Category: Intellectual Property

Ukraine: Ukraine Ratifies Protocol Amending Double Taxation Treaty Between Ukraine And Switzerland

On 18 September 2019, the Parliament of Ukraine ratified a protocol (the Protocol) of amendments to the double tax treaty between Ukraine and Switzerland (the DTT) which had been signed by the states on 24 January 2019.  ... - Continue reading

OECD’s minimum tax to apply by jurisdiction

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is going to propose a global minimum tax that would apply country by country before the next meeting of G‑20 finance ministers and central bankers set for 17 Oct. in Washington, DC. G7 leaders announced at their Biarritz summit meeting this week a… – Continue reading

Taxing times for SMEs

Globalisation of the economy has resulted in a shift in the way Singapore corporations operate – from local country-specific business models, to global integrated supply chains which centralise functions at a regional or global level. Singapore, in particular is a popular location to house regional and global operations, due to… – Continue reading

Anti-tax avoidance measures come into force

A new raft of anti-tax avoidance measures came into force across the EU yesterday, as part of an ongoing effort to combat corporate abuse of tax systems. The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, first proposed in 2016, features rules based on global standards laid out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and… – Continue reading

China to introduce more measures to facilitate foreign investment

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — The Chinese government will roll out more measures to facilitate the delivery of major foreign-invested projects, lower tariffs on some imported goods and streamline customs clearance procedures at a faster pace, as was decided at the State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li… – Continue reading

Investing in Guangdong Easier for Foreign Firms after New Incentives Announced

On September 13, South China’s Guangdong province announced a series of investment incentives and cost-cutting measures to offset the impact of the worsening trade war with the US. The measures, outlined in the Policy Measures for Expanding Opening-up and Using Foreign Investment, consist of a 10-point plan to attract foreign… – Continue reading

Facebook, Coke could face tax hit after ruling against Medtronic

Last week, Medtronic Plc suffered a legal setback in its bid to avoid a $1.4 billion U.S. tax bill — a ruling that may have costly implications for other multinationals battling the Internal Revenue Service over the use of overseas payments to lower their taxes. Companies including Facebook Inc. and… – Continue reading

Singapore Legislates For IP Tax Concession Reform

Singapore has gazetted a law to repeal the income tax concession for intellectual property income derived by companies benefiting from the Pioneer Service Companies Incentive (PC-S) or the Development and Expansion Incentive (DEI) schemes. The removal of this tax concession was first announced in Singapore’s 2017 Budget at the same… – Continue reading

US tax reform breaks global rules, EU says

European finance ministers are worried. They say the United States’ big tax reform bill contains measures that would unfairly disadvantage European business and contravene global fair-taxation rules. Are they right? Last week, the finance ministers of Europe’s five biggest economies — Germany, France, the UK, Spain and Italy — wrote… – Continue reading

Senate’s Offshore Tax Ideas Could Be a ‘Goldmine’ for Some Companies

Plan proposes 12.5% tax rate on intellectual-property income Bills ‘upend decades of U.S. tax policy’ on tight deadline U.S. companies that make billions of dollars from patents and other intellectual property held offshore would be eligible for a special 12.5 percent tax rate on those earnings under the Senate tax… – Continue reading

Change to intellectual property tax write-offs will boost revenues

Move on multinational tax arrangements expected to be announced in the Budget An important change to multinational tax arrangements is expected to be announced in Budget 2018, limiting the tax write-offs big companies can take up front on movements of valuable intellectual property to Ireland. The move could provide a… – Continue reading

Review of Ireland’s Corporation Tax Regime

Ireland’s Minister for Finance (the “Minister”) welcomed the results of the independent review of Ireland’s corporation tax regime (the “Review”) issued on 12 September 2017: “I welcome the emphasis given in the Review to the importance of certainty, which is core to our corporate tax offering. Our 12.5% corporation tax… – Continue reading

License barrier as of January 2018: Limited tax deductibility for cross license order royalty payments to foreign related parties

Germany will introduce “license barrier rules” as of January 2018. The new rules will limit the tax deductibility of license fees or royalty payments to foreign related parties that benefit from preferential regimes (“Patent Box”, “IP-Box”, “License Box”) which are incompatible with the “OECD nexus approach” (“unqualified preferential regimes”) (sec…. – Continue reading

Indiana Combined Reporting and Transfer Pricing Studies

On October 1, 2016, the Indiana Office of Fiscal and Management Analysis of the Indiana Legislative Services Agency released a Combined-Reporting Study and a Transfer Pricing Study. These studies, which address corporate income tax issues, were required by legislation passed in 2016. The Combined-Reporting Study discusses the reduction of state… – Continue reading

United States: The United States May Become An International Intellectual Property Tax Haven

We are all familiar with the use of offshore intellectual property holding companies to capitalize on international tax gradients. These companies are designed to take advantage of strategic local tax rules to reduce tax burdens on royalty streams generated from licensing. Because of these favorable tax treatments, countries like Luxembourg… – Continue reading

BDI lobby group opposes end of ‘patent box’ tax breaks

Germany’s BDI industry group has come out against a government plan to unilaterally close so-called ‘patent box’ tax loopholes used by foreign companies to avoid paying full taxes on profits earned in Germany. The Association of German Industrialists, BDI, said Tuesday that the government’s unilateral move would send a negative… – Continue reading

Malta denounced as tax haven as it assumes EU presidency

Malta was today (11 January) accused of being a tax haven as it took over the rotating presidency of the EU. Some companies in the EU’s smallest country pay as little as 5% tax on their profits. The small Mediterranean island would have been included in the list of tax… – Continue reading

Worldwide: The OECD’s Conquest Of Domestic Tax Codes: Understanding The Costs And Consequences Of The BEPS Project

Authored by IFC Media Recent global events from the release of the Panama Papers to a series of high-profile inversions have given international tax regulators both rhetorical ammunition and public support to execute a global crackdown on multinational tax planning. The goal is to increase total taxes paid by global… – Continue reading

Google avoided billions in taxes by funneling money offshore

Alphabet Inc.’s Google managed to save $3.6 billion in 2015 by shifting its profits to a Bermuda shell company, according to filings in the Netherlands. Google used Ireland and the Netherlands as intermediaries. According to files obtained by Bloomberg, Google used the so-called “Double Irish” and a “Dutch Sandwich” tax… – Continue reading

Ireland Rejects Oxfam’s Tax Haven Claims

Ireland’s Ministry of Finance, the EU and several other governments have emphatically rejected claims by Oxfam International that the countries are tax havens, with Ireland insisting its corporate tax laws are “fully compliant” with international best practices when it comes to transparency and information exchange. The Irish government said the… – Continue reading

Rate Competition Is New International Tax Planning Reality

Lower corporate tax rates around the world are expected to play an important part in multinational companies’ tax planning in 2017, with a rate as low as 15 percent on the table in the U.S. and countries such as the U.K. planning to maintain or lower their current rates. A… – Continue reading

McDonald’s to scrap Luxembourg tax structure

Fast-food chain’s reorganisation means £800m from restaurants in Europe will flow through the UK instead McDonald’s is to scrap its controversial Luxembourg tax structure in a corporate shakeup that means $1bn (£800m) of income from fast-food restaurants across Europe will flow through the UK instead. The move comes 12 months… – Continue reading

Tax benefits of using Malta as an IP regime

For myriad reasons, Malta has over the years established itself as an ideal jurisdiction to hold intellectual property rights. The country offers many tax benefits on income derived from Intellectual Property. Apart from the tax exemption on income derived from patents, copyrights and trademarks as will be further explained below,… – Continue reading

French Panel Adopts ‘Google Tax’ on Diverted Profits

Big U.S. internet companies in France could get hit by a new BEPS-inspired penalty on “diverted profits” under a so-called Google tax measure that France’s National Assembly is set to consider next week. The amendment, proposed by Socialist Deputy Yann Galut and adopted by the Assembly’s finance committee, targets foreign… – Continue reading

Multinationals still able to use ‘double Irish’ tax arrangement after 2020

Multinational companies will still be able to use the controversial “double Irish” tax arrangement after the final end date of 2020, Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said. A number of tax experts have confirmed this is the case, though they have disputed whether the terms of which they will… – Continue reading

German chemicals firm BASF avoided nearly €1bn in tax, says report

Network of foreign subsidiaries reported key to €923 million windfall over five years German chemicals manufacturer BASF has been accused of avoiding close to €1 billion of tax. In a report published on Monday, the company is alleged to have used aggressive tax-planning strategies in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and… – 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

EY Survey Reveals Increasing Tax Audit Presence Driven by BEPS

EY announced today the results of a new tax survey at its 35th Annual International Tax Conference, “Unlocking the future.” The survey revealed that, more than ever, companies are experiencing an increasing number of audits and more aggressive enforcement from tax authorities around the world. According to the survey, nearly… – Continue reading

Indonesia is finally cracking down on tax avoidance

The Indonesian government recently launched tax hunt on Google Indonesia. If Google were indeed guilty of tax avoidance, it would have to pay a huge price for its actions. But Google is not alone in avoiding paying tax to Indonesian government. Indonesians and Indonesian companies are squirrelling their wealths in… – 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

Tax lawyers to grapple with new changes

With elements of the Liberal government’s 2016-17 budget coming to fruition, tax lawyers must stay up to date with the changes as their workload increases, according to a global firm partner. Speaking with Lawyers Weekly, DLA Piper tax partner Jock McCormack (pictured) said tax lawyers can expect to be busy… – Continue reading

U.S. Corporate Tax Directors Have a Hard Time Adjusting to BEPS

Tax executives at U.S.-based multinational companies are having a hard time adjusting to the new rules demanded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting plan, also known as OECD BEPS, according to a new survey. While OECD BEPS is not a requirement in the… – Continue reading

APAs in fashion as Swedish retailer H&M inks four-year Australian tax deal

Fast-fashion retailer H&M is one of a growing number of multinationals locking in their Australian tax, as debate continues about whether Australia has stopped corporate tax leakage. H&M’s strongly performing Australian subsidiary has entered into a four-year Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) with the tax office that expires on November 30,… – Continue reading

Feds Sue Facebook Over Ireland Asset Sale That Cut IRS Tax Bill

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Facebook Inc. may have understated the value of intellectual property it transferred to Ireland by “billions of dollars,” unfairly cutting its tax bill in the process, according to court papers. The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in… – Continue reading

EU agrees on tax avoidance measures aimed at multinationals

European Union member states have struck a deal on new rules designed to eliminate the most common corporate tax avoidance practices. The measures in the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive target the main forms of tax avoidance practiced by large multinationals and builds on global standards developed by the Organisation for Economic… – Continue reading

EU Parliament calls for crackdown on corporate tax avoidance Proposal based on OECD action plan

Members of the EU Parliament have welcomed an EU Commission proposal for an anti-tax avoidance directive but demanded tougher rules on foreign income and stricter limits on deductions of interest payments. They also called for more transparency for trust funds and foundations, common rules for “patent box” tax reductions on… – Continue reading

International Conference for Accountants and Lawyers Highlights Fundamental Changes to Taxation of Companies Involved in Cross Border Business

The recent EMEA Conference of Alliott Group, one of the world’s most established international associations of independent accounting and law firms, brought together tax professionals from 28 countries across the world to discuss Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (BEPS), a project led by the OECD and G20 whose Action Plan… – Continue reading