Category: Intellectual Property

Being Named In The Panama Papers Doesn’t Mean You Broke the Law

The Panama Papers have recently drawn a great deal of investigation and public attention. Over 230,000 organizations and individuals were named as having set up offshore companies in tax haven like the British Virgin Islands, Panama, the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas. The public’s initial reaction was suspicion and anger toward… – Continue reading

EU Lays Down the Law on Tax Deals as Apple Probe Continues

The European Union, locked in a tax battle with the likes of Apple Inc. and McDonald’s Corp., laid down the law in its bid to rein in governments that woo multinationals with special fiscal deals allowing them to reduce their fiscal liability by booking profits abroad. The European Commission, which… – Continue reading

UK Finance Bill 2016 – Royalty Witholding Tax

Domestic UK law imposes a 20% royalty withholding tax on limited types of payment and on specific categories of intellectual property. This year’s Finance Bill expands the scope of intellectual property royalties that are subject to UK royalty withholding tax. UK businesses should review their intellectual property licensing agreements to… – Continue reading

Why billions of tax dollars end up offshore

ANALYSIS: Despite some action from both Labor and Coalition governments, multinationals are still using accounting tricks to avoid paying Australian tax.While politicians in Canberra bicker over whether or not to cut company tax, or whether it’s acceptable for effective income tax rates to rise through bracket creep, glaring leaks in… – Continue reading

Dodging tax is not just about offshore havens

The release of the so-called Panama Papers has shone a light on the secretive world of offshore tax havens and shown the exhaustive lengths that companies and wealthy individuals will go to in an effort to avoid paying tax. The trove of documents leaked from the Panama-based law firm Mossack… – Continue reading

Multinationals warn of tax hit on earnings

The number of multinational companies warning investors about the risk of higher taxes doubled in the past year, according to analysis by the Financial Times. Nearly a fifth of the US companies who warned on taxes were technology companies, the Financial Times found in a study of company filings. A… – Continue reading

India’s tax systems withstand scrutiny over data confidentiality

Both the US and the global forum working on automatic exchange of information under OECD have endorsed the data safeguards put in place by India New Delhi: India’s tax systems have withstood international scrutiny over data confidentiality and other safeguards put in place by the government before the revenue authorities… – Continue reading

Where next for Corporation Tax?

The amount of tax multinational companies pay – and the amount they don’t pay – has become highly controversial, writes RTÉ’s Economics Correspondent Sean Whelan. This is mainly as a result of public outrage over legal tax avoidance schemes that big companies can use to shelter vast amounts of money… – Continue reading

20 Caribbean, Latin American Nations Named Major Money Laundering Countries

Twenty Caribbean and Latin American nations have been named by the U.S. as “major money laundering” countries in the 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) from the U.S. State Department released Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2016. A major money laundering is defined by statute as one “whose financial institutions engage… – Continue reading

Budget 2016: How base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) brings HR function into focus

Tax function of an organisation was traditionally run from the tax director’s room. Transfer Pricing (TP) was governed by contracts between related parties and this at times resulted in profits moving to legal entities that had contractual rights but had no significant people functions. There were instances of IP Holding… – Continue reading

Countries that accept BEPS minimum standards may participate in global tax effort, OECD says

Any country that agrees to adopt the OECD/G20 base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) project minimum standards and pay an annual fee will be allowed to participate in future BEPS project work, according to a plan agreed to by the OECD today. The OECD’s framework for BEPS plan implementation, to be… – Continue reading

Revealed: how Project Goldcrest helped Amazon avoid huge sums in tax

Documents released during the internet giant’s court battle with the US Internal Revenue Service over a possible $1.5bn in unpaid taxes detail a complex restructuring and a deal with Luxembourg that delivered Amazon multimillion-dollar savings Amazon is facing a landmark court ruling in the US that could prise open its… – Continue reading

BIR sets stricter audit on firms

MANILA, Philippines – Corporations may soon be subject to a transfer pricing audit, a new type of tax audit, from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Transfer pricing is used to describe inter-company pricing arrangements relating to transactions between related entities. These can include transfers of intellectual property, tangible goods,… – Continue reading

Election is the calm in the storm of maintaining a competitive corporate tax regime

When Tim Cook and his two senior Apple colleagues were questioned by a US Senate sub-committee back in May 2013, the headlines generated in the world’s business press were unsettling. Some lawmakers repeatedly characterised Ireland as a tax haven, saying behemoth Apple channelled billions of dollars of global revenues generated… – Continue reading

Rajan Blames MNCs For Tax Controversies

‘Multinational corporations complain all the time of excessive demand about excessive taxation, but it is also true that MNCs across the world tend to find tax avoidance and sometimes tax evasion as an appropriate technique’ Blaming multinational corporations squarely for tax controversies, Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan has said their… – Continue reading

The Tax Avoidance Battle: Nations vs. Multinationals

At least this is the goal – member states safeguarding their social models by preventing trans-border operating multinational companies from avoiding “their fair share” of the tax burden. According to the European Commission, small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU pay 30% higher tax burden than large multinational companies. With… – Continue reading

Industry Expects Relief From Double Taxation For Ease Of Doing Business

While the central government is pursuing its objective to provide a certain and stable tax regime, it is critical that instances of dual levy of VAT and service tax on the same transaction are addressed urgently The levy of service tax as well as Value Added Tax (VAT) on the… – Continue reading

EU Moves to Close Profit-Shifting Tax Loophole

The European Parliamentary Research Service has estimated that corporate tax-dodging costs the EU between $54.5 billion and $76.4 billion a year. The European Commission has proposed a package of measures to clamp down on corporate tax avoiders that would close a loophole companies have used to shift profits to low-tax… – Continue reading

Irish tax advantages may be banned under new EU rules

Ireland will be forced to ban many of the tax advantages it offers multinationals under proposals to be published by the European Commission tomorrow. This is the first step in an effort to have all EU countries introduce similar tax rules to prevent companies in the 28 member states avoiding… – Continue reading

The towns taking on the taxman for a fairer tax deal

A group of businesses in the Welsh town of Crickhowell have gone offshore as part of a campaign to try and get HMRC to change tax laws. The Welsh town of Crickhowell is spearheading a unique campaign to get HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to change the laws so companies… – Continue reading

European Commission plans threaten change to Irish tax system

Ireland’s insistence that it is not a tax haven and that in fact other EU countries have tax regimes that facilitate tax dodging by multinationals will be borne out by a study to be released next week. But while this will be good news to Finance Minister Michael Noonan a… – Continue reading

Start-up investment in India to get capital gains tax exemption

PM Narendra Modi also announces a Rs.10,000 crore fund to provide support to innovation driven enterprises New Delhi:In an effort to give a fillip to the start-up ecosystem in the country, the government on Saturday announced its intention to exempt capital gains tax on investments in start-ups and a Rs.10,000… – Continue reading

Luxembourg Tax Alert 2016-02

January 2016 You will find below a summary of some of the most important tax developments that have happened since the release of our last newsletter, at OECD, EU or country level, in the area of tax transparency and the fight against tax avoidance. EU – Tax transparency and anti-BEPS… – Continue reading

Gordhan halts SARS revamp

SOUTH African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane has been instructed by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to halt the implementation of his ambitious restructuring plans. The far-reaching restructuring project for the tax authority was one of the first initiatives undertaken by Mr Moyane following his appointment as commissioner in October… – Continue reading

The Rules: Patent Box changes will create increased red tape for UK businesses

Changes to patent box rukes will mean that businesses must now track and trace all of their research and development (R&D) expenditure AFTER the recent government consultation on the UK’s Patent Box scheme, businesses will find it a challenge to comply with the proposed new rules. The changes will mean… – Continue reading

Luxembourg: Year-end provisions enacted, affecting corporate and individual taxpayers

The Luxembourg Parliament in December 2015 approved tax measures affecting both corporate and individual taxpayers. These provisions generally are effective beginning 2016, with a few measures applying retroactively as from 2015. Among the measures in the tax legislation are the following provisions: Transposition of amendments to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive… – Continue reading

Tax regime on royalties from intellectual property to be revised

The Administration of the Ministry of Finance has announced the upcoming amendment of the Intellectual Property tax regime. The said amendment will incorporate the recommendations of Action 5 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which were issued on 5 October 2015 for the Action Plan against ‘Base… – Continue reading

2015: A Watershed Year in Corporate Tax?

Multinational companies have enjoyed a sustained period of falling corporate tax rates around the world. However, with the conclusion of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting project earlier this year marking the start of fundamental changes to the international tax system, and with governments more determined than ever to… – Continue reading

B&E | Measures to Control the Abuse of Offshore Tax Havens

“Cash Booked Offshore for Tax Purposes by U.S. Multinationals Doubled between 2008 and 2014” In recent years, U.S. multinational companies have sharply increased the amount of money that they book to foreign subsidiaries. An April 2015 study by research firm Audit Analytics found that the Russell 1000 list of U.S…. – Continue reading

Two Little Known Tax Treaties Will Lead to Substantially More Identity Theft, Crime, Industrial Espionage, and Suppression of Political Dissidents

The Protocol amending the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters will lead to substantially more transnational identity theft, crime, industrial espionage, financial fraud, and the suppression of political opponents and religious or ethnic minorities by authoritarian and corrupt governments. It puts Americans’ private financial information at risk…. – Continue reading

Luxembourg – Main New 2016 Tax Measures At A Glance

IP regime  To comply with the OECD’s BEPS reports and more specifically its action plan n° 5 regarding harmful tax practices, the Luxembourg intellectual property (“IP“) regime under article 50bis of the Luxembourg income tax law (“ITL“) will be repealed as from 1 July 2016. As such, the Luxembourg 80%… – Continue reading

Incentives for innovations in Intellectual Property (IP) and State Aid: the current legal framework

A review of the application of EU State Aid rules is crucial for determining if a national tax incentive scheme for IPs is being implemented lawfully. The result of such a compatibility analysis is not certain. In some decisions, the Commission considered ‘Tax Box’ regimes as not being State aid… – Continue reading

Multinational moves could prompt major losses in corporate tax

Action on tax avoidance could see €600m go from the pharma sector, says report International moves on multinational tax could threaten Ireland, with a potential annual loss of corporate tax revenue of €600 million or more from the pharma sector alone, according to a new report from Chartered Accountants Ireland…. – Continue reading

IP BOX: Italian and European Legal Framework

On 22 December 2014, the Italian Parliament approved the Budget for 2015.40 Among other measures, the Law introduces the possibility of an exemption from corporate income tax (IRES, generally levied at 27,5%) and local tax (IRAP, generally levied at 3,9%) on income derived from qualifying intangible assets (such as patents,… – Continue reading

UK releases Finance Bill clauses and consultation documents

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

Coca-Cola Fights $9.4 Billion Transfer Pricing Adjustment

Dec. 14 — The Coca-Cola Co. filed a petition in U.S. Tax Court challenging a proposed $9.4 billion income adjustment related to the company’s transfer pricing for tax years 2007-09 (Coca-Cola Co. v. Commissioner, T.C., petition filed, 12/14/15). If the adjustment is sustained, the company could face a tax bill… – Continue reading

___uk to modify patent box in line with oecd recommendations__

Its approach includes a new “nexus principle”, as agreed by the multinational Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This is designed to ensure that the benefits of the UK tax regime are only available where the research and development (R&D) expenditure required to develop that innovation also took place… – Continue reading

An Overview of Transfer Pricing in Vietnam

Transfer pricing is a tax planning method where related companies enter into transactions among each other to shift funds, and thereby profits. For instance, a parent company can extract funds from a subsidiary by having the issue a dividend, but the parent can also provide a service to subsidiary and… – Continue reading

Patent box brought into line with international rules

Companies will to scrutinise their R&D activity more closely under proposed changes to patent box regime BUSINESSES will to scrutinise their R&D activity more closely under proposed changes to the design of the UK Patent Box regime outlined by the government The government is making the changes in order to… – Continue reading

UK – HMRC publishes a policy paper titled: “Corporation Tax: Patent Box – compliance with new international rules”

On December 9, 2015 the UK HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published a policy paper titled: “Corporation Tax: Patent Box – compliance with new international rules”. The policy paper gives the following general description of the measure: “The government is proposing changes to the design of the UK Patent Box… – Continue reading

Australian multinational tax avoidance laws to come into effect next year

From the start of 2016, multinational companies found to be avoiding tax will have pay back the tax owed, plus a 100 per cent penalty, reports ZD Net. The Australian Greens have voted with the Coalition to pass legislation that will see multinational companies with annual revenue above AU$1 billion… – Continue reading

Italy Issues Patent Box Guidance

On December 1, the Italian Revenue Agency issued a guide delineating how companies can take advantage of Italy’s “patent box,” together with a circular containing the answers to questions arising out of the new regime’s operation. With effect from the present 2015 fiscal year, the patent box offers an optional… – Continue reading

Luxembourg: EC investigation of tax rulings, issued to US multinational

The European Commission today announced its decision to launch a “state aid” investigation into tax rulings granted by the tax authorities in Luxembourg to a company that is a member of a U.S.-based multinational taxpayer group. Background According to a February 2015 report, in 2008-2009, the group transferred its European… – Continue reading

Multinationals’ tax leeway set to shrink

Multinationals in India will soon have to forgo to a great extent the flexibility in managing their tax outgo in the country and have to report their global operations in elaborate detail to the tax authorities here. This is because New Delhi is set to adopt a new regime to… – Continue reading

Closing offshore subsidiaries boosts corporation tax

Developments driven by Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Beps) boost Irish tax The closing down by Irish multinationals of tax planning arrangements involving offshore or foreign subsidiaries is part of the reason for Ireland’s increased corporation tax receipts, according to an informed source. Under country-by-country reporting rules, Irish companies with… – Continue reading

The Real Cost Of Global Tax Reform: An Unsustainable Increase In Accounting And Legal Fees

Leaders from the Group of 20 largest economies (G20) met in Turkey last month to put their final stamp of approval on a major overhaul of the international rules governing corporate taxes. The vote was the icing on a cake that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has… – Continue reading

The Changing Face of Luxembourg Finance

“Luxembourg is famous for two things: its steel industry and its rose cultivation industry”. This quote from an Italian guidebook of the 1930s was uttered by Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna at the annual conference of the Luxembourg Directors’ Association on 17 June 2015[1]. The economic outlook of the tiny… – Continue reading

Explainer: how Uber and Airbnb are reducing their Australian tax bill

The current international tax regime was developed in the last century when the internet was not yet invented. At that time, a foreign company would typically require a substantial physical presence in Australia before it could be in a position to earn significant amount of income from Australian customers. This… – Continue reading