Category: Tax Planning

Democrat targets corporate tax-avoidance deals in U.S. Congress

Tax-driven “inversion” deals that let companies flee the U.S. tax system by relocating abroad, if only on paper, would be curbed under legislation introduced in Congress, as Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) pursues such a deal with rival Allergan Plc (AGN.N). Wisconsin Democratic Representative Mark Pocan’s bills likely have little chance of… – Continue reading

How to Curtail Offshore Tax Avoidance

In a time of fiscal austerity, it is breathtaking to learn that Congress has allowed Fortune 500 companies to avoid an estimated $620 billion in federal taxes on earnings they are holding offshore. While the inaction by lawmakers on this issue may create the impression that there is nothing to… – Continue reading

Deloitte Poll: US Business Executives Cite Concerns and Priorities for OECD’s Final BEPS Package

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Business executives cited an increased compliance burden as their biggest concern with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative (37.7 percent), according to an October Deloitte poll. Other concerns included double taxation of income (17 percent) and… – Continue reading

Transfer pricing drains us of tax blood

Transfer pricing by multinationals has cost South Africa an estimated R250 billion over three years and, with it, lost tax revenue. This is according to Sunia Manik, group executive for the large business centre at the SA Revenue Service (Sars), adding that it was being done through “service payments” made… – Continue reading

The ‘end’ of tax evasion

The UK is one of several countries to introduce voluntary disclosure schemes. More people are coming forward to regularise their affairs as they realise there is nowhere left to hide in this new world of tax transparency. Tax authorities and financial institutions are gearing up for the new automatic exchange… – Continue reading

US fuss about Irish tax deals just election fever, says ex-Apple CEO

The recent corporation tax controversy highlighted by US presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is not damaging Ireland’s reputation as a place to do business, said the former chief executive of Apple, John Sculley. According to Mr Sculley, the controversy is simply part of US election fever. Known as… – Continue reading

Bleak growth exposes malaise of revenue shortfalls

First it was the scourge of public sector corruption, until now the mortifying spectacle of South Africa’s post-apartheid transition. Now, with the ground shifting beneath the world’s sclerotic economy – and the past few years have produced more tremors than ever in the 21 years of democracy – it’s a… – Continue reading

Minister Calle explains solidarity tax

MINISTER of finance Calle Schlettwein said yesterday that the solidarity tax will be introduced as an income tax for individuals according to their income scale. He said the tax will also be a flat amount levied from juristic persons (closed corporations, partnerships, trusts and companies), based on the average per… – Continue reading

POLAND: EXPANDED TRANSFER PRICING, COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REPORTING ENACTED

New law in Poland expands the requirements for transfer pricing documentation, and includes country-by-country (CbC) reporting. The new provisions essentially reflect the recommendations made in Action 13 the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, and provide for CbC, master file and local file reporting. The legislation was passed… – Continue reading

OECD BEPS Heralds Big Changes for Tax Pros and Corporate Treasurers

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan is likely to have a major impact on tax planning at multinational corporations by both tax professionals and corporate treasurers. Tom Driscoll, U.S. managing partner for international tax, transfer pricing, and indirect tax at Deloitte Tax… – Continue reading

BEPS and funds

On 5 October 2015 the OECD published the final package of recommendations to reform the international tax system – the “BEPS” Project. Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) refers to tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations… – Continue reading

‘SA is bleeding billions’

JOHANNESBURG – South African has lost R250 billion in the form of service payments over a three-year period, highlighting the significant risk base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is posing to the country’s tax base, a South African Revenue Service (Sars) official has said. Almost R80 billion of this were… – Continue reading

AUSTRALIA: ARE INVESTMENT ENTITIES EXCLUDED FROM “GROUP” FOR COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REPORTING?

A question being considered in Australia—concerning country-by-country (CbyC) reporting—is whether an investment entity is to be excluded from the “group” for CbyC reporting purposes. A preliminary position being advanced is when an entity is not required to prepare consolidated financial statements for financial reporting purposes, then it would be excluded… – Continue reading

Apple’s US returns indicate substantial rise in Irish tax paid

Technology company made the largest profit in its history in year to end of September Apple’s latest annual report indicates a substantial increase in the amount of tax it may be paying in Ireland. The latest annual report from Apple, filed last week in the United States, indicates a substantial… – Continue reading

Barbados, Slovakia Sign Double Taxation Agreement

Barbados and Slovakia signed a double tax agreement on October 28, 2015, to boost investment and trade prospects. The DTA allocates taxing rights to the two territories, to ensure that cross-border income is not taxed twice. It further stipulates that cross-border income from dividends will be subject to a withholding… – Continue reading

Secret tax archives: UK joins move to block MEPs’ access

Treasury says making available documents detailing tax policies tailored for multinational firms would jeopardise ‘open and frank discussions’ The UK has joined Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium in blocking attempts by a committee of MEPs to gain access to secret European archives that detail some of most controversial tax policies… – Continue reading

Integrating Operations and Tax Planning Into a Procurement Operating Model

As procurement organizations evolve, they commonly adopt a different procurement operating model (POMs) at different stages of their development. A global KPMG survey of chief procurement officers (CPOs) found that 83% of organizations changed their POM within the last 5 years and just over half of them over the previous… – Continue reading

Hong Kong second worst in financial transparency, says survey

Hong Kong is the world’s second least transparent financial center, making it vulnerable to tax evasion, money laundering and other wrongdoing. It is topped only by Switzerland in a global survey by Tax Justice Network, a coalition of researchers and activists focused on tax avoidance issues. The United States ranks… – Continue reading

Irish-based Shire buys rival for €5.3bn

Pharmaceutical giant Shire, which is headquartered in Ireland for tax purposes, has agreed to buy US rare disease specialist Dyax Corp for about $5.9bn (€5.35bn), and potentially up to $6.5bn, while still pursuing a five- times larger unsolicited bid for biopharma firm Baxalta Inc. The Dyax deal, the latest in… – Continue reading

Corporate tax dodging still rampant in EU

A number of member states are failing to tackle corporate tax avoidance despite media revelations and EU and national-level moves to close loopholes. “It’s clear that in the EU it is business as usual for multinational corporations who want to dodge the rules to lower their tax bills”, said Tove… – Continue reading

The European Commission qualified member states’ tax rulings as state aid

On 21 October 2015, the European Commission decided that a tax ruling between Starbucks and the Netherlands should be considered illegal state aid. As a consequence, the European Commission ordered the Dutch State to recover the aid granted to a Dutch Starbucks group company (Starbucks Manufacturing EMEA B.V.), which is… – Continue reading

Reform of the U.S. tax code still needed for the nation’s economy

As the 2016 Presidential campaign heats up with debates and public appearances replete with the candidate’s opinions on the economy, ISIS, and education, among others, few candidates have mentioned the issue of corporate tax reform, especially as it relates to a level playing field between the U.S. and foreign markets,… – Continue reading

The IRS’s intensifying fight over income taxes

The Internal Revenue Service says some of America’s most successful companies have been shuttling money to avoid paying their share of federal income taxes. Microsoft is fighting IRS attempts to collect more than $2 billion from profit the software giant transferred between foreign affiliates. Amazon.com is fighting to keep $1.5… – Continue reading

Pfizer’s Allergan bid defies Obama’s tougher tax rules

Pfizer’s bid for $113bn Dublin-based drug maker Allergan is the biggest merger of the year, anywhere. It’s potentially good news for the Irish exchequer, which may gain a massive new taxpayer, and for businesses here like Arthur Cox, Allergan’s adviser on Irish corporate law. But a deal that may well… – Continue reading

Small EU team leads tax battle against ‘goliaths’

A small team of European Union officials is spearheading an investigation that could force some of the world’s biggest companies to pay billions of euros in avoided taxes, Reuters reports. In an office block in one of Brussels’ less fashionable districts, the 10 Competition Directorate staff from across the bloc… – Continue reading

US ‘tax inversion’ deals skew Ireland’s FDI numbers

A spate of so-called “tax inversion” deals involving companies based in Ireland appears to be distorting the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) numbers, The Irish Times reports. An OECD report suggests investment by Irish firms abroad more than doubled to US$75 billion in the first half of 2015. The study… – Continue reading

South Africa: South African Tax Legislation: Proposed Amendments In An International Tax Context

South African Tax Legislation: Proposed Amendments in an International Tax Context[1] This article sets out a brief summary of some of the proposed amendments introduced by recent South African draft Tax Bills. The article focuses on amendments in the context of international taxation. The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2015… – Continue reading

New transfer pricing regulations bring increased transparency obligations

The new rules require companies to file a “country-by-country” report as well as creating new specific documentation requirements. CbC report For the fiscal year beginning 1 January 2016, country-by-country (CbC) reporting will be compulsory for corporate groups whose turnover exceeds EUR750 million in the 12 months prior to the information… – Continue reading

Tianjin tragedy is very much our business

Blast waves: smoke billows from the site of an explosion that reduced a parking lot filled with new cars to charred remains at a warehouse in northeastern China’s Tianjin municipality. Most of Bermuda’s major insurers and reinsurers had significant exposures to this disaster. (Photograph by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo) Tianjin… – Continue reading

Allergan Deal Could Take Pfizer Closer to Split, Move Abroad

Pfizer Inc. may be getting closer to breaking up and moving out. The largest U.S. drugmaker and Allergan Plc are considering combining operations, according to the Wall Street Journal. A deal would give Pfizer a way to move to a low-tax legal address abroad and gain valuable specialty drugs like… – Continue reading

European Union: The European Commission’s New Pandora’s Box – Reopening Final Tax Rulings As A Form Of “State Aid”

The European Commission (Commission) has adopted a decision on 21 October 2015 on the tax rulings – also referred to as “comfort letters” – granted by Luxembourg to Fiat Finance and Trade (FFT) and by The Netherlands to Starbucks. Rejecting the decisions of domestic authorities in Luxembourg and The Netherlands,… – Continue reading

Tax deductibility of corporate interest expense

HM Treasury has published a consultation on the tax deductibility of corporate interest expense in the UK. The consultation has been prompted by the recent publication by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) of its final Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) reports, in particular BEPS Action 4,… – Continue reading

OECD Issues Final BEPS Proposal; No Response from Congress Yet

Final recommendations about how multinational companies should be allowed to shift profits among different tax jurisdictions were issued this month, and the U.S. Congress has not yet indicated whether it will consider legislation in response to the proposals. Issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on October… – Continue reading

New transfer pricing rules to be less taxing

The declining trend in the income tax department’s estimates of alleged income suppression by multinational companies would get buttressed, thanks to the new set of transfer pricing (TP) rules issued earlier this week. Currently, transfer pricing adjustments become necessary when the transaction price with related parties abroad reported by a… – Continue reading

Finance Ministry addresses against transfer pricing force

The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced establishment of Transfer Pricing Inspection Agency under the Inspection Department of the General Taxation Department. This aims to fight against complicating transfer pricing which has resulted in budget revenue’s losses. The agency will act as a counselor for the Taxation General Department to work… – Continue reading

EU: Special Committee on Tax Rulings votes recommendations

Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Rulings recommended measures to make corporate taxes in the EU fairer and more transparent, after eight months of fact finding, in a vote Monday evening in Strasbourg, EU News reports. The report – prepared by co-rapporteurs Elisa Ferreira and Michael Theurer – was approved by… – Continue reading

Belgian tax official reveals details on new transfer pricing documentation requirements and BEPS plans

In a BEPS seminar organised by the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium this week, with a special focus on the practical consequences for Belgian enterprises, a representative of the Belgian Ministry of Finance, Steven Van Elsuwe;, provided more details on the new legislative proposals that have been prepared so far,… – Continue reading

Transfer pricing makes big splash on global taxes

Multinationals have generated big-time revenues with its subsidiaries spread all over the world, which means huge profits and that’s taxable income. In recent years, a number of conglomerates – Amazon, Apple, Google and Starbucks – have engaged in so-called profit-shifting (profit allocation) via transfer pricing methods to pay minuscule taxes…. – Continue reading