Int'l Tax News

The U.K.'s annual finance bill has set out, over 300 pages of laws, to implement global measures against tax avoidance and introduce a new environmental tax on carbon emissions.

Spain's digital services tax (DST) is slated to enter into force in January 2019, despite the criticism and concerns of multinational technology companies. Following the path of the European Commission, the Spanish government has recently filed a preliminary bill to create the DST, an indirect tax on digital serviceswhere there is an essential contribution by the users to the value creations are monetized by the companies. In accordancewith the government's forecast, the DSTwould collect $1.4 billion in FY2019.

The Israel Tax Authority is maintaining its strict approach to the tax treatment of intellectual property transferred abroad following the purchase of an Israeli company by a multinational.

Top tax officials from five countries concluded aweek-long effort to uncover financial crime enablers and identify new targets of criminal tax investigations. The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax EnforcementÔøΩfrom the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and the NetherlandsÔøΩsent data experts to Amsterdam to increase information sharing and identify patterns to aid future investigations.

Brazil's President Michel Temer on Thursday signed into law hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives for automakers such as General Motors Co and Volkswagen to produce locally and continue developing engines that run on both gasoline and ethanol.

Ford Motor Co. and its foreign subsidiary aren't the same taxpayer,which prevents the use of a tax interest-netting benefit, a federal appellate court ruled November 9.

EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said hewants a "decision" on his proposal for a digital services tax (DST) at the December 4 Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting.

Proposed regulations on business interest deductions could be releasedwithin days, according to a Treasury official.

The OECD is under pressure on taxing the digital economy, but its tax chief remains optimistic that the debatewill not only yield a solution but also extend the base erosion and profit-shifting project.

Both the House and Senate versions of bills thatwould become the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97) proposed repealing for corporate shareholders the application of section 956 ÔøΩwhich, in conjunctionwith section 951(a)(1)(B), generally requires U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporationswith investments in U.S. property to include a corresponding amount in current income. (For the Joint Committee on Taxation's comparison of the bills, see JCX-64-17.)

The data analysis group in the new international tax enforcement collaboration between the United States, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands has developed ideas for new investigation targets and cooperation techniques.

The Office of Management and Budget officially acknowledged receipt of proposed foreign tax credit regulations, starting the clock on their expedited review.

Taxpayers in Poland should take stockÔøΩthe planned tax incentive gives an opportunity to apply a lowered 5 percent corporate income tax rate. The tax incentive ("Innovation Box"), is part of a number of comprehensive changes aimed at supporting the innovations of entities investing in Poland.

The Netherlands has plans to implement EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive 1 from 2019. Howwill this impact multinational corporations that do business in the Netherlands or have holding companies in the Netherlands?

Small export companies in Israel are set to receive generous tax breaks previously provided to only larger companiesÔøΩa move that is likely to attract more foreign investment.

U.S. banks and insurance companies may face significant, backdated value-added tax bills in the U.K. amid moves to tighten rules that previously permitted exemptions for serviceswithin the same company, tax adviserswarn.

Taxpayers are a step closer to seeing guidance on one of the 2017 tax overhaul's anti-abuse measures. The Treasury Department Nov. 6 sent proposed regulations on the law's base erosion and anti-abuse tax to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

Houseways and Means Committee Democrats are preparing for a series of hearings on the 2017 tax law in the new year afterwinning the House in the midterm elections.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he still hopes to persuade Germany to back a European Union-wide digital turnover tax, despite Berlin's preference for a global minimum corporate tax to stop firms shopping around for tax havens.

When police raided the Munich office of BlackRock, theworld's largest asset manager, thisweek it underlined how a long-running German criminal investigation into alleged tax fraud is gathering pace.

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager isweighing upwhether there are grounds to open a probe into Facebook's European tax arrangements as she deepens her multinational investigation into sweetheart tax deals, two people close to the case saidwednesday.

The U.K. government has launched a consultation on the design, implementation, and the administration of the proposed digital services tax,which is intended to be an interim tax on digital businesses pending international agreement on a long-term approach to tax the digital economy; interested parties should submit comments by February 28, 2019.

In its updated guidance on transfer pricing and profit attribution examination procedures, the Swedish tax administration has identified intangible transfers, transactionswith affiliates in low-tax jurisdictions, and complex restructurings as important indicators of mispricing risk.

The Dutch government plans to introduce awithholding tax on royalties and interest to curtail the funneling of capital to tax havens.

The United Kingdom's digital services tax (DST) proposalwill hit a range of business activities including platforms that allow users to share photos, publish blog posts, and make potential love connections.

With the announcements of 50 compliance campaigns in the Large Business and International Division and more to come, a resource-constrained IRS is now grapplingwith how to announce campaign terminations.

Proposed foreign tax credit regulations thatwill include guidance on expense allocation under new basketing rules have been submitted to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for review.

The United States Council for International Business submitted a letter to EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, stating its concerns over the United Kingdom's intention to impose tax on technology company sales.

In this article, the author considers how the participation exemption under IRC section 245 could alter tax planning.

In this article, the authors argue that the base erosion and antiabuse tax does not violate U.S. tax treaties and is a treaty override.

Interim measures are being enacted all over theworld to dealwith taxation of the digital economy, andwhile some engagement is encouraging, there are risks to unilateral actions, an OECD officialwarned.

European finance ministers are moving toward postponing implementation of the proposed EU digital services tax (DST) and introducing the tax only if no agreement on digital taxation is reached at the OECD.

The maker of Camel's cigarettes, Imperial Brands PLC, has disclosed that its tax liabilities could rise as much as 300 million pounds ($392 million) if the U.K. loses its EU state aid case involving controlled foreign company rules.

Dutch lawmakers arewarning that loopholes existwithin the country's draft rules to combat tax avoidance using Netherlands-based letterbox companies.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire's efforts to rally his European Union colleagues around a new tax on tech giants fell short, as countries skeptical of the plan doubled down on their opposition, and others, including Italy, said they'll push aheadwith their own plans.

Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday the European Commission should revise its plan for a EU-wide tax on large digital companies and stressed the new levy should be applied only if there is no global deal by the summer of 2020.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday Francewould accept to delay to the end of 2020 the application of a European Union tax on large digital firms if a dealwere reached at EU level on the levy by the end of this year.

Itwas conceived as a big Brussels pitch to disillusioned voters ahead of next year's European Parliament elections, a newway to tax big internet giants so often accused of gaming corporate tax rules. But the EU's "GAFA" turnover tax (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) risks being stillborn.

EU governments have abandoned hopes of agreeing a European digital services tax on internet giants by next month after talkswere beset by opposition from member states led by the Nordics.

The Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation has issued a statement onwhat remains to be addressed following the release of the Paradise Papers, including: tax havens' establishment of public registers of beneficial ownership of companies; the U.S. signing up for the OECD common reporting standard; and an end to corporate tax secrecy for multinationals.

It's that time of the yearwhen our thoughts naturally turn to autumn leaves, spiced apple cider, and the latest rankings ÔøΩ not just for college football, but also for tax competition. The Tax Foundation has released its International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI) for 2018.

Countries may not be following through on threats to challenge the U.S. foreign-derived intangible income (FDII) provisions under international trade law because the measure hasn't had any significant effect.

The United Kingdomwill use its recently announced digital services tax (DST) to point out potential improvements to the EU's proposed DST, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said.