Category: Multinational Corporations
Frydenberg welcomes historic OECD tax agreement
More than 130 countries agreed on Friday to rolling out historic changes to international tax rules, after leaders agreed to a new global minimum tax rate of 15 per cent targeted at companies with annual revenue of more than 750 million euros. ... - Continue reading
Canada: With Recent Regulatory Developments, Canadian Business Interest In Cayman Will Grow
Canada is home to some of the largest multinational corporations in the world, a bustling pension fund and private equity industry, and growing numbers of alternative investment, real estate, and insurance shops. With dynamic industry and growth in the region, Canadian business leaders are leveraging Cayman as a financial centre to help… – Continue reading
Democrats introduce bill to curb tax havens
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced a pair of bills aimed at stopping corporations from using offshore tax havens and outsourcing jobs to other countries. The first bill, the No… – Continue reading
Ireland, Malta Close ‘Single Malt’ Tax Avoidance Structure
Ireland and Malta have agreed to close the “Single Malt” – an aggressive tax planning structure in which some multinational corporations use a company incorporated in Ireland but tax-resident in Malta. The Competent Authority Agreement – entered into as per the provisions of Article 24 (mutual agreement procedure) of the… – Continue reading
PACAC Explains Why FG Turned Spotlight on Multinationals
The Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) has explained why it is shifting the war against corruption in the country from politically exposed persons to multinationals. According to the Executive Secretary of PACAC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, Africa and indeed Nigeria losses more from Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) perpetrated by multinational… – Continue reading
Panasonic to Move European Headquarters Out of UK as Brexit Concerns Grow
Several multi-national corporations have moved their European headquarters outside of the UK ahead of Brexit, and many others are expected to follow suit, especially as the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit rises further. Japanese tech giant Panasonic will be transferring its European HQ away from London to Amsterdam in October… – Continue reading
Intra-group Service Fee Treatment in China
Most multinational corporations (MNCs) charge their subsidiaries for services like human resources (HR) or information technology support. The subsidiary’s payment for these services is classed as intra-group service fees when they are made within same enterprise group. Because some businesses use this method to avoid tax and shift profits, tax… – Continue reading
LUX RULES “MAY FACILITATE AGGRESSIVE TAX PLANNING”
The European Commission has criticised Luxembourg and six other EU member states for overly favourable tax treatment of multinational corporations. “The @EU_Commission is today stressing the issue of aggressive tax planning in seven EU countries: #Belgium, #Cyprus, #Hungary, #Ireland, #Luxembourg, #Malta and The #Netherlands. #FairTaxation,” Pierre Moscovici, the European finance… – Continue reading
Israel set to adjust tax policies to counter Trump reform, tax chief says
Also, multinational companies with a physical presence in Israel will soon get their first tax bill Israel will need to amend its corporate tax policies to counter the effects of US President Donald Trump’s tax reform, the head of Israel’s Tax Authority head acknowledged — but only slightly. “There will… – Continue reading
US Inc. urges Jaitley to reduce tax uncertainty for MNCs
Washington–Ahead of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s last full Union Budget, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) has urged him to further reduce tax uncertainty for multinational companies and foreign investors, even as Indian industry has voiced its own areas of concern. In a memorandum submitted to Jaitley, the USIBC has said… – Continue reading
Apple Could Get a $4 Billion Boost From Tax-Law Quirk
Microsoft, Cisco might also benefit from GOP bill ‘loophole’ Law gives some firms edge in paring offshore cash tax tab Companies that stockpiled trillions of dollars offshore free of U.S. income tax may get one last break before paying up — provided their fiscal years don’t follow the calendar year…. – Continue reading
Cyprus Extends Deadline For CbC Reporting Entity Notification
The Cypriot tax authority has extended until January 15, 2018, the deadline for multinational corporations to submit their notifications concerning country-by-country reporting for 2017. The deadline had been December 31. In December 2016, Cyprus issued a decree introducing CbC reporting obligations for multinational enterprises with consolidated group revenue of EUR750m… – Continue reading
Transfer Pricing and BEPS to Increase Tax Revenues in Georgia
The FINANCIAL — Transfer Pricing Rules were implemented by the Government of Georgia in 2011, based on OECD guidelines. Since the number of international companies in Georgia is increasing steadily, Transfer Pricing Rules have become a point of obvious interest. However, multinational companies operating in Georgia are not sufficiently well-informed… – Continue reading
Tax Reform Must Level the Playing Field for American Companies
Multinationals have been getting away with not paying their fair share to the U.S. for too long, says this business founder With Washington pushing full-tilt on tax reform, it’s time to tackle the unfair tax advantage enjoyed by multinational enterprises. Addressing this longstanding problem could provide a unique opportunity to… – Continue reading
Paradise Papers reveal unethical tax avoidance by tech companies
Under President Trump’s political and economic climate, stocks and the economy have been soaring. Trump constantly aims for three percent GDP growth as a result of cutting corporate income and individual income taxes, which aims to encourage spending across different family incomes. However, these corporations the tax cuts favor have… – Continue reading
Apple defends moving offshore profits to the tax haven of Jersey
The company known for the ‘double Irish’ scheme is moving its subsidiaries’ tax residency. A set of leaked documents from offshore law firm Appleby has revealed that Apple stashed $250 billion in Jersey, a tiny island off the coast of France known for being a tax haven. The tech titan… – Continue reading
100 Organizations Urge Congress to Reject Giant Tax Loophole for Offshoring and Tax Avoidance
GOP Leadership’s Proposal for a “Territorial Tax System” Would Encourage Corporations to Send Jobs Offshore and Avoid Paying Taxes. WASHINGTON – Today, 100 organizations sent a letter urging members of Congress to reject a proposal that would allow U.S. multinational corporations to pay little to nothing on their offshore profits…. – Continue reading
Business Leaders Lobby for Tax Reform
American CEOs stress urgent need for a tax code overhaul Major U.S. companies are advocating for changes in the tax system that they say will boost investment, jobs, and economic growth. Business leaders are urging Congress to pass a bill by the end of this year. Chief executives of large… – Continue reading
Multinationals would face mandatory tax on offshore profits, Steven Mnuchin says
Multinational corporations with profits held overseas would face a mandatory one-time tax as part of the planned Republican tax legislation, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday. “There will be a ‘deemed tax’ as a one-time charge,” Mnuchin said in an interview with Fox News at the Treasury. U.S. companies have… – Continue reading
US IRS Now Accepting CbC Reports
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun accepting country-by-country (CbC) reports from multinational corporations. In June 2016 the IRS issued final regulations requiring CbC reporting by the ultimate parent entity of a multinational enterprise (MNE) group with revenue of USD850m or more in the preceding accounting year. The first… – Continue reading
US Corporations Pay Taxes Far Below Statutory Rate
The statutory federal corporate tax rate in the United States is 35%, and it has been since 1993. Any company that pays that rate should probably be looking for a new chief financial officer. When state taxes are slotted in, the average combined tax rate is 39.1%, according to a… – Continue reading
US Think Tank Says Earning Stripping Regs Should Be Retained
Contrary to calls from businesses from the regulation’s withdrawal, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has called on the US Treasury to fully implement and strengthen its final Section 385 anti-earnings stripping debt-equity regulations, designed to reduce the benefits of corporate tax inversions. The final regulations, released in October… – Continue reading
US government delays Obama earnings-stripping rule deadline
The change converts tax-deductible interest payments employed by the schemes into taxable stock dividends. The U.S. government on Friday gave companies an extra year to comply with an Obama-era regulation meant to crack down on corporations that try to minimize their U.S. tax bills by shifting profits abroad to countries… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance schemes on the rise – BURS
The Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) says tax avoidance schemes such as transfer pricing, base erosion and profit shifting appear to be on the rise in the country. Transfer pricing is regarded as a tax avoidance scheme in which multinational corporations shift profits to low tax jurisdictions and avoid taxes… – Continue reading
Voices UN seeks a broader transfer pricing role
Four of the most significant transnational organizations are working together to eliminate transfer pricing schemes and abuses. The four organizations—the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations and the World Bank Group—are seeking to achieve global cooperation in tax matters. Transfer pricing is one… – Continue reading
US tax cuts could lead to financial instability: IMF
Report warns that Trump’s proposed corporate tax reforms could spark risk-taking WASHINGTON • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned yesterday that United States President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts and reduction of financial regulations could spark a new round of financial risk-taking of the type that preceded the last crisis… – Continue reading
Germany Provides Update On 10-Point Tax Evasion Plan
The German Ministry of Finance has published a progress report on its 10-point plan to combat tax evasion, which was first announced in the wake of last year’s Panama Papers leak. The plan, launched on April 12, 2016, outlines the measures that Germany wants to put in place at domestic… – Continue reading
Campaigners demonstrate ‘In Praise of Whistleblowers’
Members of the Methodist Tax Justice Network (MTJN) and the Tax Justice Network (TJN) gathered outside the Embankment headquarters of PricewaterhouseCoopers on Wednesday 5 April 2017 to demonstrate in support of whistleblowers and against the actions of PwC, who have facilitated global tax avoidance, tried to prevent the release of… – Continue reading
Ottawa to spend $500M on pursuit of tax cheats, budget reveals
Money will be used to hire more auditors and develop computer systems to “target high-risk international tax” evasion. Tax auditors and fraud investigators have been given more than half a billion dollars to pursue tax cheats, and the government expects them to collect five times that much in additional taxes…. – Continue reading
Transfer Pricing in China
Transfer pricing—the price charged for intercompany transactions between entities in different tax jurisdictions—can be used to shift funds within a multinational corporation (MNC), and serves as an effective means to manage a firm’s finances. Transfer pricing—the price charged for intercompany transactions between entities in different tax jurisdictions—can be used to… – Continue reading
Ecuador Referendum Blazes Trail in Fight Against Tax Havens
If the referendum passes, all public servants and elected officials in Ecuador will be barred from holding wealth in offshore accounts. As Ecuador heads to the polls Sunday to elect a new president and National Assembly, deciding the fate of President Rafael Correa’s 10-year Citizens’ Revolution, the small South American… – Continue reading
OECD consults on developing countries transfer pricing toolkit
The OECD is seeking feedback on a draft toolkit designed to assist developing countries in work on transfer pricing, which specifically addresses the ways developing countries can overcome a lack of data on ‘comparables’, or the market prices for goods and services transferred between members of multinational corporations The toolkit… – Continue reading
Tackling aggressive tax planning
THERE was a time when a tax professional would confidently tell you that tax avoidance would not get you in trouble. You might be bending the rules a little to minimise your tax liability, but as long as you followed the letter of the law, you would be fine. On… – Continue reading
Snapchat opts for London over Dublin for international HQ
Move could be a worrying indicator of investment trends post-Brexit, post-Beps Snap, the company behind Snapchat, has opted to open its new new international headquarters in London, rather than Dublin, Amsterdam or Luxembourg, bucking a trend which for decades has seen US multinationals book their international sales in one of… – Continue reading
Worldwide: The OECD’s Conquest Of Domestic Tax Codes: Understanding The Costs And Consequences Of The BEPS Project
Authored by IFC Media Recent global events from the release of the Panama Papers to a series of high-profile inversions have given international tax regulators both rhetorical ammunition and public support to execute a global crackdown on multinational tax planning. The goal is to increase total taxes paid by global… – Continue reading
Juncker accused of blocking EU efforts against tax avoidance
Jean-Claude Juncker deliberately blocked the EU’s efforts to fight tax avoidance while in office as prime minister of Luxembourg, according to documents revealed by The Guardian and the International Consortium of Journalists. EurActiv France reports. Member states have supposedly spent the last two decades cooperating in the committee on business… – Continue reading
International taxation changes could ‘pose a major challenge’ to Malta’s iGaming sector
Changes in the way international taxation is collected, thanks to recommendations made by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) could “pose a major challenge to the sustainability and profitability” of many iGaming operations in Malta. This information came to light through a report issued by Country Profiler on… – Continue reading
Is Ireland making unfair tax deals with developing countries?
A new report says little has changed after a number of global tax scandals… Ireland is entering unfair tax deals with developing countries according to a new report on ‘sweetheart deals’ in the EU. Of the 18 countries in the study, Ireland is found to have on average “introduced the… – Continue reading
OFFSHORE TAX HAVENS COST SMALL BUSINESSES ON AVERAGE $5,128 A YEAR
Small businesses in the U.S. have to shoulder, on average, an extra $5,128 in taxes to make up for the revenue lost due to the abuse of offshore tax havens by multinational corporations, according to a new report by U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund. As a new administration… – Continue reading
Microsoft agrees to more transparency on taxes in Australia
The Australian government is one of the most aggressive in highlighting the issue of multinational corporations avoiding taxes through extensive use of tax havens. Microsoft’s Australian subsidiary will start disclosing the amount of tax it pays in Australia, opting in to a government-transparency program aimed at shedding light on the… – Continue reading
U.S. Multinational Companies Owe $700 Billion In Taxes On Offshore Profits, New Research Shows
American multinational corporations are apparently dodging nearly $700 billion in U.S. taxes they owe on profits stockpiled offshore, according to a new “corporate tax chartbook” from Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Last year, Fortune 500 companies had $2.4 trillion in untaxed offshore profits, on… – Continue reading
Country-by-Country Confusion: Narrow BEPS Queries Abound
Global governments battling tax avoidance increasingly are pushing multinational corporations for a bigger picture of how and where they pay taxes, leading to increasingly narrow questions from company tax officers. “We have a number of entities that are disregarded for U.S. tax purposes. When I fill out the country-by-country form,… – Continue reading
Experts dismiss HMRC’s shrinking tax gap estimate
The narrowing figure of £36bn roundly condemned for ignoring estimated tens of billions lost in profit shifting and tax avoidance by multinationals Tax experts warned that HM Revenue & Customs was underestimating the size of Britain’s tax avoidance problem after the agency claimed that Britain’s annual tax shortfall was only… – Continue reading
Vietnam plans new transfer pricing rules to curb tax fraud
Various agencies are expected to work together to draft a decree and keep the practice in check. In a move that signals Vietnam’s apparent stronger stance against tax evasion, the Ministry of Finance has sought to work with other ministries and agencies to draft a new decree on transfer pricing… – Continue reading
Indonesia is finally cracking down on tax avoidance
The Indonesian government recently launched tax hunt on Google Indonesia. If Google were indeed guilty of tax avoidance, it would have to pay a huge price for its actions. But Google is not alone in avoiding paying tax to Indonesian government. Indonesians and Indonesian companies are squirrelling their wealths in… – Continue reading
