On the 29th of September of this year, one of the most important and controversial norms of the tax reform: the general anti-avoidance rule came into effect. This norm intends to cutback aggressive tax planning providing new faculties to the Chilean IRS. Indeed, this norm has incorporated what is widely… – Continue reading
Executive summary On 9 December 2015, the UK released draft clauses for Finance Bill 2016 as well as consultation documents. The key items released include: A new requirement for large businesses to publish their tax strategies as they relate to or affect UK taxation. This sits alongside new ‘special measures’… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released a Taxpayer alert on arrangements involving the use of offshore entities which source goods (procurement hub) on behalf of Australian resident multi-national enterprises (MNEs) (TA 2015/5). In the alert the ATO announces that it is currently reviewing arrangements involving the use of offshore… – Continue reading
In 2002, a corporation could establish a fiscal year end for Quebec tax purposes that differed from its year end for British Columbia and federal tax purposes – referred to as a Quebec year end shuffle. In Veracity Capital Corporation v. Canada, 2015 BCSC 2278 (copy attached), taxpayers transferred shares… – Continue reading
Something unusual is happening with the Irish corporation tax in 2015 — so unusual that Ireland’s top tax man felt obliged to write to the parliament to explain what is going on. But the explanation left a lot to be desired. According to government data, Ireland received 57.7 percent more… – Continue reading
Ghana’s new Income Tax Act (No. 896 of 2015) will come into force on January 1, 2016. It is intended to improve tax compliance and administration and broaden the country’s income tax base by rationalizing tax breaks. In the new Act, there are specific provisions governing the imposition of income… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION The Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2015 and the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 have now both been passed by Parliament, but await signature by the President. Once again, and for the second year running, the number and scope of the changes to the various fiscal Acts (mainly the… – Continue reading
Who is likely to be affected This measure will affect taxpayers engaging in abusive tax avoidance arrangements which fall within the General Anti Abuse Rule (GAAR). General description of the measure The measure will introduce a penalty of 60% of the tax due which will be charged in all cases… – Continue reading
The European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council agreed a work plan in response to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting recommendations at its meeting on December 8. Following the meeting, ECOFIN – comprised of finance and economy ministers from all member states – released a list of agreed… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION The Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2015 and the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 have both now been passed by Parliament, but await signature by the President. Once again, and now for the second year running, the number and scope of the changes to the various fiscal Acts (mainly… – Continue reading
Some of the DTAAs entered into by India with other countries allow taxation of capital gains on shares only in the country of which the taxpayer is a resident. The government on Friday told the Lok Sabha that it has started negotiations with some countries to amend provisions on capital… – Continue reading
The Government of India is aware of the potential loss of revenue from tax avoidance, and has been taking all necessary measures for preventing it. As a part of these measures, India has actively participated n the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project undertaken by the OECD and G-20… – Continue reading
The highly significant changes to transfer pricing guidance planned for under the SAT’s public discussion draft on ‘Special Tax Adjustments’ (yet to be finalised at the time of writing), and the impact of these changes in the light of evolving Chinese transfer pricing enforcement practice is the focus of this… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sees treaty shopping as an important source of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). In this context, it identified the prevention of treaty abuse as one of fifteen issues or “actions” in respect of which recommendations were to be formulated as part… – Continue reading
The Government continues to take a tough line on tax avoidance, with both political and financial motives… Building on its consultation document from July this year (HMRC consultation on strengthening sanctions for serial tax avoidance) it confirmed it will introduce legislation in the Finance Bill 2016 to implement the following… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: With a view to weed out commercial activities under the garb of charity, the tax department has said any general public service that involves trade, commerce or business for a consideration will not be treated as Charity under the Income Tax act. Issuing ‘Explanatory Notes to the Provisions… – Continue reading
Individuals should focus on legitimising their assets while they can and start to look at how they can restructure their investments. Measures to tackle tax evasion continue to be a key focus for the government, with £800 million HMRC funding to be reinvested in additional work to tackle tax ‘evasion… – Continue reading
The planned penalty for arrangements subject to the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) has now been formally set at 60% (in line with the amount proposed in consultation), and the anticipated introduction of rules addressing hybrid mismatch arrangements has been confirmed for 1 January 2017. Civil penalties for those who enable… – Continue reading
FOCUS: Significant changes to the international tax system planned for the next five years, coupled with a major shift in attitudes towards tax avoidance, has all but killed off the traditional tax scheme. So what does the future hold for businesses seeking to engage in tax planning? To celebrate Out-Law’s… – Continue reading
HMRC introduces new measures to tackle tax avoidance The Chancellor has introduced a new penalty equal to 60% of tax due for all cases successfully tackled by the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR). The GAAR was introduced in 2013 as part of the government’s attempt to crack down on tax abuse…. – Continue reading
2nd Symposium of CR for transfer pricing The 2nd Symposium Transfer Pricing organized by EY Greece, exactly one year after the successful organization of the 1st Symposium was intended as the developments in transfer pricing in Greece and international tax developments, focusing on the recently finalized OECD Actions tackling Erosion… – Continue reading
At a very high level, it’s a simple concept: a multinational borrows money from a related company overseas, and then uses the interest bill and the repayment methods to reduce tax exposure in Australia. If the loans – and the interest rates – are big enough, the tax savings can… – Continue reading
The UK’s tax authority has made “little or no progress” on revealing the scale of aggressive tax avoidance happening in Britain, an influential committee of MPs has warned. In a report released on Wednesday the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the tax authority had ignored previous recommendations to provide specific… – Continue reading
Mauritius beats Singapore as the world’s top route for foreign investment to India and is a hub for thousands of firms managing half a trillion dollars in assets. But there are only a sprinkling of office blocks in Ebene Cybercity, the heart of the tiny Indian Ocean island’s financial services… – Continue reading
Evading and avoiding tax through the use of offshore structures and arrangements is the source of much tax loss, according to HM Revenue & Customs. No surprise then that the current Government (and the coalition before it) has been relentless in its crackdown on it, with a special focus on… – Continue reading
On 17 September, 2015, China State Administration of Taxation (SAT) released the Discussion Draft for the Implementation Measures for Special Tax Adjustments (“Discussion Draft”), as a complete revamp to the existing trial version of the Implementation Measures, i.e., Circular 2. Circular 2 has been serving as a backbone transfer pricing… – Continue reading
The September 29 2014 tax reforms (Law 20,780) introduced new provisions to the Tax Code (Decree-Law 830 1974, as amended), which empower the Tax Department to challenge transactions that have been carried out with the aim of avoiding taxes. These provisions introduce a general anti-avoidance rule for the first time…. – Continue reading
x At present, says the Government, serial avoiders find themselves in no worse a position than someone who has used only one failed avoidance scheme and has decided not to do it again. They face no additional deterrent to stop them persistently seeking to circumvent the will of Parliament. With… – Continue reading
The Dutch government presented its Tax Bill 2016 on 15 September 2016. Three elements of this bill could specifically affect multinationals, international investors and investment funds with Dutch headquarters or group companies: The anti-avoidance rules in respect of non-resident taxation of foreign corporate shareholders and the dividend withholding tax treatment… – Continue reading
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its final reports on the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project on Monday October 5th, 2015. The final package of BEPS measures includes new minimum standards on: country-by-country reporting, which for the first time will give tax administrations a… – Continue reading
x Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces his new federal cabinet during a media conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, September 20, 2015. Australia got its fifth prime minister in as many years on Monday after the ruling Liberal Party voted to replace Abbott with former investment banker Malcolm… – Continue reading
The Norwegian conservative government on 7 October 2015 published both the proposed state budget for 2016 and a “white paper” containing proposals for tax reform. The proposed tax reform in the white paper is a follow-up action from a report on tax reform, presented by the Tax Commission in late… – Continue reading
At the beginning of the week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development—an international organization founded to advise industrial nations on economic policy—proposed a plan to address what has become an important international issue: tax avoidance. The OECD, in response to a request to look at the tax rules international… – Continue reading
Stating that a series of measures taken during the 15 months of BJP rule has restored credibility of India in eyes of global players, he said the government was speeding up regulatory clearances, reducing licensing requirements in the defence sector and making tax policy more consistent. “One of the great… – Continue reading
The UK government is unlikely to be able to legislate to speed up the referral of a single issue within a wider tax enquiry to the tax tribunal before 2017 despite the urgent need for such a procedure, an expert has said.30 Sep 2015 Respondents to a recent consultation on… – Continue reading
On 5 August 2015, the Luxembourg government presented a bill implementing Council Directives 2014/86/UE and 2015/121/UE amending Council Directive 2011/96/UE of 30 November 2011 on the common taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States (the Parent-Subsidiary Directive). In accordance with Directive 2014/86/UE, the… – Continue reading
India must align domestic laws with international treaties A recent ruling of the Punjab & Haryana High Court (HC) in the Serco BPO case has once again underlined the need for consistency between tax policies and the jurisprudence that evolves around it, thus, leaving little to interpretational hazards. The HC,… – Continue reading
A government committee on financial sector reforms has finalised a report, broadly outlining the amendments required in financial laws and taxation to make domestic sector more competitive in the international market. Sources in the know said the report was submitted on Tuesday by the Standing Council of Experts, which was… – Continue reading
Given how China is trying to internationalise its currency, including getting more countries to settle trade in local currencies, it is not surprising that Indian policy-makers are looking at how to increase the rupee’s international acceptability. While that will have to wait till the Indian economy acquires China’s heft, a… – Continue reading
Suggests ending STT on equity derivatives, stamp duty on index ones; also for rupee’s internationalisation, other changes A government-appointed panel has recommended abolition of the securities transaction tax (STT) in equity derivatives. The standing council on international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector also suggested doing away with the stamp… – Continue reading
At the 69th IFA Congress in Basel, Taxsutra’s Arun Giri, accompanied by well known tax expert Mukesh Bhutani, interviewed India’s Competent Authority Akhilesh Ranjan. Mr. Ranjan is leading the country’s charge on BEPS, and offers candid views on various issues including confidentiality of information, possibility of a BEPS outcome that… – Continue reading
New legislation on abuse of law and statute of limitations The Italian Government has recently approved a new decree, which reshapes the definition of abuse of law and tax avoidance and changes the rules on the statute of limitations in the event of tax crimes. The decree also introduces a… – Continue reading
Section 99 of the Tax Administration Act, 28 of 2011 (“Tax Admin Act”) regulates prescription in relation to tax assessments and provides for a three year prescription period in respect of income tax assessments and a five year prescription period in the case of self-assessment taxes (e.g. value-added tax and… – Continue reading
Key developments Taxpayer bears onus of proving taxable income in Court – 11 August 2015 Rigoli v FC and T Background The Commissioner issued default assessments to the taxpayer in respect of the 1994 – 2001 income years, based on income estimates drawn from an expert report. The taxpayer initially… – Continue reading
Luxembourg has proposed major corporate tax changes which would bring the Grand Duchy into line with recent updates to the Parent-Subsidiary Directive. The Luxembourg government released Bill 6847 (the Bill) on August 5 2015, which includes proposed tax measures for corporations and follows several recent announcements from Finance Minister Pierre… – Continue reading
BENGALURU, AUGUST 17: To conduct research on present tax regulations, address uncertainties arising out of interpretation and ensure higher FDI, the International Tax Research and Analysis Foundation (ITRAF) was launched here on Monday. Headed by Parthasarathi Shome, an economist and former head of the panel on General Anti Avoidance Rules… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Large foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have voiced concerns before Indian capital market regulator Sebi about the fate of the Mauritius treaty which the government is renegotiating with the tax haven. Officials of more than 20 offshore asset managers, belonging to top banking groups and fund houses, met Sebi chairman… – Continue reading
Just as every new government fiddles around with high school history text books, it also dabbles in Mauritius and P-notes. Both actions have a sharp, short-lived impact, leaving behind a trail of conspiracy theories. Mauritius and P-notes are ghosts that New Delhi and regulators could never quite exercise. They unfailingly… – Continue reading
In the first 100% Conservative Budget in nearly two decades, chancellor George Osborne has introduced a raft of changes, including significant revisions to UK non-dom status. On 8 July, chancellor George Osborne delivered the first Conservative Government Budget for 19 years. Many headlines had already been flagged up in advance,… – Continue reading
Globalisation has brought many benefits in terms of cross?border trade, efficiency, competition and the free movement of goods and labour. But it has also allowed multinational corporations (MNCs) much greater freedom to reconfigure the location of manufacturing, operations, sales and corporate services in ways which channel reported profits ? and… – Continue reading
