Int'l Tax News

The OECD’s transitional peer review process for determining which jurisdictions have enacted measures qualified as in line with the pillar 2 rules is winding down, and a list of those jurisdictions may be published soon.

U.S. guidance on transfer pricing penalties, featured prominently in recent litigation, will be even more critical under the amount B transfer pricing approach under pillar 1 of the OECD’s global tax reform plan, practitioners warn.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah describes the looming international conflicts regarding the U.S. foreign-derived intangible income provision.

Prita Subramanian and Thomas Zollo examine the evolution of the commensurate with income standard, its current and prospective application, and its practical implications for taxpayers.

Robert Goulder comments on President-elect Trump’s recent tariff threats.

Democrats are planning to move quickly on a bill providing a double taxation fix between the United States and Taiwan, with hopes to get the legislation to President Biden’s desk before the end of the year.

Larissa Neumann, Julia Ushakova-Stein, and Mike Knobler explain how political changes may affect tax legislation and discuss the Tax Court’s ruling on penalties in Microsemi, the interest deduction ruling in Exxon, and comments on section 988 proposed regulations, among other developments.

Mindy Herzfeld examines U.S. tariff history and considers options for the next administration to achieve tariff advocates’ revenue goals and policy objectives.

Daniel Olika proposes a framework to measure success in international tax cooperation, arguing that effectiveness should be measured by both the process and the outcome.

Robert Goulder considers what it will take for Congress to reclaim its tariff authority from the executive branch.

After years of anticipation, the IRS and Treasury have released rules on previously taxed earnings and profits, which are exceptionally detailed and complex.

The European Commission has determined that Luxembourg and the Netherlands did not grant selective state advantages to Amazon, Fiat Chrysler, and Starbucks through advance pricing agreements.

President-elect Donald Trump made tariffs on China a defining feature of his first term. Now Trump is poised to ratchet up the pressure on China and other trading partners again, recently proposing an additional 10% tariff on all products from China and a 25% tariff on all Mexican and Canadian imports.

Mindy Herzfeld examines the differences between tariffs and the VAT in light of upcoming debates over U.S tax rate changes, as well as how the destination-based cash flow tax might fit into the picture.

The U.N. Economic and Social Committee approved the bones of a framework convention on international tax cooperation, despite continued opposition from Global North countries.

Antonio Lanotte explains the European Commission’s VAT in the Digital Age reform for updating VAT regulations and modernizing VAT rules in light of rapid digitalization and increasing cross-border commerce.

The decision ends three of the EU competition regulator’s attempts to crack down on international companies’ tax deals.

The European Commission has singled out Luxembourg as the only EU country that refuses to adequately address aggressive tax planning, while Malta got the benefit of the doubt for promising to take steps to comply.

President-elect Trump announced that he will introduce an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until the countries stop migrants and drugs from crossing at the borders.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah explains key issues facing the United States as it moves into 2025 with its potential major tax reform from the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Xiaoli Ortega analyzes and compares the corporate income tax structure and governmental incentives for U.S. and Chinese corporations. She identifies key differences between the countries’ corporate income tax structures and their implications for U.S. and Chinese economic and political goals, as well as the implementation of pillar 2.

Donald Trump is still two months from returning to the White House, but he’s already wielding tariffs as an all-purpose bludgeon to achieve his political and foreign-policy goals. Markets will have to get used to it because this is going to be Mr. Trump’s second-term method, no matter the economic and strategic ructions.

President-elect Donald Trump pledged that soon after taking office he will slap steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of America’s closest allies, as well as China, the clearest indication since his election victory that he plans to follow through on the tough campaign rhetoric that helped propel him to the White House.

Mindy Herzfeld reviews former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s 2023 book, No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America’s Workers, for insight on possible trade and international tax policy in the next administration.

The National Association of Manufacturers is calling on Congress to stop the scheduled taxpayer-adverse adjustments to rates for key international tax provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to take effect after 2025.

It shouldn’t be "Mission Impossible" to persuade the United States to amend its minimum tax so the EU won’t have to apply the undertaxed profits rule to U.S. companies, a top EU tax official said.

Jurisdictions implementing the amount B transfer pricing simplification framework should carefully analyze distributors within their borders before setting the upper bound of a key criterion for identifying in-scope distributors, a South Centre tax brief says.

It’s unlikely that Puerto Rico will be able to introduce a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax in line with OECD pillar 2 rules because of its tax decree regime, business stakeholders told the island’s Treasury.

Former OECD tax director Pascal Saint-Amans said the EU should seriously debate profit allocation among member states after the Apple state aid decision and the standstill on pillar 1 of the OECD’s global tax plan.

A clampdown on global corporate tax dodging turned Ireland into the nouveau riche man of Europe.

The American Chamber of Commerce in the EU has written again to the Romanian Ministry of Finance, warning that its early implementation of mandatory public country-by-country reporting throws into question the country’s “commitment to competitiveness.”

Sol Picciotto and Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed argue that it is time for countries to move toward using the formulary apportionment method for taxation of multinationals and focus on Pakistan to show how this could be done, in concert with other willing countries, based on standards now agreed to by the BEPS inclusive framework as part of its two-pillar solution.

The widespread tariffs touted by President-elect Trump during his campaign could raise prices and draw global retaliation, leading to additional costs for American consumers and importers.

José de Campos Amorim explains how recent Portuguese tax legislation presents a series of tax benefits for business development by reducing the tax burden and attracting investment in various sectors of the economy.

Mindy Herzfeld examines digital services taxes and the role U.S. retaliatory measures against them might play in a world of more comprehensive tariffs.

The ninth EU directive on administrative cooperation, a proposed framework for exchanging multinational entities’ pillar 2 information between member states, will substantially reduce reporting, according to a top tax official on the European Commission.

While global emissions coverage by carbon pricing instruments appears to have stalled in recent years, emissions trading systems under development are expected to substantially expand that coverage, according to a new report.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah and Nessa Ní Chasaide argue that the EU's Court of Justice was misguided in the recent Apple ruling, which raises significant issues relating to the legal governance of corporate tax.

A second Trump administration, a Republican-controlled Senate, and recent actions by Republican lawmakers are likely signs that implementing the OECD’s two-pillar global tax reform plan is about to become much more challenging, observers say.

Could a tariff war erupt between the United States and Mexico? A top Mexican official said his country might retaliate if the Trump administration placed steep tariffs on Mexico.

Wopke Hoekstra, EU commissioner-designate for taxation, said the bloc will have to reconsider digital taxation if an international solution to issues blocking pillar 1 can't be found in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's reelection.

The EU is better prepared to respond to President-elect Donald Trump’s tax and tariff threats than it was in 2016, but the bloc is still bracing for four challenging years.

Elizabeth J. Stevens and H. David Rosenbloom provide an overview of how U.S. tax policy enabled multinational enterprises to use cost-sharing arrangements to their disproportionate gain, with still-reverberating consequences for global tax policy.

The Kenyan government has reintroduced draft legislation in Parliament that would repeal the country’s digital services tax in favor of a significant economic presence tax and implement global minimum tax rules.

Ruth Mason and Stephen Daly take an in-depth look at the Apple state aid case at the EU’s Court of Justice, pointing out how it is deeply flawed and explaining the role Irish and U.S. tax law combined to play in facilitating Apple’s tax planning.

Mindy Herzfeld examines how each presidential candidate might steer international tax policy.

An IRS official has expanded on what to expect, and what not to expect, from a long-awaited package of rules concerning previously taxed earnings and profits expected by the end of December.

The Puerto Rican government does not plan to enact pillar 2 global minimum tax legislation that would void the constitutionally protected tax agreements that it has with multinational enterprise groups, according to an official.

Wopke Hoekstra, commissioner-designate for climate, net zero, and clean growth, will be the EU’s next tax figurehead, but observers are scratching their heads over his agenda because taxation hasn't been uppermost in his political career.

A permanent safe harbor under the OECD global minimum tax rules makes sense, and the European Commission is hopeful that it will be finalized soon, a top tax official said.