Category: Luxembourg
Finance ministers of German-speaking countries hope for OECD deal on digital tax
VIENNA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — Finance ministers of German-speaking countries expressed their hope here on Tuesday that there will be an agreement on a digital tax at the the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) level in autumn. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he was “very confident at… – Continue reading
Luxembourg: Law On Deferral Of DAC 6, CRS And FATCA Deadlines Voted!
Amendments to legislations regarding deadlines have been made and here they are. ... - Continue reading
OECD publishes reports on cross-border tax dispute resolution Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Sweden
Reports on offshore disputes have been published by the OECD. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg: Amendment To The Double Tax Treaty Between France And Luxembourg Passed
More details on the amended double tax treaty between France and Luxembourg. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg: FATCA & CRS Reporting In Luxembourg: New Draft Bill Submitted To The Parliament
On 20 February 2020, the Luxembourg government filed with Parliament the draft bill of law n°7527 modifying both the CRS law of 18 December 2015 and the FATCA law of 24 July 2015 (the "Draft Bill"). ... - Continue reading
EU removes UAE, Switzerland from tax haven lists
EU removes UAE, Switzerland from tax haven lists Share this storyEU removes UAE, Switzerland from tax haven lists LUXEMBOURG — European Union finance ministers agreed to remove the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Switzerland from the bloc’s lists of countries deemed to be acting as tax havens, according to a… – Continue reading
Luxembourg pre-2015 tax rulings: the end is nigh
According to the draft provision, any ruling granted by the Luxembourg direct tax authorities prior to 1st January 2015 will automatically expire and be null and void at the end of tax year 2019. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg 2020 Budget requires all older tax rulings to expire
Luxembourg’s Budget Bill published on 14 October comes up with new laws surrounding advance pricing agreements and other advance tax confirmations (so-called tax rulings) ... - Continue reading
The Fiat and Starbucks state aid tax cases: an absolute loss for legal certainty.
In late September, the EU General Court released its decisions in two long-awaited state aid appeals: Fiat (cases T-755/15 Luxembourg v Commission and T-759/15 Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe v Commission) and Starbucks (cases T-760/15 Netherlands v. Commission and T-636/16 Starbucks and Starbucks Manufacturing Emea v. Commission). ... - Continue reading
Apple to challenge EU over record $14 billion tax dodging case
A panel of judges in Luxembourg on Tuesday will begin hearing arguments concerning the US tech giant Apple and the world’s biggest tax case. The EU General Court (EGC) will begin hearing the appeals lodged by Ireland and Apple against the EU tax ruling. It has to weigh up whether… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance drives nearly 40% of global FDI: IMF
Nearly 40% of worldwide foreign direct investment (FDI), amounting to $15trn, “passes through empty corporate shells” with “no real business activities”, a study by the IMF and the University of Copenhagen reveals. According to the report, ten economies including Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, BVI, Switzerland, Singapore, Ireland, the Cayman… – Continue reading
Netherlands destination of choice for tax-dodging multinationals – report
Multinational companies channel more than $3 trillion a year in “phantom” foreign investment through the Netherlands in order to bring down their corporate tax bills, according to research published in the Financial Times. ... - Continue reading
US AND LUXEMBOURG RATIFY DOUBLE TAXATION PROTOCOL
Luxembourg and the US have amended their double taxation convention, updating the exchange of information article to harmonise it with that of the US model income tax treaty and the OECD. US ambassador to Luxembourg Randy Evans and Luxembourg finance minister Pierre Gramegna (DP) on Monday announced the ratification of… – Continue reading
Luxembourg: bill submitted to implement anti-tax avoidance provisions
With effect from 1 January 2019, the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) I intra-EU hybrid mismatches rules were introduced into Luxembourg’s domestic law. ... - Continue reading
European Union: The Increasing Link Drawn By Regulators Between State Aid & Taxation Systems
In 2018, the European Commission (EC) concluded two more investigations into whether the tax ruling practices of Member States breached European Union (EU) State aid rules: the first, a finding of unlawful State aid resulting from tax rulings by Luxembourg in favor of Engie; the second, a rare finding of no aid in respect of the treatment by Luxembourg of McDonald's under the Luxembourg-U.S. double taxation treaty. These decisions are discussed below. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg: Luxembourg Starts The Implementation Of ATAD 2
On 8 August, the draft law (the "draft law") implementing the EU Directive 2017/952 of 29 May 2017 ("ATAD 2") amending Directive (EU) 2016/1164 laying down rules against tax avoidance practices that directly affect the functioning of the internal market (the so-called Anti-Tax-Avoidance-Directive, "ATAD") was presented to Parliament. ... - Continue reading
US appeals court sides with Amazon in $1.5 billion transfer pricing dispute
A US federal appeals court on Friday affirmed the Tax Court’s decision in Amazon, ruling that cost sharing buy-in payments made by Amazon’s Luxembourg subsidiary in exchange for Amazon’s transfer of intangible property should not include compensation for transferred residual business assets such as workforce in place, goodwill, and going concern value. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg: Luxembourg Government Submits Bill To Parliament Implementing The EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive 2 Into Domestic Law
Luxembourg corporate income taxpayers, including Luxembourg permanent establishments of foreign entities, will be subject to the Draft Law as from 1 January 2020. In addition, provisions targeting reverse hybrid mismatches will be applicable to Luxembourg transparent partnerships that would be treated as opaque by their nonresident owners as from 1 January 2022. ... - Continue reading
MLI amendments to Singapore-Luxembourg tax treaty enter into effect
The government of Singapore has announced that amendments made to the Singapore-Luxembourg tax treaty as a result of the two countries’ ratification of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) entered into effect on August 1. ... - Continue reading
UK: Non-Resident Capital Gains Tax on United Kingdom Real Estate: A New Regime
The legislation encompassing the new regime for taxing non-residents' gains on the United Kingdom (UK) commercial real estate came into effect on 6th April 2019. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has additionally published draft guidance on this recently introduced regime. This article briefly summarizes the new rules. ... - Continue reading
US Senate To Vote On Tax Treaty Protocols
The United States Senate could soon approve ratification of four long-pending double tax avoidance treaty protocols. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg: Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanism
The Bill of Law 7431 (“Bill”) introduced by the Luxembourg government on 11 April 2019 implements the European Union (“EU”) Directive 2017/1852 dated 17 October 2017 on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the EU (the “Directive”). The Directive meets the BEPS Action Plan 14 minimum standards and is a subsidiary… – Continue reading
Corporate Canada’s Pile of Cash in Offshore Tax Havens Has Hit $353 Billion For the First Time in History
Luxembourg, Barbados and Bermuda are three of Canada’s top five destinations in the world for corporate cash After exploding to record levels under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, the amount of money Corporate Canada is funneling through offshore tax havens has hit a new all-time high. According to data newly released… – Continue reading
Africa’s problem with tax avoidance
Every year African countries lose at least $50 million in taxes — more than the amount of foreign development aid. So where is it all going and how can multinational companies be held to account? NGOs continue to raise the alarm. African countries are being cheated out of billions in… – Continue reading
EU passes legislation protecting whistleblowers to encourage wrongdoing
Whistleblowers across the European Union have won greater protection under landmark legislation aimed at encouraging reports of wrongdoing. The new law, approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday, shields whistleblowers from retaliation. It also creates “safe channels” to allow them to report breaches of EU law. It is the first… – Continue reading
EU Report Calls For Finance Authorities, AML Oversight
European Union lawmakers released a report on Wednesday (Feb. 27) recommending that the EU create a police unit dedicated to the investigation of tax and financial crimes, as well as a watchdog organization to fight money-laundering, according to a report by Reuters. The report, which is the result of a… – Continue reading
EU Report Calls For Finance Authorities, AML Oversight
European Union lawmakers released a report on Wednesday (Feb. 27) recommending that the EU create a police unit dedicated to the investigation of tax and financial crimes, as well as a watchdog organization to fight money-laundering, according to a report by Reuters. The report, which is the result of a… – Continue reading
VISA-FREE DESTINATIONS ON LUXEMBOURG PASSPORT, 2019
Luxembourg and Spain passports placed 5th in a global study of visa-free travel. The annual “Henley Passport Index”, published on 8 January 2019, is a “ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.” The index is published by… – Continue reading
Cryptocurrencies Could Emerge As Top Save Haven For Chinese Investors Amidst Govt Crackdown
The Chinese government has decided to tight policies that target investors in the country and that hold their wealth overseas with the intention to avoid paying taxes. However, these investors that are now threatened by the government might move to cryptocurrencies and avoid being investigated by Chinese authorities. Most of… – Continue reading
McDonald’s Luxembourg tax deal not illegal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – McDonald’s tax deal with Luxembourg did not breach EU state aid rules, EU antitrust regulators ruled on Wednesday, saying the reason the US fast food chain did not pay some taxes was due to the mismatch between US and Luxembourg laws. The decision by the European Commission… – Continue reading
ALFI WANTS SUBSCRIPTION TAX REVIEW
Luxembourg’s fund chiefs are calling on the next government to reorganise the subscription tax on funds to help lower their operating costs. Less than a month before the legislative elections, on Monday Alfi outlined a list of recommendations for the next leaders of the country. The subscription tax review is… – Continue reading
Luxembourg Introduces New VAT Group Regime
Bill of law no. 7278, providing for the implementation of new value-added tax grouping rules in Luxembourg, entered into force on July 31, 2018. The bill was approved by parliament on July 26. The new VAT grouping regime is intended to replace the Independent Group of Persons (IGP) regime, which… – Continue reading
UK withholding tax on interest paid to non-residents
The UK does still have one significant disadvantage namely the 20% withholding tax imposed by UK domestic law on “yearly interest” that arises in the UK is paid to persons whose “usual place of abode” is outside the UK. The UK is normally regarded as an attractive location for the… – Continue reading
Cyprus: Luxembourg Double Tax Treaty Effective As From 1 January 2019
The first-time Double Tax Treaty (DTT) between Cyprus and Luxembourg signed on 8 May 2017 is effective as from 1 January 2019 based on a recent update of the Cyprus Ministry of Finance. The DTT provides for a 0% withholding tax (WHT) rate on interest and royalties. For dividends, a… – Continue reading
Unions Say McDonald’s Restructuring Allows Less Transparency On Taxes
BRUSSELS (Alliance News) – US fast food giant McDonald’s has reshuffled its corporate structure to make tax-avoidance practices less transparent after the EU had opened an investigation into the company’s tax schemes in 2015, a group of trade unions said Monday. The report by a coalition of European and US… – Continue reading
LUX-FRANCE DTT: CLARIFY BEFORE YOU RATIFY
Alfi speaks out on the double taxation treaty signed between Luxembourg and France on 20 March 2018. Although it appreciates that it is the product of bilateral negotiation, it calls for more clarity before it is ratified. The Association of the Luxembourg Funds Industry (Alfi) has added its voice to… – Continue reading