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2016

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News Analysis: Populism and State Aid


Business and political eliteswhowere surprised by the populistwave manifested in the U.K.'s Brexit vote last June received an even ruder awakeningwith the results of the U.S. presidential election.

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Belgium Likely to Scrap Fairness Tax


A Belgian tax on dividend distributions affecting large companieswill likely be abolished if the European Court of Justice follows a recent opinion by its highest adviser that it fails to complywith European law.

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Business wary over further cuts to UK corporation tax


Theresa May on Monday promised business leaders to maintain the "lowest corporate tax rate in the G20", paving theway for further reductions if Donald Trump fulfils a promise to cut the US rate to 15 per cent.
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UK's Autumn Statement: A fiscal reset or just a tune-up?


UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is about to deliver his first budget statement at a timewhen tax uncertainty looms on every business as a result of the Brexit vote, butwhat could his budget look like?
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Hungary to offer EUs lowest corporate tax rate


Hungary's government is to cut its corporate tax rate to the lowest level in the EU in a sign of increasingly competitive tax practices among countries seeking to lure foreign direct investment.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said a new 9 per cent corporate tax ratewould be introduced in 2017, significantly lower than Ireland's 12.5 per cent.

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Trump's Election Could Change International Taxes Overnight


An election that turned the globe upside down may leave the international taxworld changed overnight aswell.

After Donald Trump's surprisingwin in the 2016 presidential election, the chances of a systemwide tax overhaulÔøΩonce seen as years awayÔøΩis now possible in a matter of months.

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Treasury Vows to Finalize Expiring International Guidance


The U.S. Treasury Department'swork on several high-priority guidance projectswill continue, including the finalization of two temporary regulation international tax packages set to expire before the new administration is sworn in, Treasury officials said November 16.

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News Analysis: Range of Foreign Responses Predicted to Trump Tax Plans


While many of the finest tax minds in the U.S. areworking overtime trying to divine the direction that the incoming Trump administrationwill take the country's tax policy, their counterparts overseas are scratching their heads about how foreign governmentswill react if those inchoate policies prove harmful to their national interests.
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France Investigating 500 Taxpayers After Panama Papers Leaks

  • By AP

The French government is investigating the tax records of about 560 taxpayers based on leaked documents from a Panamian law firm.

The budget office of the Finance Ministry said Thursday its experts have studied the leaked information and are now digging deeper into 560 specific cases. It didn't identify any of the taxpayers involved.
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U.S. and Europe Must Set Example in Push for Global Transparency, Report Says


The U.S. and Europe must eliminate the secrecy havens in their own backyards before they can force other financial centers to complywith global transparency standards, according to a report by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth.
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Donald Trump's plan to cut US corporation tax 'could impact on Northern Ireland jobs'


One of Donald Trump's economic advisors has cautioned that a cut in the US corporate tax rate could have an impact on Northern Ireland jobs. Mr Trump plans to slash the US rate from 35% to 15% to get manufacturers to movework to the United States.
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House GOP grapples with cross-border tax proposal


The Houseways and Means Committee is grapplingwith how to ensure that a Republican tax reform plan doesn't run afoul ofworld Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, according to a top GOP committee aide on Monday.
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EU Parliament May Lose Right to Veto Public Tax Reporting


Bloomberg

byJoe Kirwin(Bloomberg BNA)

The European Parliament risks losing the right to veto plans to make multinational companies publish tax and profit details for the countries inwhich they operate, according to the European Union's legal advisers.
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Switzerland and Austria will terminate withholding tax agreement


Thewithholding tax (WHT) agreement between Switzerland and Austriawill be terminated on January 1, 2017, the Swiss authorities have announced, and the UK'swHT treatywith Switzerland also faces the same fate.
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Tax Reform in the Next Congress


It is clear that the next Congress and President-elect Trump very likelywill to try to do corporate tax reform ÔøΩ particularly international tax reform. Among the reasons this is the case is that there is an emerging consensus among both parties from a policy perspective that improving the business tax code could make America more competitive.
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Tax Revenues Rising Since Financial Crisis, EU Report Says


Tax revenues have continued to rise since the 2007-2008 financial crisis in most EU member states, and the EU remains a relatively high-tax area, according to a report published November 11 by the European Commission.
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News Analysis: What's on Trump's International Tax Agenda?


Donald Trump's presidentialwin, combinedwith the fact that Republicanswill control both chambers of Congress,will increase the chances for comprehensive tax reform, including on the international side, in 2017. Trump's campaign proposals included several international tax proposals, some consistentwith those introduced by Republican lawmakers and others not.
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Moscovici doesn't rule out U.S. inclusion on tax haven blacklist


European tax czar Pierre Moscovici says no country, including the U.S., should consider itself immune from the tax haven blacklist the European Union is drawing up.
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Trumps Tax-Cut Plans May Draw Congress to Art of the Deal


Businesses and individuals may get major tax breaks if President-elect Donald Trump can successfully meld his own tax proposalswith similar ones favored by House Republicans.
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Exclusive Video: US President-elect Donald Trump's tax plan


International Tax Review

byCaroline Byrne (International Tax Review)

Stephen Moore, economic adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, sat downwith International Tax Review in New York in theweeks before the Republican victory to discuss the details of Trump's tax and trade plans.
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Ireland says Trump plans should not hurt it as multinational hub


byPadraic Halpin (Reuters)

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's plans to slash corporate tax rates should not keep companies from setting up operations abroad, a move thatwould damage a key plank of Ireland's industrial policy, the Irish finance minister said onwednesday.
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Flawed System Contributes to U.S. Multinationals' Tax Woes


Tax authorities around theworldwill continue targeting U.S. multinationals as long as the corporate tax system permits indefinite deferral of tax on their foreign earnings, according to Robert Stack, Treasury deputy assistant secretary (international tax affairs).
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New International Tax Reporting May Snag Big U.S. Nonprofits


New York University,which has degree-granting campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, is getting ready for a sweeping international tax reporting requirement. It's surprising, but the university is just one of possibly many nonprofit organizations that may be caught up in an international reporting regime meant to reveal multinational companies' aggressive tax planning.
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A Stranded $2 Trillion Overseas Stash Gets Closer to Coming Home


The next president may have a rare opportunity to close tax loopholes that have let American corporations stash more than $2 trillion in untaxed profits outside the United States.

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"Google tax law" in Russia


According to the new tax regulations in Russia that come into force on January 1, 2017, foreign IT companies that provide services by means of the internet to individuals (not self-employed persons) residing in Russiawill have to pay a value added tax (VAT).
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CCCTB Good for Business, European Commission Paper Says


Despite its cool reception from the international business community, the European Commission's proposal for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB)would reduce the cost of capital for multinational enterprises, resulting in more investment, higherwages, and economic growth, according to a recentworking paper released by the commission.
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Switzerland Publishes Press Release on Corporate Tax Reform Package


by Jessica Silbering-Meyer
On October 27, 2016, the Swiss Federal Council published a press release in support of the Corporate Tax Reform (CTR) III package. CTR IIIwas approved by Parliament in June 2016, andwill be subject to a public referendum on February 12, 2017.
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With Apple Ruling, European Commission Draws First Blood In Global Tax War


by Joe Harpaz
In case you missed it, thewriting has officially been spray-painted on thewalls of government corridors around theworld: tax authorities are coming for big business, even if it means stirring new conflictwith one another. The latest and most visible example of this, of course, has been the European Commission ruling against Apple this past August,which found that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to ÔøΩ13 ($14.5) billion to Apple.
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Inversion Benefits May Take 17 Years With Debt-Equity Rules


If a corporationwere to move its tax home overseas through an inversion, it might now have towait 17 years to realize the tax benefits it could reap previously through earnings-stripping transactions, two tax lawyers said.

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Country-by-Country Confusion: Narrow BEPS Queries Abound


Global governments battling tax avoidance increasingly are pushing multinational corporations for a bigger picture of how andwhere they pay taxes, leading to increasingly narrow questions from company tax officers.
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IRS Guide to Transfer Pricing Not Being Followed: IG Report


The IRS should step up communication and quality review to improve transfer pricing audits, according to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

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Australia Proposes Uniform Withholding Rate for Foreign Fund Investors


As part of its effort to attract investment and promote the domestic financial services industry, the Australian government is considering adopting a 5 percentwithholding rate for payments made from an Australian investment fund to foreign investors from any country, regardless ofwhere the fund's assets are located, according to a consultation paper released by the government.

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Final Foreign Partnership Loan Rules Still Have Broad Reach


Multinational companies didn't get any major newswhen the IRS finalized rules to curb controlled foreign corporations from loaning money to foreign partnerships as away to duck taxes.
But that's not necessarily a good thing, tax attorneys said.

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Common Law Factors Still Matter for Final Debt-Equity Regs


Common law debt-equity principles still apply alongwith the newly finalized section 385 debt-equity regulations (T.D. 9790 2016 TNT 199-5: IRS Final Regulations), though compliancewith the four documentation "super-factors"will likely go hand in handwith common law compliance, according to both a practitioner and an IRS official.

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CFC Partnership Final Regs Maintain Proposed Rules' Approach


Guidance finalized November 2 on property held by controlled foreign corporations connectedwith partnership transactions largely stays in lock stepwith previously released guidance that expanded the antiavoidance rule in section 956 of subpart F and adopted an aggregate approach toward partnerships.

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Heating Up Transfer Pricing's Turf Battle


In this article, Feinschreiber and Kent discuss the recent Apple state aid ruling and Treasury's reaction.

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Section 385 regulations summary chart

  • By PwC

US Treasury and the IRS released final and temporary Section 385 regulations on October 13, 2016. These regulations addresswhether certain instruments between related parties are treated as debt or equity.
PwC has created a one-page (11 x 17) summary chart to help you think through these very complex regulations. Note that this summary chart should be your first step in analyzing how the regulations might impact your company.

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Canada Poised to Crack Down on Tax Planning


Canadian multinational companies can expect increased government efforts to crack down on tax planning, particularly offshore tax structures, alongwith a review next year of the advance tax ruling process, if recommendations by a parliamentary committee are adopted.

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EU Financial Transaction Tax Negotiators Agree on Taxation of Shares


The proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) in the EUwould address territorial implementation issues by first harmonizing taxation for shares in participating member states and then extending it to all shares following a transition period, unless a member state opts not to participate, according to a statement released by the EU Council.

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Industry Development on Pause Pending Tax Signal, Pfizer CEO Says


Pfizer Inc.'s failed $160 billion inversionwith Allergan PLC and its September decision not to execute a long-deliberated business separation have put observers on high alert for its next strategic move. The company's CEO said November 1 that thewhole industry is pausing on major business developmentwhile it awaits the coming election's consequences for tax policy.

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OECD Reviewing U.S. Handling of Double-Tax Cases


The OECD has started to review how effectively the U.S. and five other countries handle cases inwhich multinational companies assert double taxation under the mutual agreement procedure of bilateral tax treaties.
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Holding Companies More Than Double Foreign Tax Credit Claims


Holding companies claimed more than double the amount of foreign tax credits in 2013 than a year before, showing an increased reliance on dividends from overseas subsidiaries to fund their U.S. operations, according to data from the IRS.

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CCCTB Good For Business, European Commission Paper Says


Despite its cool reception from the international business community, the European Commission's proposal for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB)would reduce the cost of capital for multinational enterprises, resulting in more investment, higherwages, and economic growth, according to a recentworking paper released by the commission.

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EU Kicks Off Corporate-Tax Overhaul


Many companies doing business in the European Union could face big changes as the EU moves aheadwith an effort to keep multinationals like Apple Inc. from taking advantage of discrepancies in tax codes across the 28-nation bloc.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, published a proposal lastweek for a uniform set of rules on taxing corporate profits. The initiativewould require multinational companies to pay taxes based onwhere their assets and employees are located andwhere their sales take place.
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U.S.' Lew sees growing consensus for corporate tax-infrastructure deal


U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Monday he sees a growing bipartisan consensus in the U.S. Congress for using revenue from the repatriation of overseas corporate profits to fund infrastructure.
For the Reuters story, gohere.
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IRS official: Controversial Treasury rules should survive legal challenge


The Treasury Department's controversial rules aimed at discouraging companies from moving offshore to avoid U.S. taxes should be able towithstand legal challenges, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) associate chief counsel says.

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OECD releases schedule for Action 14 peer reviews and invites taxpayer input

  • By OECD

On 20 October, the OECD released the key documents thatwill form the basis of the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) peer review and monitoring process under Action 14 of the BEPS Action Plan. In accordancewith the Assessment Methodology, the reviewswill be conducted in batches,with the first batch commencing in December 2016. The first schedule of reviews is now available.

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Economic analysis predicts EU would benefit from CCTB, CCCTB


Economic modelling suggests that recent EU proposals for a common corporate tax base (CCTB) and a common consolidated corporate tax basewith formula apportionment (CCCTB)would result a fairer and more efficient tax systemwhilst maintaining, and perhaps improving GDP andwelfare, a paper released by the EU Commission October 27 concludes.

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The Effect of Financial Constraints on Income Shifting by U.S. Multinationals


Using a new methodology for measuring income shifting, the authors find, consistentwith predictions, that financially constrained firms shift less income from the U.S. to foreign countries than their unconstrained peers.

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Multibillion Apple tax bill spurs calls for reform


Lawmakers are seizing on the European Union's multi-billion dollar ruling against Apple to push their case for tax reform.

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