Today’s proposals aim for a coordinated EU wide response to corporate tax avoidance, following global standards developed by the OECD last autumn. New rules are needed to align the tax laws in all 28 EU countries in order to fight aggressive tax practices by large companies efficiently and effectively. The… – Continue reading
x The government plans to exchange financial information on multinational firms doing business here with members of the OECD and G20 countries in order to make them pay appropriate taxes to countries where profits are generated, officials said Thursday. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that it will follow… – Continue reading
India’s biggest source of FDI is India itself, money departing on a short holiday to a tax haven and then routed back as FDI. Will the government muster up the political will to clamp down on the tax-allergic business elite? This could be a bumper year for the ever-lucrative tax… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: In what could lead to an increase in domestic tax liabilities of many Indian conglomerates and multinationals, the government is set to introduce a framework for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), a global agreement to check tax avoidance by multinationals, in the upcoming Budget. Industry sources expect the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Indian businesses are anticipating a “more aggressive” stance by tax authorities as their tax arrangements come under greater scrutiny, says a survey. The findings are part of leading consultancy Deloitte India’s BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) survey titled ‘Anticipating BEPS India impact’. Indian businesses are anticipating a… – Continue reading
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland denies treaty benefits in case of dividend paid on shares acquired for hedging derivative contracts. Court stated that due to the fully hedged nature of ownership, there was economic nexus and interdependency between two independent transactions and therefore, the “intermediary” bank did not have beneficial… – Continue reading
Action Plan 6 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) final reports identifies treaty abuse, particularly treaty shopping, as one of the most significant causes of BEPS. It recognizes that existing domestic and international tax rules, including double taxation treaties, should be… – Continue reading
The international community led by the G20 initiated the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project a few years ago with the aim of ensuring that profits are taxed where economic activities are performed and where value is created, the Business Standard reports. Governments, tax authorities and social groups have… – Continue reading
With all due respect, the OECD’s BEPS project was a fiasco, accomplishing little of any positive value and opening up a Pandora’s box with its focus on “value creation” in the context of transfer pricing. Despite all the “happy talk” coming out of the OECD and all the talk of… – Continue reading
The international community led by the had initiated the (BEPS) project a few years ago with the aim of ensuring that profits are taxed where economic activities are performed and where value is created. Governments, and social groups have been voicing their concern over the past decade that multinational enterprises… – Continue reading
The plan seeks to limit the fiscal erosion through interest deduction explains Alma Gutierrez; also seeks to prevent abuses in treaties and strengthening of controlled foreign companies rules. MEXICO CITY (CNNExpansión) – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a forum where the governments of different countries, including… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sees treaty shopping as an important source of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). In this context, it identified the prevention of treaty abuse as one of fifteen issues or “actions” in respect of which recommendations were to be formulated as part… – Continue reading
We are all aware of “base erosion and profit shifting” or “BEPS”. On 5 October 2015, the OECD released its final reports in connection with its BEPS Action Plan including its final report on Action 15 dealing with the development of a multilateral instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties (“Final… – Continue reading
East African countries expect to collect more revenue under a new code drawn, by the world’s richest economies to stop foreign multinationals from dodging taxes in host countries. The new code — Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) — adopted by G20 at its meeting in Turkey two weeks ago,… – Continue reading
We are all aware of “base erosion and profit shifting” or “BEPS”. On 5 October 2015, the OECD released its final reports in connection with its BEPS Action Plan including its final report on Action 15 dealing with the development of a multilateral instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties (“Final… – Continue reading
Measures Will Impact Financial Services, Investment Fund, Aviation Leasing and Other Sectors G20 finance ministers last week finally approved the wide-ranging “BEPS” reforms to the international tax system. The measures include a proposed new OECD treaty definition of “Permanent Establishment” under which the mere negotiation of contracts could create a… – Continue reading
Foreign investors are still concerned about the retrospective taxation in India, but the concerns have alleviated a little due to assurances by the government, says John Hobster, global head (transfer pricing), EY. He tells Dilasha Seth that in terms of transfer pricing, things are changing in India not only at… – Continue reading
Across the globe, base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is making headlines and drawing the attention of not only governments and tax authorities but also non-government organizations, activists, lobbyists and the general public. As the public debate has spread to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the focus now centers… – Continue reading
The US Treasury Department released proposed revisions to the US Model Income Tax Treaty (the ‘Model Treaty’); the proposed changes are intended to combat treaty abuse and deny treaty benefits in certain situations. The revisions to the Model Treaty include: (i) changes to the Limitation on Benefits provision which most… – Continue reading
The final reports on the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project were issued on 5 October (the “Reports”) after a two-year consultation period during which 62 countries and many other stakeholders (such as the World Bank, the IMF, and many trade associations) participated. These Reports, split into 15… – Continue reading
Prime Minister of Mauritius, Anerood Jugnauth, on Tuesday said there will be no revisions to the main provisions of its Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India as both countries are happy with the existing provisions of the tax treaty. “This treaty between our two countries has been there for… – 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
Former chair of the UK public accounts committee Margaret Hodge, who has repeatedly attacked the use of offshore tax avoidance schemes, has called for an overhaul of the British tax system. Speaking during an annual Professional Fee Protection (PFP) tax investigations conference, Hodge said the current tax regime in the… – 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
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
Executive summary A new bilateral Tax Arrangement between the Netherlands and Curaçao (TANC), which essentially functions as a tax treaty,1 was ratified by the Dutch Parliament and formally published on 9 October 2015. The TANC will apply to income received on or after 1 January 2016. This long-awaited TANC will… – 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
Legislative Activity House Lawmakers Schedule Markup of Transportation Bill Without Revenue Provisions Last week, on Friday, October 16, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a six-year, $325 billion highway funding bill (the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015); a markup of the legislation is scheduled for Thursday,… – 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
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
The fallout for Australian firms from the BEPS project “won’t be radical in Australia, as we have already moved pre-emptively to strengthen our laws,” Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer has said. Commenting on the release of the OECD’s final BEPS reports, O’Dwyer said: “The Coalition Government’s measures line up with the… – Continue reading
Remarkably on schedule, the OECD this week issued a comprehensive and integrated set of measures to attack base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) on a global basis. Comprising 15 “Actions” on central issues such as transfer pricing, country-by-country reporting and transfer pricing documentation, treaty abuse, preferential tax regimes, permanent establishments,… – Continue reading
Singapore has given the thumbs up to an international plan that aims to clamp down on tax avoidance by multinational firms, reports the Straits Times. The Republic says if the plan is soundly implemented, it will help foster free and fair economic competition. Singapore agrees with the main principle of… – Continue reading
New Zealand needs to be careful not to get out of step with the rest of the world in implementing tax changes on multinational companies seeking to minimise their tax obligations, Deloitte Dunedin tax partner Peter Truman says. The Government this week released a report on Base Erosion and Profit… – Continue reading
On October 5, 2015, the OECD released its final reports relating to the OECD/G20 base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project (the Final Reports). The BEPS project began in 2013 and has received unprecedented attention from governments and the private sector. The Final Reports outline the OECD’s recommendations and the… – Continue reading
With the final draft of the OECD’s BEPS initiative – Base Erosion and Profit Shifting – out later today, the taxman’s ability to tax international transactions as well as those of foreign firms operating in India will go up dramatically; the idea behind the initiative is to treat all cross-border… – Continue reading
Tax treaties serve to reduce or eliminate double taxation which, if unrelieved, would be a significant barrier to cross-border trade and investment. At the same time, there was need felt to protect against granting of treaty benefits in inappropriate circumstances. In this background, the work of the OECD and G20… – Continue reading
As discussed in the previous edition, due to current worldwide developments including the OECD’s move to curb tax Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), tax policy is changing significantly. In Ghana for example, a Transfer Pricing Regulations was passed in 2012 which aimed to ensure that the tax base of… – Continue reading
Action 6 (Treaty Abuse) is a key element of the OECD’s BEPS Project. Action 6 targets, in summary, “treaty shopping”, i.e., where a person in country A, which is not, in principle, eligible to benefit from a given tax treaty with country B, invests through an entity in country C… – Continue reading
In addition to its main function to eliminate double taxation, a tax treaty is also intended to promote foreign direct investment (FDI). Investors normally consider the treaty networks of a targeted investment country in deciding their investments. The more extensive the treaty networks, the more attractive for the investors. Extensive… – Continue reading
The IRS on 12 August 2015 released Rev. Proc. 2015-40 with respect to requesting competent authority (CA) assistance, and it is generally effective for CA requests filed on or after 30 October 2015. Rev. Proc. 2015-40 updates and supersedes Rev. Proc. 2006-54. The IRS concurrently released Rev. Proc. 2015-41 as… – Continue reading
The private equity industry has long been known for its ability to take advantage of tax rules. But international changes are set to have an impact on their businesses. After a string of multinationals such as Apple, Google and Starbucks came under fire for paying minimal tax on their British… – Continue reading
There has been much recent focus on tax structures employed by multi-national corporations. This has led to an initiative, spearheaded by the OECD, to combat “base erosion and profit shifting”, or BEPS. The shipping industry is likely to be affected both directly and indirectly by the BEPS initiative – directly,… – Continue reading
Introduction US tax treaty policy can be affected by pressures for tax reform from within the United States and by major developments in international taxation from without. Talk of US tax reform has been widespread for years, although it is sometimes hard to gauge how much of the talk is… – Continue reading
India and Mauritius are set to limit the benefits of their double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA) to only genuine businesses bringing foreign direct investment to India by inserting a new clause in the treaty straight from New Delhi’s yet to be implemented General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR). The revised treaty, however,… – Continue reading
Accounting and legal professions in Ireland oppose major strands of business tax plan Key strands of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development plan (OECD) to overhaul global business tax rules have run into resistance within the accounting and legal professions in Ireland. A submission this week to the Paris-based… – Continue reading
Current international tax rules are based on principles that have not kept up with globalisation and the rise of the digital economy. Over the years the rules have been patched up but, almost two years ago, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), acknowledging that a substantial overhaul was… – Continue reading
On 5 May 2015 the Federal Supreme Court rendered its long awaited decision on a withholding tax (WHT) reimbursement claim related to Total Return Swaps. The case was based on essentially the following facts: a Danish bank entered into swap contracts with clients in England, Germany, France and the US…. – Continue reading
On 21 April 2015, the Danish Parliament adopted a bill, which sets out to deal with certain potential abuses recently encountered by the tax authorities as well as the Danish enactment of the general international anti-abuse initiatives currently considered at EU and OECD level. The new Danish GAAR will take… – Continue reading
The OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project is changing the international tax landscape by building a new international consensus on how to tackle BEPS. In September 2014, the first seven of the deliverables under the 15-point BEPS Action Plan were presented to G20 Finance Ministers when they met… – Continue reading
