Category: Multinationals

SMEs getting into the tax optimisation game

PARIS (AFP) – Tax optimisation is no longer a matter just for the multinationals. A number of market players are now tailoring strategies originally drawn up for the corporate whales to the minnows, or small businesses and independent entrepreneurs. Whether the businesses are active in imports and exports, or in… – Continue reading

Bulgaria Requires CbC Reports By Year End

Bulgaria has said that multinationals covered by the country’s new transfer pricing country-by-country reporting regime should submit their first report by December 31, 2017. Through Order 3LIY-1410, Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency has newly set out the rules concerning country-by-country documentation, including who the reporting obligations apply to and how to… – Continue reading

Transfer pricing: tighter reporting norms for multinationals notified

CBDT issues final rules for Master File and Country-by-Country reporting NEW DELHI, NOV 1:  The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified the final rules for maintaining and furnishing of transfer pricing documentation in the Master File and Country-by-Country (CbyC) report. This is largely in line with the draft… – Continue reading

EU to investigate UK tax loophole for multinationals

Inquiry to centre on George Osborne’s 2013 rule change that allows resident multinationals to shift income offshore The EU is to launch an investigation into a British government scheme that may help multinational firms pay less tax, the Guardian has learned. Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition commissioner, will announce on… – Continue reading

Switzerland agrees to share tax information on multinationals

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland said on Wednesday it would start sharing information on the activities of multinationals in its territory with other countries in 2020, joining an international push to fight tax evasion. The new measures will force about 200 large companies in the low-tax haven to prepare country-by-country reports… – Continue reading

Greek Revenue Services, US IRS Sign Agreement for Tax Data Exchange

The US IRS announced this week on its website that the US has entered into a bilateral competent authority agreement with Greece to exchange country-by-country reports on multinationals. The agreement between the IRS and the Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue, signed September 27, puts into effect a 2015 deal… – Continue reading

ATO’s tax gap figures revealed: $2.5 billion missing from corporates, multinationals

An estimated $3.5 billion in revenue from large corporates and multinationals is at risk to the economy, but through audit activity this will reduce to $2.5 billion, according to the Australian Taxation Office. On Wednesday the agency is releasing the first tranche of its long-awaited highly anticipated “tax gap” figures,… – Continue reading

Trump’s corporate tax reform plan could neuter Ireland’s advantage

President Trump on Wednesday this week announced a sketchy Republican tax reform plan that covered just 9 pages and he proposed that the headline federal corporate rate should be cut from 35% to 20%. However, there is a risk to Ireland’s low 12.5% corporate tax advantage. The average rate of… – Continue reading

BEPS Actions 8-10 Most Important For Latin American, Caribbean States

The Inter-American Center of Tax Administration (CIAT) has released a new statement summarizing the feedback from Latin American and Caribbean countries from ongoing discussions on countering base erosion and profit shifting. CIAT said it and a number of regional and international organizations have brought together policymakers from countries in the… – Continue reading

US set to lose $12bn in tax take by 2027 if multinationals relocate overseas

Tax inversions by US multinationals attempting to shift profits into lower tax jurisdictions could cost the US up to $12bn (£7.4bn) in lost corporate tax revenues by 2027, according to figures released by the US Congressional Budget Office There were 11 major corporate inversions from 2014-2015, although two significant inversions… – Continue reading

Estonian Presidency to present the boldest plan to date against tax avoidance

The EU 28 financial ministers are set to discuss taxation of multinational digital platforms in Tallin on September 15-16, Reuters reports. Companies such as Amazon and Google have designed tax plans that reduce their tax liability in countries they operate. The proposal put forward by the Estonian Presidency proposes to… – Continue reading

Analysis: Romania seeks tighter control of multinationals’ financial data

The government is looking to implement EU Directives on tax avoidance, and is set to receive more financial information from multinational groups active in Romania. Tax experts suggest that large corporations might reassess their business models in order to meet the demands of the fiscal authorities in Romania and across… – Continue reading

Gov’t to tackle multinational firms’ tax evasion

The government said Wednesday that it will toughen its stance against tax evasion by multinational firms by adopting a global agreement in the country’s legal system within the year. In the mid-to-long term tax policy plan announced Wednesday, the finance ministry said that it would submit bills to enact “OECD… – Continue reading

SARS to crack down on multinational companies and subsidiaries’ tax returns

MEDIUM and large businesses with multinational ties will soon have to start supplying the South African Revenue Service (SARS) with more detailed reports of their relationships and transactions with connected entities residing in other countries. SARS has beefed up its Transfer Pricing Division and is now actively involved in the… – Continue reading

Anti-tax avoidance measures under fire from employers, tax advisors

The caretaker government may make the Netherlands a less attractive location for international business because of changes to the corporate tax system, the employers’ organisation VNO-NCW and tax advisers have warned, the Financieele Dagblad said on Monday. The employers and Dutch Order of Tax Advisors say the government is choosing… – Continue reading

Changes to tax laws in sight for MNCs as the authorities adopt BEPS

MULTINATIONAL corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia will soon be seeing more tax law changes coming their way as the authorities get down to tackling base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). This follows efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), approved by G20 leaders, to formulate a 15-step action… – Continue reading

Australia warns multinationals over tax as Chevron drops appeal

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US oil and gas major Chevron has withdrawn its High Court appeal over a A$340-million bill from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The withdrawal means that the Full Federal Court decision of April is now final. The company in May turned to the High Court after a… – Continue reading

US agrees to give Australia additional intelligence to chase tax avoiders

America has formally agreed to share detailed information of companies with the Australian government’s Tax Avoidance Taskforce. This means authorities get access to additional intelligence to track down US-based multinationals. This month, US authorities signed a country-by-country report exchange deal with Australia. It seeks to give authorities a broader picture… – Continue reading

Labor tries to force hundreds of Australian companies to publish secret tax data

Bill would require private companies with more than $100m in turnover to publicly release tax information Six hundred of Australia’s biggest private companies could finally be forced to publish their high-level tax information, under a new push by Labor to repair a notorious piece of legislation. Labor will introduce a… – Continue reading

Multinationals Warned on Coke’s $41 Million Israel Tax Claim

Israel’s $41 million tax demand from the Coca-Cola Co. on royalties from its Israeli licensee could mark the start of a wave of claims against U.S. and other multinationals with similar business operations in the country. That could lead to a conflict with U.S. and other authorities about which country… – Continue reading

HONG KONG, SINGAPORE AND CHINA GET TOUGH ON TAX HAVENS

In an effort to create a ‘level playing field’, Asian economies are committing to new standards of transparency At the risk of losing some foreign investors, Asian jurisdictions are stepping up efforts to combat corporate tax avoidance to meet new global transparency standards. More than a dozen Asia-Pacific jurisdictions have… – Continue reading

Deloitte: Multinationals believe there is a radical global change in tax, tax control

Representatives of most multinational companies believe that there is a radical global change in both tax and tax control. Accordingly, the global tax model is undergoing a process of alignment with other principles, and the approach of the tax authorities during controls becomes stricter, a survey by Deloitte published in… – Continue reading

Ireland, UK and others are offshore ‘conduits’

Computer scientists have worked to uncover the way the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Singapore and Switzerland, in particular, are used by multinationals to channel investments onto well-known offshore centres (OFCs). According to the research which was first reported by online journal Quartz, the five countries are used by multinationals to… – Continue reading

Govt shies away from ‘draconian’ penalty to stop multinational tax dodgers

Tax avoidance by multinationals is better dealt with by an international treaty than harsher measures brought in by Australia and the United Kingdom, Revenue Minister Judith Collins says. In an interview with TV3’s The Nation, the minister said she had not ruled out the idea of diverted profit tax, which… – Continue reading

Labour plans crackdown on multinational tax avoidance to help fund spending plans

Labour is threatening to crack down on multinational companies that are dodging paying their fair share of tax in a move it believes will net $200 million a year in extra tax for the Government. Leader Andrew Little said according to Inland Revenue, New Zealanders were missing out by hundreds… – Continue reading

ATO’s finance ruling puts companies the ‘red zone’

The Australian Tax Office is preparing to take several companies to court over abuse of thin capitalisation rules and will start a wave of audits of large multinationals with complex cross-border loans, as it continues to take a hardline approach in the wake of its win against Chevron. The ATO… – Continue reading

Cameroon works with OECD to fight against tax evasion of multinationals

Cameroon has officially become the 70th country to adhere to the convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters. The act of accession to this convention has just been signed between OECD and the Cameroonian Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey…. – Continue reading

Germany’s Schaeuble Defends Resistance to EU Public Tax Reporting

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble defended his opposition to pending European Union legislation that would force large multinational companies to publicly disclose, on a country-by-country basis, their taxes paid and profits. Schauble, who testified before the EU Parliament’s Panama Papers investigative committee July 11, said public reporting of companies’ tax… – Continue reading

Paris wants US corporations to pay fair share of taxes in EU

France wants Brussels to take a tougher stance on American multinationals working inside the European Union (EU) and force them to pay an appropriate amount of tax. “I can tell you that the times we live in are not for the weak,” French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire said in… – Continue reading

Exchange of information about multinational firms will be easier

Slovakia is the first V4 country to sign the agreement on country-by-country reporting. Slovakia’s Financial Administration has obtained easier access to the information of US multinational companies. The representatives of Slovakia and the US signed a bilateral agreement on country-by-country (CbC) reporting on June 21, the TASR newswire reported. The… – Continue reading

More clarity on reporting requirements for multinationals

Who is required to file, how it should be filed and what is necessary to disclose. Several South African-based multinational companies have less than six months to prepare their country-by-country reports for exchange with other tax jurisdictions. Many have realised the magnitude of the information expected and have been setting… – Continue reading

EU lawmakers pass new rules to tackle multinationals’ tax avoidance

The European Parliament on Tuesday passed a directive requiring big multinationals to report tax and financial data separately in all countries where they operate, a measure aimed at tackling tax avoidance and profit shifting to countries with lower taxes. The new rules are part of a wider overhaul of tax… – Continue reading

Moscovici: CCCTB Is A Tool Against Tax Avoidance

EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has described the proposed common consolidated corporation tax base as a “decisive tool against corporate tax avoidance.” Moscovici made the comment during a speech on tax fairness. He said the CCCTB will provide companies with a single rulebook for calculating their taxable profit throughout the… – Continue reading

IRS opens Country-by-Country Reporting site online

The Internal Revenue Service has created a new section on its IRS.gov website dedicated to information on the Country-by-Country Reporting rules of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, which aims to discourage tax avoidance by multinational companies. The new Country-by-Country Reporting web pages… – Continue reading

Malta Outlines Last Offer on Public Country-by-Country Reports

European Union-based multinational companies that exceed consolidated revenue of 750 million euros ($840 million) for two consecutive years would have to report publicly on taxes paid, profits earned, and persons employed on a country-by-country basis, under a proposal from Malta. Malta holds the EU presidency, a position it will turn… – Continue reading

New reporting obligations for multinational enterprise groups

The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 42/2017 amending Law no. 207/2015 regarding the Fiscal Procedure Code (“GEO 42/2017“), entered into force on 13 June 2017, transposes within the Romanian legislation the EU Directive 2016/881 which provides the mandatory automatic exchange of information from reports that multinational enterprise groups (“MNE Groups“) must… – Continue reading

Nigeria ratifies treaties to curb tax evasion by multinationals

Nigeria has ratified multilateral conventions on tax related treaties to end profit shifting and tax evasion by multinational companies. The ratification of the treaties Wednesday followed the approval of a memo submitted by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who said this was part of government’s plan to widen its… – Continue reading

Ending secret identities is the ‘new frontier’ in fighting tax evasion: OECD’s head of tax Pascal Saint-Amans

Revealing the secret identifies behind shell companies and opaque trusts is the “new frontier” in fighting tax evasion, says the OECD’s head of tax Pascal Saint-Amans. In an exclusive interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Saint-Amans also spoke about the Turnbull government’s tougher domestic laws aimed at cracking down on multinational… – Continue reading

Top tax rate of 49.5pc would push multinationals offshore

A top personal tax rate of 49.5 per cent will hasten the trend for multinationals to base their operations in Asia rather than Australia, according to recruiters and tax specialists. “There is no doubt higher taxes make Australia a less attractive country for international executives who can just as easily… – Continue reading

Why U.K. ‘Google Tax’ is Hitting British Plc

The U.K’s diverted profits tax was dubbed the ‘Google Tax’ even before its introduction in April 2015. Yet instead of netting foreign tech companies engaged in complex tax planning such as California-based Google Inc., only U.K. multinational companies outside the technology sector have issued warnings so far over the tax… – Continue reading

U.S. companies push hard for lower tax rate on offshore profits

Major U.S. multinationals are pushing the Trump administration to deepen the tax break it has already tentatively proposed on $2.6 trillion in corporate profits being held offshore, a key piece in Washington’s intricate tax reform puzzle. As President Donald Trump tries to deliver on his campaign promise to overhaul the… – Continue reading