A new bill introduced this week by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), the Tax Fairness and Transparency Act, would rip out the offshore corporate tax avoidance system by its roots. This legislation combines into a single, comprehensive bill elements of three pieces of legislation that Rep. Pocan has proposed in previous… – Continue reading
Dedicated technical experts from the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will visit all English Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League clubs over a three year period and review all compliance risks including payments to players, the government has said. The statement was made in Treasury Minutes containing the… – Continue reading
Australian lawmakers have passed legislation to cut the company tax rate for SMEs. However, the Enterprise Tax Plan was only partially approved. On March 31, the Senate passed legislation to phase in three years of changes to the company tax system. The Government’s original proposals had covered a period of… – Continue reading
Slovakia should tackle value-added tax and corporate tax evasion, the International Monetary Fund has said. In its annual report for the country, the Fund said that measures to target tax fraud and non-compliance have reduced the VAT gap – the amount lost compared with the theoretical maximum were the headline… – Continue reading
The federal government is considering doubling the tax rate applied to more than $199 billion worth of so-called stapled structures, in a move that experts say could scare off foreign investors. Separate securities, such as a share in a company and a unit in a trust, can be stapled together… – Continue reading
U.S. Rep. John Delaney has introduced two infrastructure funding bills — H.R. 1669 and H.R. 1670 — that good government groups say would further incentivize corporate tax dodging, reward the biggest multinational corporations for stashing their profits in offshore tax havens and replace one system riddled with tax loopholes with… – Continue reading
The European Parliament’s Panama Papers investigative committee is preparing for a “fact-finding” visit with counterparts in the U.S. Congress, as well as officials from the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service. The European Union lawmakers’ four-day U.S. trip, which begins March 21, will include a visit to Delaware for meetings… – Continue reading
Treasurer Scott Morrison will launch a fresh attack on tax avoidance this week in Parliament in a bid to get the so-called “Google Tax” pushed through and shift public attention towards the Coalition’s record on multinational tax crackdowns. The Diverted Profits Tax is due to be debated this week, almost… – Continue reading
Spain could make its tax system more efficient by scrapping income tax exemptions and by increasing value-added tax and environmental taxes, a new report from the OECD says. The OECD’s latest Economic Survey for Spain added the country should reduce employer social security contributions for low-wage workers on permanent contracts… – Continue reading
Preventing tax fraud and stopping multinationals from seeking out tax havens are important issues for Poland and will be discussed at a G20 summit later this week, Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said. “We want medium-sized countries as well as smaller countries, which we represent … not to be… – Continue reading
Tax reform is widely expected under the Trump administration by the corporate tax executives polled by BDO USA in a new survey. BDO’s 2017 Tax Outlook Survey polled 100 tax executives at public companies across the U.S., and found that 100 percent of the surveyed tax executives believe tax reform… – Continue reading
Luxembourg should seek to widen the tax base while ensuring that its corporate tax regime continues to meet international best standards, says the International Monetary Fund. It said that the country could improve its reputation by “promptly transposing” the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive into national law and continuing to implement… – Continue reading
Creating a fairer tax system is on the state budget agenda again with a proposal from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to eliminate a business tax loophole. Wolf wants to close the Delaware loophole — a mechanism that allows businesses headquartered in other states to avoid paying taxes on their operations… – Continue reading
On October 1, 2016, the Indiana Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis of the Indiana Legislative Services Agency released a Combined-Reporting Study and a Transfer Pricing Study. These studies, which address corporate income tax issues, were required by legislation passed in 2016. The Combined-Reporting Study discusses the reduction of state… – Continue reading
Federal agents raided three Caterpillar buildings near its Illinois headquarters on Thursday, company and law enforcement officials said, in an escalation of an inquiry into the heavy equipment manufacturer’s offshore tax practices. Caterpillar has been dogged by accusations that it slashed its domestic tax bill by shifting corporate profits from… – Continue reading
The Netherlands is slowly but surely steering away from facilitating the use of its corporate income tax system by companies that are set up merely to obtain tax benefits. These companies, which often do not actually carry out activities in the Netherlands, have contributed to the perception among policy makers… – Continue reading
New Oxfam report indicates Government measures to tackle tax avoidance are failing Multinationals are continuing to route billions of euro in profit to and through Ireland to avoid tax, according to a new report by Oxfam Ireland. The study, which suggests that Government measures aimed at tackling tax avoidance are… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna presented amendments to rules against tax avoidance practices within the ECOFIN Council today, amounting to a compromise solution which was accepted. The solution provides rules regarding corporate hybrid mismatches and third countries. The Council agreed its position on rules aimed at closing down ‘hybrid mismatches’ with… – Continue reading
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan has criticized the EU’s proposals for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) and public country-by-country (CbC) reporting as “against the BEPS consensus.” In a speech to an event on corporation tax, Noonan said that the consensus over the OECD’s BEPS proposals must hold and… – Continue reading
In the public vote held on February 12, 2017, Swiss voters rejected the Corporate Tax Reform III Law Proposal (CTR III). Nevertheless, this issue is not yet resolved and remains on the table! A «CTR III 2.0» is expected in a timely manner. Information about the newest developments, but also… – Continue reading
Business leaders are calling on Chancellor Philip Hammond to tackle anomalies in the tax system that see high street shops pay higher rates on small premises than online giants do for vast warehouses. The Institute of Directors said the Chancellor should use next month’s Budget to set up a New… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg Gadfly) — A referendum lost. Voters crying foul at cuts to public services. The threat of financial chaos and businesses sent packing. This isn’t Brexit Britain. It’s Switzerland. The country this weekend voted down a government plan to keep offering tasty tax breaks to multinational companies — while still… – Continue reading
Proposed changes to Switzerland’s corporate tax framework have been rejected in a referendum. Provisional results show that the Corporate Tax Reform III (CTR III) package was opposed by just over 59 percent of voters in the February 12 referendum. CTR III would have abolished corporate tax arrangements that the Swiss… – Continue reading
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has blamed the poor performance of domestic airlines on multiple taxation by various agencies in the aviation sector. Capt. Nogie Meggisson, Chairman, AON, made the claim on Sunday in Lagos while reacting to the takeover of Arik Air and Aero Contractors by the Asset… – Continue reading
In the latest published data from the US Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board in respect of November 2016, the value of Treasury Securities held by foreigners was $5.9tn with Japan’s holdings at $1.1tn and China at $1.0tn, followed by Ireland at $275bn. However, some further data show that the… – Continue reading
German banks support stricter beneficial ownership rules for companies and trusts, while the leading Scandinavian bank backed an offshore corporate economic substance test to help comply with EU laws against money laundering and tax evasion. Testifying before the European Parliament’s Panama Papers investigative committee, the Association of German Banks told… – Continue reading
The Government has introduced the Diverted Profits Tax Bill 2017 and the 35 page Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2017 into Parliament to implement the Diverted Profits Tax (DPT), as one of its first Parliamentary items of business in 2017, indicating the priority attached to this measure…. – Continue reading
Swiss voters will vote next week on whether to reform corporate tax and remove the reduced tax rates that Switzerland currently grants to multinational firms. Voters will be asked whether they accept the federal law that was adopted by Switzerland’s national council in June 2016 “with a view to enhancing… – Continue reading
Business Council of Australia is urging tax cuts to remain competitive but transparency report show members’ effective rate is 24.3% The members of the Business Council of Australia, who are leading the push to cut Australia’s corporate tax rate from 30%, already pay an effective tax rate five percentage points… – Continue reading
A Republican plan to overhaul the U.S. corporate income tax could put the dozens of existing U.S. double-tax treaties in limbo. U.S. companies doing business abroad may no longer be able to rely on the mechanisms in treaties for resolving cross-border tax disputes—overlapping claims on a company’s tax—or they may… – Continue reading
EU member states sent a letter to 92 countries on Wednesday (1 February) informing them that they will be “screened” with a view to inclusion in a future “blacklist” of tax havens. The list of the countries that have been contacted is not public, but EUobserver understands that it is… – Continue reading
Multinationals owe responsibility to a wider group than their shareholders As the Apple tax case moves towards the European Union courts, €13 billion has been transferred to Ireland. The implications of the case will effect how multi-national companies implement taxes across Europe. has been accused of “bending the rules” in… – Continue reading
The OECD made its end-November 2016 deadline to release the text of the multilateral treaty to give effect to the BEPS Actions which involve changes to tax treaties, see here. The 49 page treaty text, which is commonly referred to as the multilateral instrument or MLI, and 85 page explanatory… – Continue reading
Among other things, Union Budget 2017 will be remembered for two firsts – the introduction of secondary adjustment and thin capitalisation rules. Both are transfer pricing provisions which will have a far-reaching impact on corporates. Secondary Adjustment Since the concept of secondary adjustment is introduced for the first time in… – Continue reading
The Trump White House favours a “flexible” border adjustment tax targeting countries with which the United States runs big trade deficits, including Mexico, China and Germany, the President’s top trade and industry adviser said. Peter Navarro, a sceptic of free trade, wants the US to entice advanced manufacturing production onshore… – Continue reading
U.S. companies hold cash—lots and lots of cash—overseas to avoid paying the top corporate tax rate of 35% on those foreign earnings. But the rate could be heading down with a change in the federal government’s leadership, and the prospect of more repatriated earnings to work with has finance chiefs… – Continue reading
What GAO Found In 2015, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) issued revised guidelines, including 15 actions to help reduce base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) of multinational enterprises (MNEs). One action focuses on transfer pricing guidance with the intent of aligning MNE profits with the location of… – Continue reading
Germany’s BDI industry group has come out against a government plan to unilaterally close so-called ‘patent box’ tax loopholes used by foreign companies to avoid paying full taxes on profits earned in Germany. The Association of German Industrialists, BDI, said Tuesday that the government’s unilateral move would send a negative… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial services industry “will do all we can” to ensure this nation does not appear on a threatened European Union (EU) ‘blacklist’, Tribune Business was told yesterday. Tanya McCartney, the Bahamas Financial Services Board’s (BFSB) chief executive, said this nation’s implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for… – Continue reading
World Economic Forum debate hears how fight to make companies ‘pay their fair share’ is being undermined by race to cut corporation tax rates Efforts to tackle global tax avoidance are being undermined by a “race to the bottom” on corporate tax rates led by Britain and the US, the… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — An American tax authority who helped champion a reform now being considered by the U.S. Congress says Canada would not be among the countries hardest hit by the introduction of so-called border adjustments. Alan Auerbach is among the leading proponents of the push to restructure corporate taxes so… – Continue reading
The phrase “border adjustment tax” has been in the news recently, with it being a part of the GOP’s “A Better Way” Blueprint (available here). What exactly, though, is a border adjustment tax? While there are several tax aspects to the GOP Blueprint, for brevity this posts regards only border… – Continue reading
Montenegro has concluded double taxation treaties with more than 35 countries, and this number continues to grow. The most recently signed treaty is the one concluded with Montenegro. The agreement affects persons who are residents of one or both of the contracting states and applies to the Portuguese personal income… – Continue reading
Coalition’s proposed diverted profits tax could capture billions in revenue from multinationals using profit-shifting practices, says Tax Justice Network One of the biggest critics of multinational tax avoidance has welcomed the Coalition’s proposed “Google tax”, saying a similar tax in the UK looks likely to increase corporate tax payments by… – Continue reading
As per the Economic Survey 2016, the ratio of Indian taxpayers to voters is 4%; ideally it should be roughly 23% at existing levels of economic and political development. The tax to GDP ratio at 16.6% is well below the emerging market economy norm of 21% and OECD average of 34%…. – Continue reading
British chancellor Philip Hammond has infuriated German politicians for implying a “hard” Brexit would see London adopt a new role as a tax haven before the gates of the EU. Driving speculation ahead of Tuesday’s Brexit address by prime minister Teresa May, Mr Hammond said he preferred seeing Britain remain… – Continue reading
Chancellor tells German newspaper if Britain were closed off from markets it may abandon European-style social model The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has suggested Britain could transform its economic model into that of a corporate tax haven if the EU fails to provide it with an agreement on market access after… – Continue reading
The creation of a new United Nations tax body to clamp down on tax dodging, which experts say could cost developing countries more than $200 billion a year in missed revenues, will be a key priority of the Group of 77 and China under Ecuadorian leadership, according to the country’s… – Continue reading
The Russian government will no longer consider Hong Kong a Chinese-affiliated tax haven that doesn’t share tax information. Russia will strike Hong Kong from its list of offshore jurisdictions following ratification of a double tax treaty signed by the two parties last January and ratified by Russia in July, according… – Continue reading
Malta was today (11 January) accused of being a tax haven as it took over the rotating presidency of the EU. Some companies in the EU’s smallest country pay as little as 5% tax on their profits. The small Mediterranean island would have been included in the list of tax… – Continue reading
