International
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September 20, 2024
UK Budget May Seek Gains From Inheritance Tax, Firms Say
The U.K. government may try to squeeze more revenue out of the wealthy via inheritance tax, wealth management firms said Friday following the release of data showing the levy is generating higher returns for HM Treasury.
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September 19, 2024
Pillar 1's Safe Harbor Limits Split Of Taxing Rights, Study Says
The redistribution of corporate taxing rights among countries that agreed to new profit reallocation rules known as Pillar One would be "seriously affected" by a proposed safe harbor, according to report from a think tank funded by the European Union.
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September 19, 2024
Death Doesn't Preclude FBAR Penalties, Judge Says
The death of a U.S. citizen who failed to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts doesn't stop the U.S. government from enforcing penalties against his estate, a New York federal judge ruled.
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September 19, 2024
Spain Tax Inspections Generated €16.7B In Revenue In 2023
Spain's tax agency said Thursday that it increased the number of control actions it took against large companies and other groups by nearly 14% in 2023 as part of the agency's €16.7 billion ($18.6 billion) in revenue generated from control work last year.
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September 19, 2024
Sweden Aiming For Broad Tax Cuts In 2025 Budget
Swedish taxpayers would see lower tax rates in many areas, such as on their labor and pensions, as part of a proposed 2025 budget that the government sent to the country's legislature for consideration Thursday.
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September 19, 2024
EU, China Fail To End EV Dispute But Talks Continue
Negotiators from the European Union and China failed to resolve a dispute over EU antisubsidy tariffs on imported electric vehicles from China but promised Thursday to intensify efforts to find a mutually agreeable solution.
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September 19, 2024
Nine Countries Sign Treaty For OECD Min. Tax On Payments
Indonesia, Turkey, Congo and six other countries signed a multilateral treaty aimed at implementing a 9% minimum tax on income sent from their jurisdictions to low-taxed entities within a corporate group, the OECD said Thursday.
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September 19, 2024
EU Top Court Rules UK's CFC Tax Breaks Not State Aid
The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday that tax breaks the U.K. gave to certain companies under controlled foreign company regulations did not breach European Union state aid law.
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September 19, 2024
Apple Ruling Prompts EU Lawmakers To Call For Tax Justice
Citing the recent European court judgment requiring Apple to pay €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in taxes to Ireland, European Union lawmakers demanded Thursday that the fight against tax evasion and for corporate tax harmonization be stepped up.
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September 19, 2024
EU Wrong To Block Berlusconi's Bank Stake, Top Court Rules
Europe's highest court ruled Thursday that the European Central Bank was wrong to decide that a prior conviction for tax fraud prevented former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from holding a stake in a bank in the country.
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September 18, 2024
Tax Chiefs Eye Crypto Payment Cos., OTC Traders, IRS Says
Tax investigators in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands are preparing guidance on red flags for cryptocurrency payment providers and over-the-counter trading desks following a joint operation this week, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
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September 18, 2024
Tax Court Wrongly Denied Premium Deduction, 5th Circ. Told
A Texas couple asked the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday to reverse a U.S. Tax Court decision denying their bid to deduct more than $1 million in premiums paid to insurance companies they owned, arguing the Tax Court misclassified underlying insurance arrangements.
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September 18, 2024
Most Large Aussie Companies Paying Correct Tax Amounts
The Australian Taxation Office has a high or medium level of assurance that 86% of the country's largest taxpayers paid the correct amount of income taxes in 2024, based on recent reviews.
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September 18, 2024
House GOP Vows Blowback Over OECD's Min. Tax Backstop
House Republicans again warned the OECD that Congress will retaliate against countries that implement a backstop measure to the 15% global minimum tax, saying China will cheat the system and it will cost U.S. taxpayers about $120 billion.
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September 18, 2024
Estonia Implementing 2% Profit Tax To Fund Security
Companies in Estonia will need to pay a 2% tax on their accounting profits starting in 2026 in order to boost investment in the country's defense measures, its Ministry of Finance said.
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September 18, 2024
Country-By-Country Reports In Place In Over 115 Jurisdictions
More than 115 tax jurisdictions require large multinational entities to submit country-by country reports in line with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development standards as part of the group's fight against tax base erosion and profit shifting, the OECD reported.
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September 18, 2024
Colombia Should Lower 35% Corporate Tax Rate, OECD Says
Colombia can reignite the since-slowed growth it experienced following the COVID-19 pandemic through a series of tax changes, in particular lowering its 35% corporate income tax as part of an overall rebalancing of the tax burden from corporate to personal income, according to the OECD.
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September 18, 2024
Latham Adds A&O Shearman Energy Group Co-Lead In DC
Latham & Watkins LLP has hired the former co-head of Allen Overy Shearman Sterling's U.S. energy, natural resources and infrastructure group to its team of transactional tax partners based in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Monday.
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September 18, 2024
8th Circ. Considers Chevron's End In 3M's $24M Tax Case
The Eighth Circuit signaled it would consider an argument by 3M that the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Chevron deference warranted a reversal in a transfer pricing case in which 3M is challenging the IRS' reallocation of $24 million from a Brazilian affiliate.
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September 18, 2024
Fixing UK Labor Market Could Raise £16B, Report Says
The U.K. labor market has lost almost a million workers since the COVID-19 pandemic, but reversing this could raise more than £16 billion ($21.1 billion) in tax receipts, a research center said Wednesday.
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September 18, 2024
Dutch Government Issues Tax Cuts In First Budget
The new Dutch government issued its first budget since the 2023 elections, including plans to cut taxes on earnings and raise the limit on certain corporate tax deductions.
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September 17, 2024
Tax Court Denies Mineral Co.'s $1.1M Microcaptive Deduction
A mineral rights leasing company set up by an Oklahoma oil businessman can't take a $1.1 million deduction for what was presented as a microcaptive insurance transaction, the U.S. Tax Court ruled, saying the transaction was not a legitimate insurance arrangement.
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September 17, 2024
Cos. Risk Offside Call On Contractor Tax After HMRC Win
The U.K. Supreme Court's decision Monday that Premier League referees count as employees for tax purposes means many companies may have to reassess their arrangements with contractors or risk higher tax costs in the future, tax experts say.
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September 17, 2024
Competitiveness Outranks Climate In New EU Commission
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shifted her focus from climate change to boosting competitiveness as she proposed her team of commissioners for the next five-year mandate Tuesday, handing out key jobs covering everything from competition enforcement to trade policy.
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September 16, 2024
Film Producer, Accountant Hid $25M From IRS, DOJ Alleges
A film producer who sold shares in the production company he cofounded for $25 million schemed with an Australian accountant to hide the proceeds from U.S. authorities in Swiss bank accounts, causing the IRS to lose out on some $5 million, according to the DOJ.
Expert Analysis
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Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Preserving Payment Rights
Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions that together illustrate the importance of keeping accurate records and adhering to contractual procedures to avoid inadvertently waiving contractual rights to cost reimbursements or nonroutine payments.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed
The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.