Category: EU

New EU corporate tax rules announced

After five years of negotiations, the European Commission has finally announced its plans to overhaul the way in which companies are taxed in the Single Market. The revised Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) is aimed at making it easier and cheaper to do business in the Single Market and… – Continue reading

Brussels aims to harmonise corporate tax by 2021

The European Commission has unveiled its latest plan to harmonise corporate tax. After two past failures, the executive hopes the recent flurry of tax scandals will give the project a new lease of life. The EU has revived its tax crusade with a new attempt to establish a Common Consolidated… – Continue reading

Panama to join international tax convention on Thursday: OECD

Panama will take a big step towards ending its status as an offshore tax haven on Thursday by signing a multilateral convention to share foreign taxpayer details with other governments, the OECD‘s head of tax said. Panama’s role as a major offshore tax haven came into the public spotlight earlier… – Continue reading

UK could slash corporation tax to 10 pct if EU blocks trade deal in Brexit (Update 1)

Britain could slash corporation tax to 10 percent if the European Union refuses to agree a post-Brexit free trade deal or blocks UK-based banks from accessing its market, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unidentified source. The newspaper said the idea of halving the headline rate from 20 percent had… – Continue reading

Ireland braced for new EU corporate tax plan

A new EU corporate tax proposal could fundamentally change how multinationals pay their tax bills in Ireland. It comes at a sensitive time for the State, following so closely after the commission ruled phone giant Apple tapped illegal tax breaks worth around €13bn. In proposals to be unveiled tomorrow, the… – Continue reading

Time for U.K. to Get Tough on Offshore Transparency?

With the exception of British Antarctica, the U.K.’s overseas territories and offshore dependencies are all surrounded by sun-winking ocean water. But that’s not their only common feature—they are all under increasing political pressure to become more transparent with their financial information. In a parliamentary report on tackling overseas corruption, the… – Continue reading

UN expert urges next UN chief to crack down on Malta and other ‘tax havens’

A United Nations human rights expert has urged the next UN secretary-general to make the elimination of tax havens a priority to ensure that corporations, billionaires and ‘kleptocrats’ pay their fair share of taxes. Speaking on Friday, American law professor Alfred de Zayas also urged Antonio Guterres, who will succeed… – Continue reading

UK could slash corporation tax to 10 pct if EU blocks trade deal in Brexit (Update 1)

Britain could slash corporation tax to 10 percent if the European Union refuses to agree a post-Brexit free trade deal or blocks UK-based banks from accessing its market, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unidentified source. The newspaper said the idea of halving the headline rate from 20 percent had… – Continue reading

European commission to resurrect overarching corporate tax proposals

Proposed legislation is designed to curb the profit-shifting multinationals use to reduce tax liabilities on their income in Europe The European commission will redouble its crackdown on multinational tax avoidance next week with the relaunch of proposals to create an overarching corporation tax regime across all member states. The proposed… – Continue reading

EU Cautioned on Plans to Regulate Tax Advisers

European Union plans to regulate tax advisers in an effort to clamp down on aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance could prove excessive, ineffective and trigger unfair competition, accountants and lawyers warn. The caution comes after EU finance ministers moved Oct. 11 to authorize the European Commission to draw up… – Continue reading

EU Finance Ministers to Target Tax Advisers, Protect Whistle-Blowers

Tough rules to regulate tax advisers, banks and lawyers who help companies avoid tax are set to be advanced by European Union finance ministers. The Council of Economic and Financial Affairs Oct. 11 also will likely move toward a system of automatic exchange of beneficial ownership registers to better target… – Continue reading

Civil Society proposes to step up measures to fight money laundering and terrorist financing

EESC debate also calls for safeguards against misuse of data collected An EESC debate this week on fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion called for a number of policy proposals aimed at “making the lives of criminals more difficult and their actions impossible”. The Brussels event made a… – Continue reading

STUDY: 73% OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES USED TAX HAVENS IN 2015

In 2015, more than 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintained subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to “Offshore Shell Games,” released today by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Collectively, multinationals reported booking $2.5 trillion offshore, with just… – Continue reading

Tax havens are under attack

Ireland, accused of being a tax haven for multinationals such as Apple to pay nearly zero tax on the bulk of its profits earned outside the United States, finds itself with a new adversary in the global fight against unfair tax practices — Brazil. As of October 1, Brazil will… – Continue reading

EU to black list tax havens, EU Commissioner Moscovisi says

A list on non-cooperative tax jurisdictions around the world, the first ever common EU list, is being under preparation, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici has said. “This month, we started the process that will lead, by the end of 2017, to the first ever… – Continue reading

European Parliament Begins Panama Papers Probe Despite Tax Haven Splits

Members of the European Parliament, September 27, have begun their investigation into the Panama Papers scandal, which exposed the sheer extent of rich people and companies using offshore tax havens to reduce their tax liabilities in EU member states. However, the latest probe comes on the back of another investigation… – Continue reading

OECD official says EU Apple ruling not precedent for future tax cases

A multi-billion euro back tax bill handed to Apple by the European Commission should not be seen as a precedent for future tax cases as it was based on state aid rather than tax law, the OECD official spearheading global tax reform said on Monday. European Union antitrust regulators last… – Continue reading

Irish corporation tax not under threat – OECD tax chief

The Director of the OECD’s tax policy and administration unit has said there is no pressure on Ireland to change its 12.5% tax rate. “There is no question about the 12.5% rate, even the French have understood that Ireland will not change the rate,” Pascal Saint-Amans said. He said the… – Continue reading

OECD BEPS tax avoidance plans fail to change tax approach

Nearly a year after release of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) anti tax avoidance action plan, which introduces changes to the treatment of interest deductibility and profit shifting, the majority of businesses have not changed their approach to tax compliance. The major economies in the G7 (83%),… – Continue reading

Bahamas files: New leak exposes offshore ‘tax haven’ dealings of politicians, companies

Five months after the Panama Papers exposed the offshore dealings of government leaders and influential people, a new leak of 1.3 million files has revealed the names of individuals associated with companies registered in the Bahamas, a notorious tax haven. The files – received by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung… – Continue reading

Nine Middle East Countries At Risk Of EU Sanctions Over Tax Governance

The European Commission has put nine Middle Eastern and North African countries on notice that they are at risk of measures being taken against them to deter tax avoidance. The nine countries (see table below) are Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates… – Continue reading

EU opens probe into tax deals between Luxembourg and Engie

European Union antitrust regulators opened a probe on Monday into tax deals granted by Luxembourg to French power utility Engie, stepping up the EU’s campaign against tax avoidance by multinationals. The European Commission said it had concerns the tax rulings granted by Luxembourg since 2008 appeared to treat the same… – Continue reading

UK overseas territories could be affected by EU tax crackdown

Eight British overseas territories and crown dependencies, including Jersey, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, could face EU economic sanctions after Brussels identified them as having low or no corporation tax. Experts have published a scorecard showing red flag warnings set against a list of the 81 countries that… – Continue reading

OECD Pushes For More Certainty In International Tax Rules

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría has stressed the need for policy makers to provide a certain tax environment for businesses, to maintain trade and investment. Discussing the tax challenges facing EU countries at the informal meeting of EU finance ministers, held in Bratislava, Slovakia, on September 10, 2016, Gurría said:… – Continue reading

Apple May Face Double Tax on Profits If France Adds to Tab

Apple Inc. may face double taxation on some of its profits if the European Commission’s Aug. 30 ruling inspires France to slap its own tax adjustment on the company, practitioners said. Apple could even face “triple taxation” if it repatriates profits from the European Union to the U.S., Laurent Leclercq,… – Continue reading

Push for EU mandatory disclosure of tax avoidance schemes

Slovakia, the current president of the EU council, challenges finance ministers from all the EU member states to introduce mandatory disclosure rules for intermediaries including accountants who seek to profit from the promotion, design or implementation of tax avoidance schemes The proposals were outlined in a ‘presidency issues’ note presented… – Continue reading

Israel Joins OECD Tax Treaty

Israel has signed on as a member of the OECD’s international tax treaty, and as a result the Tax Authority will automatically receive information about bank accounts held by Israelis abroad. Israel, meanwhile, will automatically release information about foreign citizens who have bank accounts here to the governments of countries… – Continue reading

EU countries eye potential share of Apple windfall

Potential slice of the Apple pie stems from Commission’s invitation to EU tax authorities. BRATISLAVA — The €13 billion clawback of unpaid taxes from U.S. tech giant Apple has piqued the interests of EU finance ministers, who have today asked the European Commission for more details on the potential share… – Continue reading

UK bill to open details on multinational tax avoidance

A legislative amendment in the UK this week will give the British government the power to publish details of tax payments made by UK-based multinational corporations on a country by country basis, as tax authorities try to clamp down on the abuse of tax laws and aggressive tax avoidance. The… – Continue reading

Obama warns G20 of risk of tax ‘race to the bottom’

The G20 summit in China has stressed the need for international tax cooperation to achieve ‘a globally fair and modern international tax system’, after US President Obama warned of the risks if countries ‘race to the bottom’ in tax policies At a press conference at the conclusion of the summit,… – Continue reading

EU finance ministers to discuss how to make tax policy more evenhanded

European Union countries should better coordinate tax rules to avoid hitting corporations too hard, the Slovak presidency of the European Union has proposed. This would be an effort to provide more balance to an EU campaign against tax avoidance by multinational companies. The proposal will be discussed at an informal… – Continue reading

Businesses Fear Breakdown In BEPS Consensus

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has expressed concern about the possible broader implications of the European Commission’s (EC’s) ruling against Apple. In a statement published on September 1, the ICC warned that unprecedented rulings of this nature fall outside the scope of the recommendations of the OECD’s base erosion… – Continue reading

Luxembourg may be focus of another Brussels tax inquiry

After state aid inquiries into Amazon and McDonald’s, EU looks again at Luxembourg The European Commission may open a fresh investigation into tax rulings offered by Luxembourg as early as this week, as EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager continues her clampdown against corporate tax avoidance. Luxembourg is already awaiting a… – Continue reading

PM to push for G20 tax evasion crackdown

Malcolm Turnbull will push for a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance when he meets with world leaders at the G20 summit in China. But Labor have accused Mr Turnbull of not having a strong plan for confronting corporate tax avoidance at home, let alone abroad. The prime minister will arrive… – Continue reading

Silicon Valley Issues Netherlands With Tax Warning

A coalition of Silicon Valley tech companies has urged the Dutch Government against making changes to the most “attractive” features of its corporate tax regime, warning that it risks damaging its traditionally strong tax competitiveness by doing so. The Silicon Valley Tax Directors Group (SVTDG), which includes more than 80… – Continue reading

Ireland risks being trampled in US/EU corporate tax fight

For the last three years, the international debate on tax policy was all about consensus. Led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, countries across the globe agreed that aggressive tax planning by multinational corporations which pushed profits into low-tax countries – or indeed took profits outside the charge… – Continue reading

By singling out Apple over taxes, Brussels is abusing its own rules

Under EU rules it is illegal for countries to give financial help to some companies and not others in a way that distorts fair competition, writes Liza Lovdahl Gormsen. State aid rules were originally designed to protect the internal EU market and avoid retaliation among member states. The US Treasury,… – Continue reading

EU tax probes could threaten international agreements, US warns

The US has warned the EU that it risks damaging international agreements on tax reform if it continues to act as a “supra-national tax authority”. The US Treasury Department “shares the European Commission’s concern with tax avoidance by multinational firms. The international community, including the EU and its member states,… – Continue reading

Dublin and Washington enter talks to update Double Taxation treaty

Talks have begun between the US and Irish governments about updating certain elements of the Double Tax treaty between the two countries. The existing treaty was signed in 1997 and a Protocol to the treaty was signed in 1999. The Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners are calling for… – Continue reading

US warns EU ahead of Apple tax evasion ruling

As Brussels is slated to deliver a verdict next month on Apple and other US companies for evading billions of pounds in taxes, the US Treasury Department has warned the European Commission (EU) about taking such action. In a white paper commissioned by US Treasury secretary Jack Lew, the Obama… – Continue reading

How Amazon Values Its Tech Assets for Tax Purposes

Regulators in Europe and the US say that the value Amazon places on the technology behind user experience varies radically depending on which appraisal will lower its tax bill. Jeff Bezos’s relentless focus on user experience has helped him make Amazon the most valuable e-commerce company in the world. But… – Continue reading

Ireland: Holding Companies In Ireland – August 2016

Ireland has become a destination of choice for holding companies due to its capital gains participation exemption, generous foreign tax credit system, membership of the EU, ever expanding double tax treaty (“DTT“) network (72 signed, with 70 in effect), lack of controlled foreign companies legislation, thin capitalisation rules and the… – Continue reading

Offshore jurisdictions unshaken by Brexit

The UK’s crown dependencies and overseas territories are unlikely to suffer following the Brexit vote, and may even be a model for a post-EU UK says Richard Wilson QC Even before the UK’s decision to leave the EU, offshore jurisdictions faced a number of significant challenges: increased pressure to provide… – Continue reading

Assessing the Hong Kong – Russia Double Taxation Agreement: Another Step Towards Amplifying China’s Eurasian Connection

Assessing the Hong Kong – Russia Double Taxation Agreement: Another Step Towards Amplifying China’s Eurasian Connection   The long-awaited Comprehensive Double Taxation Agreement (CDTA) between Hong Kong and Russia entered into force on July 29, 2016. The agreement will take effect on April 1, 2017 in Hong Kong and January… – Continue reading

Luxembourg Proposes Law To Enact Global Tax Reporting Rules

Companies doing business in Luxembourg will be required to file global tax information now that the nation has released draft legislation to implement new international tax reporting rules. The rules—known as country-by-country reporting—would require companies to submit a global blueprint outlining the location of their operations, taxes paid, income earned,… – Continue reading

Greece to Seek Help from Bulgaria, Cyprus to Find Suspected Tax Evaders

Greece intends to sign agreements with Bulgaria and Cyprus which will allow Athens to look into suspected tax evasion by Greek-owned companies registered in the two countries, Greek newspaper Kathimerini has reported. The closer inspection of Greek-owned companies registered in Bulgaria and Cyprus will aim to find out whether they… – Continue reading

Tim Cook addresses Apple’s US taxes, says no repatriation without ‘fair rate’

Apple CEO Tim Cook struck back at critics of the iPhone maker’s strategy to avoid paying U.S. taxes, telling The Washington Post in a wide ranging interview that the company would not bring that money back from abroad unless there was a “fair rate.” Along with other multinational companies, the… – Continue reading

NZ avoids EU tax evasion investigation

New Zealand is not being singled out for investigation as a tax haven, the European Union says. In a statement released today, the EU delegation in Wellington confirmed that a committee was assessing 28 non-EU countries’ tax policies. But media reports that New Zealand was being targeted for investigation as… – Continue reading

EU and OECD Transfer Pricing Documentation Procedures after Brexit

Transfer pricing documentation rules have come to the fore with the United Kingdom’s Brexit. The European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development appear to apply similar transfer pricing documentation rules to multinational companies, but differences nevertheless abound. Some multinational enterprises may view these differences as nuances, but… – Continue reading