International
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June 06, 2024
Oil Cos. Stifle Bids For Tax Transparency, SEC Letters Show
At least three oil companies have stifled proposals initiated by the nonprofit Oxfam America for public country-by-country reporting of business activities, profits and taxes this year, according to letters from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained by Law360.
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June 06, 2024
Australia Seeking Feedback On Tax Returns For Biggest Cos.
The Australian Taxation Office said it is reaching out to advisory firms and other groups about plans to introduce a supplementary goods-and-services tax form for the country's biggest companies.
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June 06, 2024
Fox Rothschild Brings On Tax Pro From Atlanta Boutique
Fox Rothschild LLP has added an attorney in Atlanta from tax law boutique Wiggam Law to strengthen the firm's taxation and wealth planning department.
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June 06, 2024
EU Must Improve Country-By-Country Reporting, Group Says
While there has been an uptick in voluntary country-by-country public disclosures, the large multinational corporations that do so make up just 2% of all large companies and account for less than 5% of global revenue and profits, necessitating further improvements, an EU-funded research group said Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
Co. Did Not Abuse UK-Ireland Tax Agreement, Tribunal Affirms
The fact that an Ireland-based company benefited from the U.K.-Ireland double-taxation agreement when it acquired an £83.5 million ($106.8 million) investment doesn't mean it entered the transaction only for tax benefits, the U.K.'s Upper Tribunal said, affirming a lower court.
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June 06, 2024
Pharma Co. Should Get Hungarian Rebate, ECJ Adviser Says
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's mandatory payments into the Hungarian health system should reduce the company's tax base for value-added tax payments, an adviser to the European Union's highest court said Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
Switzerland, Italy Agree To Permanent Rules For Remote Work
Switzerland and Italy have established permanent rules regarding the taxation of cross-border workers, replacing a temporary arrangement that was agreed to last year, the Swiss government said Thursday.
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June 05, 2024
Nigeria Holding US Binance Exec Hostage, Lawmakers Say
The White House's hostage negotiator should begin seeking the release of a top executive at cryptocurrency exchange Binance whom the Nigerian government is holding personally liable for tax evasion charges against the company, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's chairman has said.
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June 05, 2024
German Draft Bill Would Adjust Tax Laws To EU Rules
Changes could be coming to a number of German tax laws, including some spurred by European Union law and both national and international case law, Germany's Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
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June 05, 2024
Win May Embolden IRS Use Of Economic Substance Doctrine
The IRS' successful wielding of the economic substance doctrine to characterize multinational telecommunications corporation Liberty Global's sophisticated set of intercompany deals as an abusive tax shelter could encourage the agency to apply similar analysis to even the most basic tax transactions.
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June 05, 2024
Streamers To Be Hit With 5% Charge On Canadian Revenue
Streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ soon will be required to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenues to the country's broadcasting system, which could generate CA$200 million ($146 million) a year, Canada's government said, drawing the ire of the National Foreign Trade Council.
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June 05, 2024
Gov't UK ISA Savings Proposal Gets Cold Shoulder
More financial firms on Wednesday warned that the U.K. government's plans to give consumers a new tax break for investing in U.K. companies was unworkable, adding it could conflict with the Financial Conduct Authority's consumer protection rules.
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June 05, 2024
EU Corp. Tax Proposal Delayed By Uncertainty On OECD Plan
European Union countries' negotiations on a proposal to streamline corporate taxation have been delayed because of a lack of clarity on implementation of the OECD's global minimum tax and the design of the accompanying reallocation of taxing rights, a top European Commission tax official said Wednesday.
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June 05, 2024
OECD Official Hopes Pillar 2 Ends Some 'Wasteful' Incentives
The introduction of the global minimum corporate tax known as Pillar Two should lead to the end of some "wasteful" incentives that narrow the tax base, an official from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday.
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June 05, 2024
Labour's Pension Tax Plans Backed By Fiscal Research Body
An influential economics think tank has backed plans by the Labour Party to reintroduce the lifetime allowance, arguing that there should be a cap on the tax-free accumulation of pensions wealth.
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June 04, 2024
Full DC Circ. Asked To Weigh Foreign Info Disclosure Penalties
A D.C. Circuit panel made questionable assumptions about congressional intent when it revived the IRS' authority to assess and administratively collect penalties related to undisclosed foreign corporations, a businessman said Tuesday in asking the full appellate court to hear his case.
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June 04, 2024
Australian Court Upholds Ex-Chinese Citizen's $7.7M Tax Bill
An Australian court upheld an AU$11.5 million ($7.7 million) tax bill from the Australian Taxation Office to a former Chinese citizen after determining he failed to provide enough evidence to support his alternative tax liability calculation.
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June 04, 2024
Calif. OTA Rejects Couple's Claim Of Bolivia Residency
A California couple owes additional state income tax on a retirement account distribution, the state Office of Tax Appeals said in an opinion released Tuesday, rejecting the pair's assertion that they were domiciled in Bolivia at the time.
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June 04, 2024
EU OKs Italian Renewable Energy Plan Funded By Levy
The European Commission said Tuesday that it approved Italy's plan to introduce a levy on the electricity bills of final consumers to fund construction of renewable energy plants, finding the benefits far outweigh any potential damage to competition and trade.
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June 04, 2024
Spain Sends Pillar 2 Bill To Legislature After EU Pressure
The Spanish government announced Tuesday it has sent a bill to its legislature that would transpose the European Union directive to implement the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global minimum tax on large corporations following pressure from the bloc.
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June 04, 2024
New Dutch Gov't Seen Returning To Pro-Biz Positions
The incoming conservative Dutch government is expected to adopt tax policies that align with the Netherlands' long-standing reputation as a tax-friendly jurisdiction for businesses, in part by reversing a recently enacted measure that taxed companies' purchases of their own shares.
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June 04, 2024
Luxembourg Candidate Calls To End EU Tax Unanimity Rule
The leading Socialist candidate in the upcoming European parliamentary elections said the European Union should scrap the need for unanimity for all tax decisions, clashing with his home country of Luxembourg's longtime stand that's meant to protect its status as a financial center.
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June 04, 2024
Austrian Authorities Reveal Spike In Fake Companies
The number of fake companies in Austria is increasing, according to data from the Finance Ministry, which said that it hoped a new law would aid in combating the trend.
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June 03, 2024
Danish Tax Agency Says $2.1B Tax Fraud Suits Not Filed Late
Denmark's tax administrator urged a New York federal court to reject bids to toss its suits against U.S. pension plans and individuals it accuses of participating in a $2.1 billion fraud scheme, saying the suits were not filed too late.
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June 03, 2024
Treasury Aims To Salvage Corp. Transparency Act At 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act is a valid exercise of congressional authority to curb money laundering under the commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause in the Constitution, the U.S. Treasury Department told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday in a bid to restore the law's reporting requirements.
Expert Analysis
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India's Budget Proposals May Ease Entry For Certain Sectors
India’s recently released budget includes proposals to facilitate doing business in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and moderate thousands of compliance requirements, opening up new opportunities for foreign businesses in the digital infrastructure, manufacturing and renewable energy sectors, say Mukesh Butani and Seema Kejriwal at BMR Legal.
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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US-India Advance Pricing Resolutions Should Reassure Cos.
The United States' and India's tax authorities' recent resolution of a significant number of pending advance pricing agreements should reduce taxpayer uncertainty, reassure companies of the nations' good working relationship and improve India's investment environment, say Miller Williams and Caroline Setliffe at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Stock Buyback Excise Tax Guidance A Mixed Bag For SPACs
Recent IRS guidance on the new stock repurchase excise tax includes a welcome exception for publicly traded special-purpose acquisition companies but does not exclude redemptions in connection with a de-SPAC transaction, and further guidance is needed to clarify ambiguities around the exception's application, say Olga Bogush and Evgeny Magidenko at ArentFox Schiff.
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The IRS' APA Rulemaking Journey: There And Back Again
Attorneys at Dentons examine recent challenges in which taxpayers successfully argued Internal Revenue Service rulemaking was invalid under the Administrative Procedure Act, how tax exceptionalism and U.S. Supreme Court regulatory deference prompted such challenges, and similar challenges the agency will likely face following this line of cases.
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ECJ Fiat Ruling Sets Clear Boundaries For EU State Aid Law
The European Court of Justice's recent landmark decision in Fiat v. Commission limiting the commission’s attempts to circumvent the lack of EU powers in the area of tax law has important implications in EU state aid law and beyond, say Andreas Reindl and Pietro Stella at Van Bael.
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Unpacking The Interim Guidance On New Stock Buyback Tax
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service's recent notice on applying the newly effective excise tax on stock repurchases provides much-needed clarity on the tax's scope, which is much broader than anticipated given its underlying policy rationale, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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IRS Will Use New Resources To Increase Scrutiny In 2023
The new year promises to be a busy one for the Internal Revenue Service, which is poised to apply the boost in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act to bolster and expand its enforcement capability, and there are four areas to watch, say attorneys at Skadden.
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How Japan's Implementation May Change The Pillar 2 Debate
Japan’s outline of proposed legislation adopting a primary component of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 15% global minimum tax will increase pressure on countries — including the U.S. — that have not committed to adopting Pillar Two, says Takato Masuda of Nishimura & Asahi.
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Foreign Tax Credit Proposal Is Some Help, But More Is Needed
New foreign tax credit regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department provided some measure of relief on cost recovery and royalty withholding, two of the most troublesome aspects of the 2021 final foreign tax credit regulations, but the final regulations are still harmful to many taxpayers, making litigation inevitable, say attorneys at Fenwick.
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IRS' Tax Gap Statistics Don't Paint A Full Compliance Picture
The Internal Revenue Service's recent report indicating a widening tax gap sheds important light on tax compliance, underlines key pressure points and provides insights into how tax administration could be improved; but tax gap estimates also have their limits, says Joyce Beebe at Rice University.
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How High Court Could Change FBAR Penalty Landscape
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Bittner v. U.S., a case that will affect many people penalized for failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, and there are important procedural implications should the government's position be reversed, say Reuben Muller and Andreas Apostolides at Cole Schotz.
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IRS Memo May Change IP Royalty Tax Prepayment Planning
A recent Internal Revenue Service advice memorandum finding a taxpayer was not permitted to prepay tax on contingent royalties after contributing intellectual property offshore is a noteworthy departure from earlier guidance that highlights potential differences between actual and deemed licenses, says William Skinner at Fenwick.