International
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
April 24, 2024
Papua New Guinea Commits To Automatic Tax Info Exchange
Papua New Guinea has committed to enacting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's standard for automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters by September 2027, the OECD said Wednesday.
-
April 24, 2024
EU Keeps Gibraltar, Panama, UAE On AML Blacklist
Gibraltar, Panama and the United Arab Emirates should remain on the European Union's blacklist of high-risk countries for money laundering, the European Parliament said, stopping the EU from following the lead of a global organization promoting standards for countries to fight those crimes.
-
April 24, 2024
EU Expected To OK Withholding Tax, Digital VAT Laws In May
European Union finance ministers are expected to agree on a new withholding tax refund law and a package to modernize value-added tax reporting at their May 14 meeting, an EU official said Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
-
April 24, 2024
EU Says 3 States Aren't Correctly Following AML Law
The European Commission said Wednesday that three European Union countries — Ireland, France and Latvia — aren't correctly implementing the bloc's laws against money laundering, meaning that the countries now have two months to correct the shortcomings.
-
April 23, 2024
Treasury Says Aussie Royalty Ruling Contradicts US, OECD
Australia's updated draft ruling regarding when payments for the rights to distribute software would be considered royalties conflicts with OECD and U.S. standards on the treatment of such deals, a U.S. Department of the Treasury official said in a letter made public Tuesday.
-
April 23, 2024
Biz Ownership Law Constitutional, Lawmakers Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act is a garden-variety exercise of Congress' powers to address threats to national security, foreign affairs, commerce and tax collection, five Democratic lawmakers told the Eleventh Circuit, disputing a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
-
April 23, 2024
DC Circ. Backs Tax Penalties Against Swiss Couple
A Swiss couple who incurred $500,000 in penalties for failing to report millions of dollars they held in Swiss bank accounts can't get out of paying, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday, rejecting their argument that the IRS didn't properly approve the fines.
-
April 23, 2024
Int'l Pricing Pact Guidance Is Coming Soon, IRS Official Says
Updated Internal Revenue Service guidance that would help multinational corporations pursue advance pricing agreements will likely be released in a few months, an agency official said Tuesday.
-
April 23, 2024
Disney, IBM Stuck With Tax On Royalties, NY Top Court Holds
New York's highest court rejected Disney and IBM's arguments that the state unconstitutionally denied their attempts to take tax deductions on royalties received from foreign affiliates, holding Tuesday that the law at issue didn't discriminate against interstate commerce.
-
April 23, 2024
EV Levy Could Blunt Swiss Climate Plan Pains, Report Says
The first report on the long-term fiscal impact of climate change mitigation measures in Switzerland, released Tuesday, projects a major negative impact on public funds as certain tax sources dry up, but a planned replacement levy on electric vehicles could lessen that effect.
-
April 23, 2024
Irish Minister Warns Corp. Tax Windfall Still Shrouds Deficit
Ireland's budget is projected to have an €8.6 billion ($9.2 billion) surplus this year, but the country's finance minister again cautioned Tuesday that without the slowly decreasing windfall corporate tax receipts there would actually be a deficit.
-
April 23, 2024
Tax Experts Want Cut To Healthcare Insurance Levy
Tax experts on Tuesday urged the U.K. government to partially suspend a levy on healthcare insurance products, after it revealed record premium tax revenue of £8.1 billion ($10.1 billion) last year.
-
April 23, 2024
Talk Of Int'l Wealth Tax Fuels Debate On UN Vs. OECD
Discussion of an international tax on the world's wealthiest individuals has intensified a debate about whether international tax policy would be better steered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or the United Nations.
-
April 23, 2024
EU Parliament OKs Extending Duty-Free Imports From Ukraine
The European Parliament approved the suspension of the European Union's customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian imports into the EU for one year until June 2025 on Tuesday, overcoming discord in March over farm imports that threatened the deal.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.