International
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January 27, 2025
HMRC's Response To Phone Calls Hits Decade Low, Firm Says
HMRC answered half as many phone calls from taxpayers during the last tax year compared with 2015, with that figure reaching a decade low, a publicly traded British brokerage said Monday, citing documents the firm said it received in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
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January 27, 2025
Mike Ashley Wins Data Request Battle With HMRC
HM Revenue and Customs wrongly withheld personal information from Mike Ashley after the founder of the Sports Direct chain issued a data request following the tax authority's demand for £13.6 million ($17 million) in additional taxes, a London court ruled Monday.
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January 24, 2025
Gov't Says Ukrainian Duo Should Get 15 Years For $25M Fraud
Prosecutors have asked a Florida federal court to sentence two Ukrainian men to 15½ years in prison after they pled guilty to laundering money from a hotel staffing scheme that the U.S. government said cost it $25 million in taxes.
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January 24, 2025
Tax Break Doesn't Apply To £1.3M Project, UK Court Affirms
Investors who sank £1.3 million ($1.6 million) into a children's cartoon show will not qualify for a special tax break because the investment failed to meet at least one of the program's qualifications, the U.K.'s Upper Tribunal affirmed.
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January 24, 2025
Reed Smith Brings Back Tax Pro From Amazon In Brussels
An attorney who specializes in customs, trade and excise tax matters in the European Union and U.K. has rejoined Reed Smith LLP in Brussels after a stint at Amazon, the firm announced.
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January 24, 2025
Manchester United Ambassador Liable For Tax On £450K
An ambassador for the Manchester United Football Club is liable for additional taxes on about £450,000 ($562,000) paid by the club over 16 months, but he successfully appealed assessments on about £1.1 million received during several other years, according to a First-tier Tribunal decision.
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January 24, 2025
House Bill Would Repeal Stock Buyback Tax
The excise tax on stock buybacks would be repealed under legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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January 24, 2025
UK Gov't Launches Review Of HMRC Loan Charge
HM Treasury has launched a review into the U.K. tax authority's loan charge targeting individuals who incurred hefty tax bills after signing up for disguised remuneration schemes, a move critics claim has unfairly hit tens of thousands of contractors.
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January 24, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Latham, Simpson Thacher
In this week's Taxation With Representation, a Brookfield private real estate fund acquires Divvy Homes' property portfolio and platform, Kantar Group proposes the sale of Kantar Media, and an Ares Management-led group buys a majority of Form Technologies Inc.'s common equity.
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January 24, 2025
Australian Tax Transparency Rules Could Set Benchmark
Australian lawmakers recently enacted legislation that requires large multinational corporations to publicly disclose their worldwide business operations and tax information with an unprecedented level of scope and detail, which advocates say could set a global standard for corporate transparency.
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January 23, 2025
Taiwan Double-Tax Relief Floated In Senate After House OK
The Senate Finance Committee introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would grant tax benefits to Taiwanese businesses in the U.S. and authorize the White House to negotiate a tax agreement with Taiwan, following the House of Representatives' approval of companion legislation.
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January 23, 2025
Corporate Transparency Law Remains Flanked By Threats
The Corporate Transparency Act is facing threats across the branches of government despite the U.S. Supreme Court pausing a nationwide injunction on it Thursday, with another universal injunction in place, other court battles underway and some Republican lawmakers targeting the law.
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January 23, 2025
Finland's Corporate Tax Revenue Dipped 8% Last Year
Finland's corporate tax take fell about 8% last year on an annual basis, although the government has a slight surplus overall with €81.7 billion ($85.1 million) in total revenues, the country's tax authority said Thursday.
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January 23, 2025
UK Gov't Tones Down Plan For Non-Dom Tax Changes
The U.K. government will amend its finance bill to soften its plan to abolish the nondomicile tax status for people claiming tax benefits as nonresidents, Exchequer Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in an interview broadcast Thursday.
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January 23, 2025
Australia Looking To Combine 3 Accounting Bodies
The Australian government asked for feedback Thursday on a plan to combine three accounting standards boards into one, with the goal of streamlining the country's financial reporting architecture to adapt to continued changes to the economy and reporting rules.
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January 23, 2025
Poland's €23M For Chemical Co. Clears EU State Aid Inquiry
The Polish government didn't break state aid law when it awarded €23 million ($23.9 million) to a chemical producer to open a production plant, the European Commission said Thursday.
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January 23, 2025
Gov't Floats Tweak To Pension Tax As £49M Returned
The government confirmed Thursday that it will close a controversial loophole that has resulted in retirees being overtaxed to the tune of £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) over the past decade.
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January 22, 2025
Renewing TCJA Will Deepen Economic Divide, Oxfam Says
Renewing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would cost the U.S. more than $4.5 trillion in revenue that could be used to reduce economic inequality, nongovernmental organization Oxfam said in the release of its annual report on inequality.
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January 22, 2025
GOP Again Floats Reciprocal Taxes In Affront To Global Deal
Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday renewed their proposal for reciprocal taxes against countries that participate in an international minimum tax agreement, following up on President Donald Trump's rejection of the global accord.
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January 22, 2025
Parliament Defends Report Alleging HMRC Has Poor Service
The chair of a United Kingdom parliamentary committee said Wednesday he was disappointed in HM Revenue & Customs rejection of an inquiry alleging the tax authority's customer service standards deteriorated to an all-time low in 2023 and 2024, arguing the agency approved reports that back up his findings.
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January 22, 2025
India Won't Apply Tax Treaty Abuse Provision Retroactively
An India tax agency said it won't retroactively apply an anti-abuse provision added to India's double-tax treaties with other countries by the nation's adoption of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's multilateral convention on base erosion and profit shifting.
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January 22, 2025
UK Insurance Premium Tax Haul Up 10%, Hits Record £6.7B
The U.K. government raised a record £6.7 billion ($8.3 billion) in insurance premium tax in the first nine months of the financial year ending March, up 10% from the corresponding period a year earlier, according to HMRC figures released Wednesday.
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January 21, 2025
Parliamentary Panel Faults HMRC's Customer Service
HM Revenue & Customs is failing to deliver a good service to taxpayers, with its standards sliding even lower last tax year compared with the prior year, the U.K. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee said in a report published Tuesday.
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January 21, 2025
Detroit Council OKs $45K Settlement Over Holding Co.'s Gain
The city of Detroit approved a settlement Tuesday in the Michigan Tax Tribunal in a long-running tax assessment dispute stemming from a holding company's gain from selling stock in a Canadian tobacco testing company.
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January 21, 2025
Mexico Extends Tax Breaks To Domestic Taxpayers
Mexico is extending a number of tax breaks aimed at foreign companies to qualifying domestic taxpayers, such as the ability to reduce taxable income by immediately deducting investments in fixed assets through late 2030, according to a presidential decree Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success
Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.
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6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice
An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.
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Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga
Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year
As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
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What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like
As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News
Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
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Unpacking The Proposed Production Tax Credit Regulations
Recently proposed tax regulations for claiming the U.S. clean-energy manufacturers' production credit under Internal Revenue Code Section 45X are less stringent than many had feared but fail to define a fundamental eligibility requirement, say Casey August and Jared Sanders at Morgan Lewis.
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10 Considerations For Litigating A New York Tax Case
While some of New York’s recently adopted corporate tax regulations are likely to face legal challenges, aggrieved taxpayers should answer certain questions before deciding to embark on the tax litigation process, say Cyavash Ahmadi and Jeffrey Friedman at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends
Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
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Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities
Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
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How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.