International
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April 29, 2024
OECD-UN Initiative Lands Developing Countries $2.3B In Tax
A joint initiative between the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations to help developing countries boost tax revenues said Monday that it has generated $2.3 billion in additional revenues and $6.05 billion in additional tax assessments since its 2015 formation.
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April 29, 2024
Ex-Man City Player Benjamin Mendy Pays £710K Tax Debt
Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy avoided bankruptcy on Monday after paying a £710,000 ($892,000) tax bill minutes before a court hearing to determine whether an order should be made.
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April 29, 2024
US Expatriations Plummet In 1st Quarter, IRS Says
The number of people who expatriated from the U.S. fell nearly 70% during the first quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter, the Internal Revenue Service said in a notice published Monday.
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April 29, 2024
EU Official Wants Progress On New Revenue Streams
The budget commissioner of the European Union said Monday that the bloc must make progress toward agreeing on new revenue streams that would give it more diversified sources of income.
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April 26, 2024
4 Goals For Gov'ts To Pursue In The UN Tax Convention
The United Nations' framework convention on international tax cooperation should resolve digital taxation, incorporate tax transparency conventions, seek consensus on tax allocation issues but adopt best practices by simple majority, and help fund development goals, officials and experts told Law360 as governments began negotiations Friday.
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April 26, 2024
FedEx Calls Gov't Arguments On Tax Credits Contradictory
The federal government advanced contradictory arguments in FedEx's $84.6 million foreign tax credits dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, the package delivery giant said in a filing in Tennessee federal court.
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April 26, 2024
Ireland Received Nearly €24B In Corp. Taxes In 2023
Corporations paid Ireland €23.8 billion ($25.5 billion) in taxes in 2023, a 5.3% increase over 2022, making corporate tax receipts the second-largest tax revenue generator in the country, according to the Irish revenue department.
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April 26, 2024
PwC Australia Appoints 6 Partners To Guide Scandal Rebound
PwC Australia announced that it has elected six partners to its governance board as the firm continues to attempt to rebound in the wake of its scandal involving the leak of Australian government documents.
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April 26, 2024
HMRC Says Tax Digitalization Plan Will Generate £6.4B
HM Revenue & Customs said its program to modernize U.K. tax filing is expected to generate £6.38 billion ($7.97 billion) in additional revenue through 2034 after projections last year put it at £3.9 billion.
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April 26, 2024
Poland Seeks Input On Bill To Enact Minimum Tax
Poland, one of a handful of European Union countries that have delayed implementing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Pillar Two global minimum tax plan, introduced a proposal for public comment that would enact the regime.
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April 26, 2024
Abbott Labs' $417M IRS Bill Isn't Wrong, Tax Court Told
The Internal Revenue Service denied allegations by Abbott Laboratories that it incorrectly increased the global healthcare giant's income, resulting in a $417 million tax bill, in answering Abbott's lawsuit filed with the U.S. Tax Court.
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April 26, 2024
Top EU Judge Sees Lower Court Becoming Like Tax Court
The lower court of the European Union, the General Court, will over time become a venue that specializes in some tax matters after a reform is put into place, the EU's top judge has said.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Beats Investors' £1.3B Disney Film Scheme Fraud Case
HSBC fended off on Friday a £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) fraud claim brought by hundreds of investors who alleged the bank misled them into financing a Disney movie tax relief scheme it developed which turned out to be worthless.
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April 25, 2024
Romanian Sanctions On Fuel Violate EU Law, Court Says
A Romanian law imposing sanctions of €77,000 ($83,000) — 21 times the usual rate of taxation — on fuel placed back into storage is so extreme it violates European Union law, the EU's top court said Thursday.
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April 25, 2024
Dutch Tax Authority Aiming To Beef Up Data Security
The Netherlands' tax authority is introducing more data protection measures based on suggestions from a KPMG report commissioned after signs of possible security threats within the tax administration, it said Thursday.
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April 25, 2024
Workers' Effective Tax Rates In OECD Countries Rise Again
The effective tax rates on labor income in the majority of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries rose for the second year in a row in 2023, thanks in part to continued inflation, the OECD said Thursday.
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April 25, 2024
OECD Says Latvia Must Shift Tax Burden, Limit Fuel Subsidies
Latvia needs to shift its tax burden off labor and onto other forms of income such as property, and to eliminate harmful subsidies and tax practices around fossil fuels, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.
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April 25, 2024
OECD Consolidates Past Pillar 2 Guidance Into Single Doc
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published administrative guidance Thursday that consolidates past publications on the interpretation and application of the international minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two, which countries began implementing this year.
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April 25, 2024
EU Parliament Gives Final Approval To AML Package
The European Parliament has given the final go-ahead to a package of laws to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, creating a single rule book and establishing a dedicated agency for the bloc.
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April 25, 2024
Ministers From 4 Countries Back Billionaire Tax
Government ministers from Germany, Spain, South Africa and Brazil said Thursday that they have backed a global plan to ensure that billionaires pay a minimum amount of tax, arguing that the move is necessary to make the tax system more equitable.
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April 24, 2024
EU Court Won't Disturb Spanish Tax Break Rulings
A Spanish company on Wednesday lost its attempt to legitimize a tax scheme declared illegal by the European Commission when the European Union's General Court rejected its appeal, refusing to disturb prior decisions in the long-running dispute.
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April 24, 2024
GOP Reps Seek IRS Nonprofit Info After China Reports
House Ways and Means Republicans asked the Internal Revenue Service to provide information about how it monitors tax-exempt organizations for possible violations of their status after reports China may be funding and improperly influencing nonprofits, according to a letter sent Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Treasury Limits Reach Of Look-Through Rule In Final Regs
The U.S. Treasury Department finalized regulations Wednesday that retain but narrow the scope of a proposal to, in a manner of speaking, look through the corporate owners of real estate investment entities to determine whether they are domestically controlled.
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April 24, 2024
Tax Pros Suggest How HMRC Can Assess Digitalization Effort
HM Revenue & Customs should abide by a set of benchmarks when evaluating tests of its digitalization program for income tax self-assessment forms, two groups representing U.K. tax professionals said.
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April 24, 2024
Ex-England Footballer Banned As Director For Unpaid Tax
Former England football international John Barnes has been banned from being a company director after his business failed to pay more than £190,000 ($236,000) in tax, a U.K. government agency announced on Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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A Road Map For US Involvement In Europe's Cum-Ex Probe
The dividend arbitrage trading strategy known as cum-ex continues to face regulatory scrutiny in Europe, and stateside regulators may soon follow suit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent American depositary receipt probe as a guide for enforcement, says Joshua Ray at Rahman Ravelli.
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Congress Should Make TCJA Income Definition Permanent
Congress should not allow the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's definition of adjusted taxable income, which includes depreciation and amortization, to expire in 2022 because it would discourage debt-free investment, running counter to the law's intent, says George Callas at Steptoe & Johnson.
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OECD Delays Are Imperiling Digital Tax Deal
As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development continues to push back its deadline for a digital tax overhaul, countries are beginning to pursue unilateral solutions and the negotiations are turning political, decreasing the likelihood of an agreement, says Joyce Beebe at Rice University.
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Mitigating IRS Cryptocurrency Enforcement Risk In 2021
The IRS seems poised to shift focus in 2021 from education to enforcement of virtual currency tax laws, and noncompliant taxpayers should consider whether they are eligible to file amended returns or voluntary disclosures to mitigate the risk of civil penalties, criminal investigation or prosecution, say Don Fort and Lawrence Sannicandro at Kostelanetz & Fink.
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2020's Key Tax Controversy Developments
Andrew Roberson and Kevin Spencer at McDermott highlight 2020's key tax controversy developments, offering their perspective on important tax decisions, the Internal Revenue Service’s cooperative audit program, informal tax return amendment procedures, Large Business & International Division campaigns, and handling virtual appeals conferences during the pandemic.
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Justices Likely To Shield Treasury From Preemptive Action
Recent U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in CIC Services v. Internal Revenue Service suggest the court will resolve a circuit split by ruling the Anti-Injunction Act shields the U.S. Department of the Treasury from preemptive challenges — bad news for those hoping to challenge unfavorable regulations, says Monte Silver at Silver & Co.
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Response Options For Danish Cum-Ex Interview Targets
As the Danish tax authority prepares for the first of a three-part U.K. trial involving cum-ex fraud, U.K. recipients of interview requests from the Danish prosecutorial agency should neither automatically accept, nor ignore the invitations, despite that agency's seeming lack of power to compel their attendance, says David Corker at Corker Binning.
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Advancing The Democratic Tax Agenda In 2021
Even with a divided government starting next year, Democrats will have a major effect on tax policy, pursuing legislative compromises and regulatory changes in service of President-elect Joe Biden's tax plan, and potentially reversing many Trump administration initiatives, say Russell Sullivan and Radha Mohan at Brownstein Hyatt.
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M&A Poised For Growth In The Biden Era
The M&A market is well positioned for recovery and growth under a Biden administration and divided Congress, which will likely gain control over the coronavirus pandemic, pass a stimulus package, and provide greater transparency in antitrust enforcement, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Final BEAT Regs Still Contain Pitfalls For Taxpayers
Recently finalized U.S. Department of the Treasury regulations retain a taxpayer-friendly election allowing corporations to waive deductions to avoid the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, but neglect to include recourse for companies that waive more deductions than necessary, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Post-Election Tax Policy Scenario 3: A Divided Government
Attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt consider whether Democrats and Republicans will find common ground on tax policies and legislation regarding COVID-19 relief, domestic research and manufacturing, pension and retirement savings, foreign taxation of U.S. companies, and infrastructure development if the upcoming election results in a divided government.
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Post-Election Tax Policy Scenario 2: A Democratic Sweep
Russell Sullivan and Radha Mohan at Brownstein Hyatt consider former Vice President Joe Biden’s perspective that a better economy addresses income inequality, and the likelihood of passing specific tax measures in the event of a Democratic sweep, despite varying party perspectives.
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Post-Election Tax Policy Scenario 1: A Republican Sweep
Attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt analyze tax policies implemented by the Trump administration, such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and consider what will be on the agenda if Republicans gain full control of both the legislative and executive branches in the election.