capacity by inviting former employees to boost its capacity… – Continue reading
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has called for a transparent and predictable tax regime. His words are well-timed, coming as they do just before the Budget exercise starts. Investors want certainty and stability in the tax system. Recently, the government dropped all past demands of minimum alternate tax on foreign portfolio… – Continue reading
“FCF did not receive any state aid and … any finding in this matter would be immaterial to the FCA Group’s reported results,” FCA said in a statement. MILAN: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) denied again on Tuesday having received state aid from Luxembourg in a tax-related case, adding any findings… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government has issued the final rules to incorporate range concept and use of multi-year data in transfer pricing calculations to reduce litigation and bring Indian laws in line with international practices. The Income Tax Department had issued the draft of the rules in May inviting stakeholder comments…. – Continue reading
Following last week’s publication of the various OECD/G20 reports on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) project, the Irish Budget delivered on 13 October 2015 contains the first Government initiative on implementing some of the recommendations. Key features are the introduction of the first of its kind knowledge development… – Continue reading
A recent Thomson Reuters survey report reveals that European companies are outpacing all others in developing their Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) action plans by Dec. 31, 2017 – the deadline set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But most respondents voiced several concerns about BEPS… – Continue reading
On October 5, 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) released its final report on the 15 key elements of international tax rules set out in its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Action Plan. The OECD launched the BEPS Action Plan in 2013 at the request of… – Continue reading
On 17 September, 2015, China State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) released the Discussion Draft for the Implementation Measures for Special Tax Adjustments (“Discussion Draft”) to overhaul the existing trial version of the Implementation Measures, i.e., Circular 2. In the chapter of “Contemporaneous Documentation” of Discussion Draft, SAT introduces an entirely… – Continue reading
National Treasury has decided to scrap a recently introduced incentive to make South Africa’s service sector more competitive, despite an impassioned appeal from multinational companies not to do so. The special foreign tax credit for service fees has protected companies from double taxation where South Africa’s treaty partners levied withholding… – Continue reading
On Oct. 5, 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a set of final reports on its 15 point action plan to address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). In an accompanying explanatory statement, the OECD also included plans for additional work on technical matters and a… – Continue reading
Most of yesterday’s pre-election budget statement for 2016 (the “Budget“) by Ireland’s Minister for Finance (the “Minister“) focused on personal taxation. In the portion of his statement covering corporation tax, two key announcements were made in line with expectations following on from the publication of the final reports under the… – Continue reading
NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 0 The number of House Republicans who want to be speaker and can actually secure the necessary 218 votes as of today. After Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s dramatic exit from the race last week, the House GOP conference is taking the week-long Columbus Day recess to… – Continue reading
Govt is also in the process of formulating guidance with respect to specified domestic transactions within the group In a bid to promote business-friendly taxation regime, the Centre has issued guidelines for transfer pricing (TP) provisions that are expected to reduce the rising volume of tax litigation. According to the… – Continue reading
Background The transfer pricing debate between the taxpayers and the Indian tax authorities has been a never-ending story. The taxpayers in India have faced eleven rounds of transfer pricing audits so far. Each round of transfer pricing audit has seen new controversies in areas such as marketing intangibles, share valuation,… – Continue reading
The Turnbull government has welcomed the support of the Labor party for the new laws that will add more teeth to the government’s crackdown on multinational tax dodgers. The government also offered to consider the suggestions of the opposition in improving the scope of the legislation. Labor formally announced its… – Continue reading
The BEPS Project involves input from the 34 member countries of the OECD, all G20 members, and more than 40 developing countries. The objective of the BEPS Project is to close gaps in international tax rules, effectively eliminating or substantially reducing BEPS; and to secure government revenues by ensuring that… – Continue reading
Business Reporter Tax administrators from all over Africa are set to meet from October 20 to 22 2015 in Lomé, Togo under the auspices of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF),the premier tax organisation on the continent,which holds its 2nd International Conference on Tax in Africa (2ICTA). The gathering of… – Continue reading
On 17 September, 2015, China State Administration of Taxation (SAT) released the Discussion Draft for the Implementation Measures for Special Tax Adjustments (“Discussion Draft”), as a complete revamp to the existing trial version of the Implementation Measures, i.e., Circular 2. Circular 2 has been serving as a backbone transfer pricing… – Continue reading
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, a joint initiative between G20 countries and the OECD, works towards the development of a coherent global taxation system which addresses BEPS concerns. The main purpose of such initiative is to address the gaps in the current international tax rules relating to… – Continue reading
Introduction On 5 October 2015, the OECD delivered the final package (“Final Package”) of its comprehensive Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS“). This marks a culmination of a process that started in September 2013, when the Group of 20 (“G20”) Leaders first endorsed the Action Plan on… – Continue reading
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Perkumpulan Prakarsa (Center for Welfare Studies) executive director Setyo Budiantoro viewed that the government must revise the banking secrecy provisions in the Law on Banking to reduce illicit outflows from Indonesia. According to Budi, Indonesia applies regulations that require citizens to report their wealth in all… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Looking to streamline the taxation procedure, CBDT has issued detailed guidelines on transfer pricing cases that are expected to bring about uniformity in determining arm’s length price in similar instances. As per the regulations, each Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) will be assigned a given number of important and… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing firms have been called upon to educate foreign tax authorities and the ATO on technical areas, as the topic receives unprecedented attention. Shannon Smit, director of Transfer Pricing Solutions, winner of the 2014 Australian Accounting Awards Boutique Firm of the Year award, spoke of the emphasis placed upon… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Vodafone Group has started “preparatory work” for an initial public offering of its Indian unit, although no dates have been set yet, the British telecom company’s CEO said, expressing optimism about the emergence of a new India. Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao, however, argued against the government’s proposal… – Continue reading
SOON, THAILAND will no longer have mere transfer-pricing guidelines in the form of Departmental Instruction Paw 113/2545, but will instead put into effect a transfer-pricing law, the draft of which was approved by the Cabinet in May. Taxpayers will of course be required to abide by the new law. There… – Continue reading
Finance professionals will play a key role in dealing with changes brought about by a global project to combat corporate tax avoidance. A GLOBAL effort to tackle the problem of companies that attempt to reduce their tax burden by exploiting loopholes in tax rules will impact the way global businesses… – Continue reading
The Dutch government presented its Tax Bill 2016 on 15 September 2016. Three elements of this bill could specifically affect multinationals, international investors and investment funds with Dutch headquarters or group companies: The anti-avoidance rules in respect of non-resident taxation of foreign corporate shareholders and the dividend withholding tax treatment… – Continue reading
A series of recent developments means that tax is now a key part of the Australian foreign investment regime and the foreign investment rules have significantly more bite. When determining whether a foreign investment proposal is “contrary to the national interest”, the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) actively considers the… – Continue reading
Last week’s OECD release of the final package of measures for a coordinated international approach to the reform of the international tax system, under the OECD/G20 base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, marks the end of the discussion and recommendation phase, and the start of the implementation and practical… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on October 13 signed four unilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs), including India’s second APA with a rollback provision. The nature of the transactions covered under these agreements varied from software development to share price valuation. According to government sources, the total number… – Continue reading
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its final reports on the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project on Monday October 5th, 2015. The final package of BEPS measures includes new minimum standards on: country-by-country reporting, which for the first time will give tax administrations a… – Continue reading
