International
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May 22, 2024
IRS Again Delays Reporting Rules for Certain BEAT Payments
The Internal Revenue Service is deferring until 2027 the applicability date of requirements for reporting certain intercompany payments that are exempt from the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, the agency announced Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
IRS Again Delaying Dividend Anti-Abuse Regs
The Internal Revenue Service is again extending the transition period for rules that govern certain financial transactions that could avoid withholding on dividend payments to foreign taxpayers, it announced Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
UK Gov't Calls Elections For July 4 Despite Poor Polls
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday called an early general election to be held on July 4, advancing the electoral timetable even though his Conservative Party lags decisively behind the opposition Labour Party.
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May 22, 2024
Swiss Gov't Adopts Proposals For Tougher AML Laws
Switzerland on Wednesday approved a new anti-money laundering framework that will introduce a register in which companies and other legal entities in the country will have to disclose information on their beneficial owners in a major shift in its anti-money laundering rules.
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May 22, 2024
EU's Carbon Border Tax Pushes Others To Follow, Experts Say
The European Union's carbon border tax is pushing many countries outside the bloc to introduce similar systems, government and academic experts said Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
UK Dependency To Implement Pillar 2 Starting In 2025
The island of Jersey, a U.K. crown dependency, said it would implement the international minimum tax for large corporations known as Pillar Two, with the law taking effect next year.
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May 21, 2024
Nixing Green Energy Tax Perks Would Be Tough For Trump
Former President Donald Trump has vowed to scrap Democrats' signature 2022 climate law should he get reelected in November, but following through on that campaign promise could prove difficult amid bipartisan support for many of the law's clean energy tax incentives and a potentially divided Congress.
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May 21, 2024
Wyden Expands Pharma Tax Investigation With Pfizer Inquiry
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Pfizer to provide details on its tax practices to explain how the drug company has consistently paid tax rates that are significantly lower than the corporate tax rate in a letter released by the committee Tuesday.
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May 21, 2024
CohnReznick Adds PwC Partner To International Tax Practice
CohnReznick has a new principal in its international tax practice who previously served as a partner at PwC, the firm announced.
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May 21, 2024
22 States Tell 11th Circ. Corp. Transparency Act Goes Too Far
The federal Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutionally displaces state authority and its enforcement would economically harm states and their residents, attorneys general from 22 states told the Eleventh Circuit, urging it to uphold a ruling that struck down the law.
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May 21, 2024
Yellen Says US Can't Support Global Tax On Billionaires
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. can't support Brazil's proposal for the Group of 20 nations to endorse pursuing a multilateral agreement to tax billionaires' wealth at a minimum rate.
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May 21, 2024
Italy Needs To Adjust Tax Credits To Limit Debt, IMF Says
While generous Italian tax regimes such as credits for home improvements have helped the country's economy rebound quickly from the pandemic, they also pose a risk to the country's debt burden and need to be adjusted, the International Monetary Fund said.
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May 21, 2024
Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023
The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.
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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
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May 21, 2024
Portuguese Cos. Appeal EU Court Ruling On Tax Breaks
Three Portuguese companies have appealed a European Union court's judgment backing a European Commission decision that demanded repayment of tax breaks considered to have been illegal, documents published Tuesday showed.
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May 21, 2024
EU Adopts Decision To Send Russian Profits To Ukraine
European Union countries adopted a formal decision Tuesday to transfer the net income from frozen and immobilized Russian state assets to EU funds for rebuilding Ukraine and buying arms for the war-torn country, a news release said.
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May 21, 2024
I Am An Honest Man, British Trader Tells £1.4B Fraud Trial
Sanjay Shah, a former hedge fund owner who is accused of defrauding Denmark's tax authority out of £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion), told a London court on Tuesday that he is an "honest man" who traded using a legal "loophole."
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May 21, 2024
IMF Report Warns UK Against More Tax Cuts
The United Kingdom should refrain from additional tax cuts unless they are credibly shown to boost economic growth and are offset by measures to cut the deficit, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.
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May 20, 2024
Transparency Act Violates Constitution, Groups Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act's reporting requirements violate the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and other constitutional provisions, libertarian think tank Cato Institute and others said Monday in urging the Eleventh Circuit to uphold an Alabama district court's ruling against the law.
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May 20, 2024
India's Top Court Says Accounting Body Can Limit Tax Audits
India's regulatory association for accountants has the authority to limit the amount of tax audits performed by an individual accountant to 60, the Supreme Court of India ruled — even as it canceled ongoing disciplinary proceedings over the restriction because of inconsistent enforcement.
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May 20, 2024
IRS Guidance Plan Should Cover Corp. AMT, AICPA Says
The Internal Revenue Service should provide guidance on the definitions and applications of the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax, among other topics, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in comments published by the agency Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Turkey Will Introduce 15% Global Minimum Tax, Minister Says
The Turkish government will introduce the 15% global minimum corporate tax and will not provide any incentives that would allow companies to pay a lower rate, the country's finance minister told its public broadcaster Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Isle Of Man Commits To Portion Of Global Minimum Tax
The Isle of Man plans to introduce legislation implementing the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax portion of the OECD's Pillar Two directive starting in 2025 but is less committed to adopting the income inclusion rule, the island's Treasury said Monday.
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May 20, 2024
HMRC Lays Out Registration Rules For Pillar 2
Companies covered by the U.K.'s implementation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Pillar Two global minimum tax directive must register with HM Revenue & Customs within six months of the accounting period that makes them eligible, the agency said Monday.
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May 20, 2024
US, Argentina To Carry Out 1st FATCA Info Exchange
The Internal Revenue Service approved cybersecurity measures by Argentina in a step that clears the way for the first automatic information exchange under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act between the two countries in September, Argentina's revenue service said Monday.
Expert Analysis
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How OECD Transfer Tax Initiative Affects Smaller Businesses
Small and midsize enterprises with cross-border transactions need to consider redefining tax strategies and operational models in light of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's base erosion and profit shifting initiative, even though the agency's new tax guidelines are aimed at large multinational enterprises, says Ganesh Ramaswamy at Kreston Rangamani.
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What The New OECD Double-Tax Procedure Statistics Tell Us
Monique van Herksen and Clive Jie-A-Joen at Simmons & Simmons consider the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recent report on double taxation cases resolved in 2020 under the mutual agreement procedure process, and examine whether the process has improved dispute resolution mechanisms since its implementation five years ago.
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Navigating FCPA Risks Of Minority-Owned Joint Ventures
The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely continue to focus on third-party risks under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, so companies with minority-owned joint ventures should take several steps to mitigate related compliance challenges, say Ben Kimberley at The Clorox Company and Addison Thompson at Covington.
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Questions To Ask If Doing Business In A Corruption Hot Spot
Businesses facing new scrutiny after the U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced task force for combating human trafficking in Central America, the release of the Pandora Papers and continuing fallout from 2019's Panama Papers, should address compliance risks by having employees ask three questions about every transaction, say attorneys at White & Case.
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How The Global Tax Agreement Could Backfire For Biden
If the $3.5 trillion spending package fails, the federal tax code will not conform to the recent 15% global minimum tax agreement spearheaded by the U.S., which would embarrass the Biden administration and could lead to retaliatory tax measures by other nations, says Alex Parker at Capitol Counsel.
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Pandora Papers Reveal Need For Greater Tax Enforcement
The recent Pandora Papers leak is a reminder of the importance of transparency laws and proper funding for enforcement efforts against tax evasion as bad actors increasingly operate in the shadows, says Daren Firestone and Kevin Crenny at Levy Firestone.
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Parsing New Int'l Tax Reporting Rules For Pass-Throughs
Attorneys at Grant Thornton unpack the Internal Revenue Service’s new pass-through entity reporting requirements for international tax matters and the accompanying guidance for penalty relief, and suggest how companies should prepare for what may be the most significant change to the partnership compliance function in decades.
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A Look At Global Tax Enforcement Developments: Part 2
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Sean Craig at LexisNexis examines recent investigations by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement and their impact on U.S. taxpayers, as well as the growing significance of transfer pricing disputes and policies for future enforcement.
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A Look At Global Tax Enforcement Developments: Part 1
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Sean Craig at LexisNexis looks at how international initiatives, such as the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, are addressing cryptocurrency-related tax evasion, and how the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing demands for governmental welfare programs are driving global tax policy.
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EU Climate Plan Should Involve Taxing Pollution, Not Borders
In order to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union proposes to levy carbon emissions at its borders and to overhaul its long-standing energy tax framework, but the latter would hold polluters directly accountable, giving it the better chance for success, says Rebecca Christie at Bruegel.
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Prepare For Global Tax Regime's New Biz Dispute Risks
Companies should take steps to mitigate the business dispute risks of the new international tax framework, which over a hundred countries agreed to in July, as implementing the new regime will be expensive and require substantial organizational restructuring efforts, says Tim McCarthy at Dykema.
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Prepare For More Audits Of Tax Info And Withholding Filings
Financial institutions and other corporate taxpayers should focus compliance efforts on tax information reporting and withholding, given recent indications from the Biden administration that the IRS will increase enforcement, and the administration's need to fund its infrastructure plan and other costly initiatives, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Anti-Boycott Compliance Still Key In UAE Business Dealings
Notwithstanding recent amendments to U.S. anti-boycott laws that reflect the United Arab Emirates' withdrawal from the Arab boycott of Israel, companies doing business in the UAE and elsewhere still need to maintain effective anti-boycott compliance programs to avoid reporting violations or penalties, says Howard Weissman at Miller Canfield.