Int'l Tax News

As part of its base erosion and profit-shifting action plan, the OECD proposed a belt-and-suspenders approach to treaty abuses,with suggested amendments to the OECD model treaty, the commentary, the introduction, and the preamble of the model.
The OECD issued a tax treaty abuse public discussion draft March 14 as part of its BEPS project. To curb treaty shopping, the OECD makes three treaty design recommendations.

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A couple years back, the British also decided to become a corporate tax haven. How can the country afford to give up corporate income tax revenue in addition to supporting an army? It has its own currency, made stronger by all those bank deposits. The British effectively repealed their subpart F rules and put on interest deduction restrictions intended to beweak. The ruling Conservative Party regularly debates leaving the EU -- the country's biggest trading partner.
Which brings us to the OECD's base erosion and profit-shifting initiative. The British -- to use one of their favorite expressions -- are busy trying to throw a spanner into the BEPSwork. They are arguing for interest deduction restrictions similar to their own. They are making inroads convincing European governments not to have meaningful controlled foreign corporation rules. Ironically, Ireland and its fellow low-tax European countries may be pressed to enact CFC rules.

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In creating a template for country-by-country reporting under its project to combat base erosion, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's prime concern "must be to ensure that the template includes all the information that tax authorities may require in order to get an adequate picture of the firm as awhole," the BEPS Monitoring Group (BMG) said.
The group's letter,written by Richard Murphy, founder of the Tax Justice Network, also criticized arguments from taxpayers that reporting requirements under the draft template, released by the OECD Jan. 30,would impose excessive cost burdens on multinational companies. These arguments, he said in the letter released March 3, "cannot be taken seriously."

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A Treasury official on March 13 defended the recent section 7874 temporary regulations (T.D. 9654) on determining surrogate foreign ownership,which do not provide an exception to the disqualified stock rule for an asset acquisition, including in cases of reorganizations.

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Aiming to put an end to all the cross border tax planning strategies, in July 2013, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its Action Plan on 'Base Erosion and Profit Shifting' (BEPS), identifying 15 points of actionswhichwould be the focus of itswork over the following two years. These actions aim at redesigning the current set of international tax rules and adopt new consensus-based approaches, including anti-abuse provisions, designed to counter corporate tax-avoidance and enhance transparency.

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President Barack Obama's proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes two broad categories of tax provisions. This report describes the provisions proposed by the President as a package of a business tax reforms. Provisions in the budget that mostly benefit individuals and families and raise revenue are described in another report from Citizens for Tax Justice.

For the paper, go here.

Miller & Chevalier Chartered and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today announced the results of their 2014 Tax Policy Forecast Survey measuring the current perspectives of leading business tax executives on the tax legislative agenda in 2014.

For the survey, go here.

The largest U.S.-based companies added $206 billion to their stockpiles of offshore profits last year, parking earnings in low-tax countries until Congress gives them a reason not to.

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International Tax Review has just published a special report - Tax Reform: An incomplete revolution.

This report outlines the main tax reform trends in 2013 and offers additional content, revealing if these trends are still having a significant impact in 2014.

For the report, go here.

Income from royaltieswas unintentionally excluded from the reduced tax rate on foreign base company intangible income (FBCII) from foreign markets enunciated in the tax reform discussion draft released last month by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., a committee staffer said March 10.

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European Union finance ministerswill try to end an embarrassing six-year legislative saga March 11when the European Council of Economic and Financial Affairs considers legislation to revamp the EU cross-border savings tax directive,which is so easy to evade it is also referred to in the financial service industry as the "dummy tax."

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Reform of the US tax system is still a longway off judging by the differences between the proposals in the 2015 Budgetwhich President Obama released lastweek and the plan of Dave Camp, the Houseways and Means Committee chairman,which came out aweek earlier.

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The G20 / OECD project on BEPS is likely to preoccupy tax executives over the next two years, even in jurisdictions that do not belong to either group.

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The IMF has called for input into how national policy and tax design choices under the current international tax architecture influence economic outcomes for other countries; interested parties should submit comments by March 31.

For the request for comments, go here.

On March 3 the OECD made public the approximately 1,200 pages of comments1 it received on the proposed draft transfer pricing documentation rules and the development of a template for country-by-country (CbC) reporting reflecting input from approximately 150 commentators, including individual businesses, business groups, nonprofit advocacy groups, academics, law and accounting firms, and other associations interested in cross-border tax issues.
The volume of commentary received reflects the enormous interest in the topic. The sharp polarity in the nature of the comments may be an indication of the difficulties the OECD faces as it attempts to finalize the new reporting guidelines and accompanying templates.

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It's unbecoming for the FBI to use criminals to entrap greedy politicians. It's also unbecoming for the IRS to help U.S. multinationals avoid tax in market countries,while Treasury officials are trying to reassure those same countries that the United States respects the goals of the OECD base erosion and profit-shifting project.
As the discussion at the recent International Fiscal Association USA annual conference in San Francisco demonstrated, multinationals' income stripping and global supply chain restructuring still present unresolved questions under subpart F.

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EY has released a report titled "The outlook for global tax policy in 2014."

Taxes around theworld are on the rise. But these rises may be a bit less obvious than in the past. Governments are generally making fewer changes to headline corporate, personal and indirect tax rates in 2014 compared
with 2013 and 2012. Instead, more are putting legislative changes in place thatwill adjust and expand the tax base for 2014 and beyond, often at the net expense of taxpayers.

For the report, go here.

With foreign governments moving to enact anti-base erosion and profit shifting rules, the U.S. could be pressured to address the issue before moving on to a comprehensive tax code rewrite, practitioners said during awebcast.
A Houseways and Means Committee tax counsel, however, did not commit to the prospect during the March 7 discussion, hosted by KPMG LLP.

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A proposal by Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich) to ditch the U.S.worldwide tax system could be a safe bet for MGM Resorts International.

By revamping theway the U.S. taxes foreign income, Campwould head off attempts by the Obama administration to levy heftier taxes on so-called dual capacity taxpayers such as multinational casinos or energy companies that reap specific economic benefits from other countries.

Camp's plan isn't painless. Companieswould lose some ability to claim foreign tax credits and be open to double taxation on up to 5 percent of foreign income returned to the U.S. in the form of dividends, lobbyists following the issue told Bloomberg BNA. Camp released the draft Feb. 26.

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Practitioners raised concerns about the impact of the administration's new revenue proposal to limit the ability of companies to "invert" their operations by expatriating inways thatwould avoid U.S. taxes, saying the proposal could create an incentive for firms to move their operations out of the U.S.
At a March 5 luncheon, a practitioner raised questions about situations inwhich large foreign multinationals buy small U.S. firms,with a Treasury official saying it is possible certain transactions could fall under the rules but that likely isn't the government's intent.

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There's at least one clear loser in President Obama's latest budget blueprint: U.S. multinational corporations.
The 2015 budget request Obama sent to Congress on Tuesday contains six proposals for plugging some major leaks in the international portion of the corporate tax code. All told, the budget blueprint calls for $276 billion in higher taxes on overseas earnings by U.S. multinationals - about $120 billion more than the president sought in last year's budget.

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Practitioners on March 5 highlighted the absurd results that could arisewere Congress to enact a special rule in the Obama administration's fiscal 2015 budget plan thatwould eliminate the ownership continuity test under section 7874 and focus only on the amount of business activities and management and control in the United States.

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Some members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC)want the "income tax paid" column to be deleted from the OECD's proposed template on country-by-country reportingÔøΩa change thatwould significantly undermine the purpose of the template.

In its Feb. 21 letter to the OECD, BIAC included "non-consensus comments" from a subset of its members stating that the "income tax paid" column,whichwould require a multinational group to report income tax paid, on a cash basis, to its country of organization, has "nothing to dowith transfer pricing."

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President Barack Obama is proposing more tax increases for U.S. multinational corporations, seekingways to prevent them from avoiding taxes by exploiting gaps in international law.

In the fiscal 2015 budget proposed yesterday, the Obama administration seeks to generate $276 billion over the next decade fromwhat it calls loophole-closing in the international tax system. The revenue -- 75 percent more thanwas sought through such changes in last year's budget plan --would be used to reduce corporate tax rates.

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Marchwill see the release of discussion drafts on data and effective tax rate methodology; the tax challenges of the digital economy and tax treaty abuse.

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Heads of tax and tax administrators should look to expand the G20 / OECD BEPS project and make it more inclusive, theworld Bank's top tax official has said.

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The close of the 2014winter Olympics brought a number of reflections in theworld media on topics ranging fromwhy a summer resortwas the host city to the "trouser crisis" that faced Norway's curling team.wewould like to add our own reflection, albeit on something quite distinct from the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat: that driving force of the global economy called comparative advantage.

For the report, go here.

The Italian government, after much deliberation has quashed the Google tax,whichwas designed to retrieve missed revenues from the digital economy.

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The Obama administration took aim at companies that shift income and assets overseas to avoid taxes in several new revenue proposals accompanying its fiscal year 2015 budget, including provisions to stop the creation of "stateless income"not subject to tax anywhere.

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Business Roundtable President John Engler made the following statement today
on President Obama's fiscal year 2015 budget request to Congress:

"The President's international tax proposalswould move the U.S. economy in the
wrong direction, placing U.S. companies in aworse competitive position than they face today."

For the statement, go here.

At the recent International Fiscal Association USA annual conference in San Francisco, Jeffrey Parry, senior counsel, IRS Office of Chief Counsel (International), sparred on February 27with practitioners concerned about the effect of recent IRS guidance on foreign tax credit planning.

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The international provisions included in the Obama administration's fiscal 2015 budget, released March 4, appear to be designed to address the concerns raised in the OECD's base erosion and profit-shifting project.
"Without mentioning the OECD or BEPS, I thinkwhatwe can see from this budget are the contours of how Treasury may view the issues" covered in the BEPS action plan, Joshua D. Odintz of Baker & McKenzie told Tax Analysts.

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With many participants in the OECD's base erosion and profit-shifting project seeking to recharacterize transactions that are believed to be too difficult to price, the United States is seeking to use its experiencewith pricing such transactions to stave off the more "extreme" measures envisioned by some countries, according to Chris Bello, branch 6 chief, IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International).
Speaking February 28 at a transfer pricing session of the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation annual meeting inwashington, Bello said that in conversations on the sidelines of the OECD'sworking Party 6, it is often apparent that some of the more extreme ideas stem from the belief that although a transaction may have occurred, it cannot be priced.

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The landmark judgement by the Delhi High Court (DHC) in the eFunds case offers clear guidance forwhat constitutes permanent establishment (PE) in India.

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In its Cadbury-Schweppes decision of 12 September 2006 (C-196/04), the Court of Justice of the European Union decided that the UK controlled foreign corporation rules,whichwere implemented to subject low taxed passive income of foreign affiliates to UK corporate tax, implied an infringement of the freedom of establishment. Consequently, many EU countries including Germany changed their legislation. The paper discusses towhich extent the ECJ ruling has impacted on the allocation of passive assets in German multinationals. Using firm level data the authors find evidence for an increased preference for low-tax European countries compared to non-European countries.

For the paper, go here.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has submitted comments on behalf of a group of 14 multinational enterprises on the OECD's January 30 discussion draft on transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting.

For the comments, go here.

A provision in the tax reform discussion draft released February 26 by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., thatwould limit treaty benefits on some deductible related-party payments is intended to improve the U.S. government's ability to curb treaty shopping, according to Ray Beeman,ways and Means tax counsel and special adviser for tax reform.
The measure, located in section 3705 of the draft and captioned "Limitation on treaty benefits for certain deductible payments,"would deny a treatywithholding rate reduction on a related-party deductible payment unless the taxwould be reduced under a treaty if the paymentwere made directly to the ultimate foreign parent of the payee.

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The OECD base erosion and profit-shifting project is obviously about getting U.S. multinationals to pay more tax to European countries, but it is also a fundamentally European project -- a fact often lost on American observers. The likely results of this project are a series of measures that make EU members' domestic laws look more like German laws, or more like changes the European Commissionwants to see.
As the February 27 discussion at the International Fiscal Association USA meeting in San Francisco demonstrated, U.S. observers perceive BEPS action plan proposals moving toward formulary apportionment, forgetting that theworld already has a hybrid system. Formulary methods are in use to correct the inefficacy of separate company accounting and transfer pricing in capturing excess profits.

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Last year saw the pace of tax policy changes across theworld step up a gear. But the tax revolution is far from complete. From BEPS to US corporate tax reform and the EU financial transaction tax, many of the key initiatives that dominated the headlines in 2013will continue to gather pace in 2014.

For the special report, go here.

In 2011, the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. identified "big data" as the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. Big data has since caught upwith the taxworld,which is not known for being on the forefront of information technology (IT) innovation, in the form of the OECD's recent release of the discussion draft on transfer pricing documentation on January 30. The discussion draft, prepared in fulfillment of Action 13 of the OECD base erosion and profit shifting effort, represents the OECD's and tax administrations' efforts to capture multinationals' big data and use it for their benefit.

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The various international tax reform measures contained in the discussion draft released February 26 by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., look to balance simplicitywith precision and relief,ways and Means tax counsel indicated.
Simplicity had likewise been a goalwhen designing the international tax reform discussion draft Camp released in 201, said Ray Beeman,ways and Means tax counsel and special adviser for tax reform. "At every juncturewherewe had choices to make between something that may be a little more precise versus something that may be a little bit simpler to do,wewentwith the simpler approach," he said February 27, speaking on awebcast sponsored by Deloitte.

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You can only stall so long on the details of tax reform. On February 26 the clock ran out. Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., provided 194 pages of details, and now tax reform gold has turned to dust. The political damagewill mainly be to Republicanswho made tax reform part of their brand.
Where dowe go from here? "I thinkwewill not be able to finish the job, regretfully. I don't see howwe can," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Andwhen asked if hewould allow a vote on the Camp draft, House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, could only respondwithwhat may be the quote of the year: "Blah, blah, blah."

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An international tax regime featuring a dividend exemption systemwith a transition rulewill continue to be a top priority for Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) as discussions continue on the new draft of his tax overhaul plan, a top committee aide said.
"The goal remained the same on international," Ray Beeman,ways and Means tax counsel and special adviser for tax reform, said as part of awebcast on the new draft hosted by Deloitte Tax LLP.

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The US tax reform discussion draft from Dave Camp, chairman of the Houseways and Means Committee, achieves two key goals for business, says John Engler, the leader of one of America's most influential employers' organisations: a corporate tax rate of 25% and a modern tax system.

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The European Union has dropped a requirement for mandatory country-by-country tax reporting in reaching an agreement to include social, environmental, human rights and anti-corruption criteria in EU accounting legislation that applies to listed companies.
After a fierce battle between EU member states and the European Parliament, the unexpected compromisewas reached after itwas agreed that the European Commissionwill file a report to include tax criteria by 2018. Companies from Europe and the U.S. lobbied fiercely to block adding mandatory country-by-country tax reporting standards as part of the current agreement.

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A new tax plan from Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chairman of the Houseways and Means Committee,would shift the U.S. into a mostly territorial tax systemwhile beefing up rules against earnings stripping and reinsurance and expanding Subpart F taxation of highly valuable intangibles.
Camp released his tax overhaul plan Feb. 26 amid speculation that the proposal has little hope of success in the highly polarizedwashington climateÔøΩespecially since his Senate Democratic counterpart, Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), resigned his post Feb. 6 to become the U.S. ambassador to China.

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Reactionwas mixed to awide-reaching plan to reshape the U.S. tax code by Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.),who pushed his draft legislative language as away to improve domestic economic prospects.

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Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) outlined a tax overhaul that lowers individual and corporate tax rates to no more than 25 percent, relying on vigorous economic growth and the scaling back of popular tax preferences to achieve the reduction.
Camp's plan, released Feb. 26,would eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes, impose a new surcharge on somewealthier households and hit large bankswith a new tax; these are among the provisions sure to spark conversation in Congress and spur a newwave of lobbying.

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Lawmakers should include in tax reform a "competitive domestic tax rate" for businesses and "a modern, hybrid international tax system" to stimulate investment and protect the U.S. tax base, the Let's Invest for Tomorrow Coalition said in a February 26 release on the release of the Tax Reform Act of 2014 discussion draft.

For the release, go here.

The tax reform proposal introduced by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., is a significant step toward achieving key corporate tax reform priorities, but furtherwork is needed to address competitiveness concerns and to increase growth, Business Roundtable President John Engler said in a February 26 release.

For the release, go here.