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2017

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Flexibility Key to EU Combating Tax Evasion, Professor Says


The European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) must take into account that patterns of tax evasion vary significantly among member states, an academic told members of the committee January 26.

"It doesn't help to have a one-size-fits-all approach because then you may have [legal compliance] in the books but you don't have it in reality," said Brigitte Unger, an economics professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
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Trump Open to 20 Percent Tax to Pay for Mexico Border Wall


President Donald Trump is considering paying for thewall on the U.S.-Mexico border by imposing a 20 percent tax on all imports from Mexico, according towhite House press secretary Sean Spicer.

The plan that is taking shape now looks at "using comprehensive tax reform as a means to tax imports from countries thatwe have a trade deficit from, like Mexico," Spicer said Jan. 26, according to awhite House press pool report.
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U.K. Opposition Party Tables Anti-Tax-Haven Amendment to Brexit Bill


The U.K. opposition Labour Party has tabled several amendments to a government bill thatwould give Prime Minister Theresa May the power to begin Britain's formal exit from the EU, including a provision to prevent May from turning the U.K. into a tax haven.

David Davis, the British secretary of state for exiting the European Union, on January 26 introduced the three-page European Union (Notification ofwithdrawal) Bill to the House of Commons,which, if approved,will allow May to trigger article 50 of the Treaty on European Union to startwithdrawing from the EU.
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Tax Havens and the Transparency Wave of International Tax Legalization


Tax havens have posed an increasingly important challenge to theworld economy, yet they receive little attention in the international economic law and policy literature. This relative neglect springs largely from taxation's tangential connectionwith the major structures of international economic governance. But a highly developed treaty regime has been in place for decades.
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Destination-based Cash Flow Taxation


This paper sets out a possible approach to the international taxation of corporate profit: a destination-based cash flow tax (DBCFT). This option is one of a number that have been considered over the last three years by a group of economists and lawyers, chaired by Michael Devereux. The other current members of the group are Alan Auerbach, Michael Keen, Paul Oosterhuis,wolfgang Schön and John Vella.
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Euro group chief warns Britain against tax haven temptation


The head of the council of euro zone finance ministers said Britainwould be taking a "crazy step backwards" if it opted to turn itself into a tax haven after leaving the European Union,warning that such a movewould hurt both Britain and the EU.
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Mexico Likely to Retaliate Against Border Adjustment Tax


A Republican proposal for a border tax that boosts exports could push Mexico to do the same, according to a former trade minister.

A reform package developed by House Republicans for a corporate tax overhaulÔøΩincluding a border tax adjustment measure thatwould effectively subsidize exports and tax importsÔøΩwould likely drive Mexico to adopt similar measures, according to Luis de la Calle, the former undersecretary for international business negotiations under the Vicente Fox administration (2000-06).
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OECD, Major Organizations Recommend a 'Realistic' Approach to Comparability


Instead of using the profit-split methodwhenever local comparables are scarce, tax authorities in developing countries should apply one-sided transfer pricing methods using a combination of elective safe harbors, relaxed geographic comparability standards, and regional data collection initiatives, according to draft recommendations released by the Platform for Collaboration on Tax.
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Mexico set to 'mirror' policy on any U.S. trade tax change: minister


Mexico's economy minister said his countrywas ready to renegotiate trade ruleswith the United States and that any change in U.S. tax policy that affected importswould have to be counteredwith a "mirror action" in Mexico.

U.S. President Donald Trump told a meetingwith U.S. executives on Monday that companieswould face a "major border tax" if they shifted jobs outside the United States. Such a measure could affect Mexico's exports to the United States, its top trading partner.
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Trump and VAT: NAFTA, Trade Barriers, and Retaliatory Tariffs


During the first presidential debate, Donald Trump argued that the VAT operates as a trade barrier to U.S. business interests around the globe. In particular, he pointed to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and he singled out Mexico as a special concern. Trump also identified China as a concern, saying hewas troubled both by China's VAT and by the nation's alleged currency manipulation.

A discussion of VAT as a trade barrier to U.S. firms is potentiallywide-ranging and cannot be fully accomplished here. To fit in a single article, the scope must be narrowed. The NAFTA agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada provides an optimal point of focus.
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News Analysis: What's Next for the OECD Under Trump?


Over the past few years, the OECD has consolidated and strengthened its position as the leading international tax rulemaker. But the new Trump administration in the United Stateswill likely call into question the organization's more expansive role, and possibly even its continued relevance.

Through its base erosion and profit-shifting project, the OECD haswreaked havoc on the tax planning strategies of multinational taxpayerswhile at the same time successfully portraying itself as an aid to governments looking for additional revenue.with various initiatives -- including the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, the Forum on Tax Administration, and the new inclusive framework -- it has expanded its reach beyond its member countries to take on a role as the leader for countries developed and developing.
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Advocate general: Gibraltar and UK one entity on tax issues


An advocate general for Europe's highest court said Thursday the United Kingdom and Gibraltar should be treated as "one entity" in their freedom to provide services.

"The application of EU law to Gibraltar does not create new or supplementary rights between the U.K. and Gibraltar that are in addition to those flowing from U.K. and Gibraltar constitutional law,"wrote Advocate General Maciej Szpunar. The European Court of Justice usually follows the line of thinking of its advocate generals, andwill rule on the case in the coming months.
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Lawmakers reject EU laundering blacklist, want tax havens included


European Union lawmakers rejected on Thursday an EU blacklist of ten countries at risk of facilitating money laundering or terrorist financing on the grounds that the list is too short and needs to be expanded to include tax havens.

In a bid to cut terrorist funding after January 2015 attacks on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, the EU adopted stricter rules against money laundering and began naming countrieswith legal loopholes that could be exploited by militant organizations to get funding.
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IRS Moves to Curtail Cross-Border Partnership Transfers


The IRS on January 18 released temporary and final regulations on cross-border partnership transfers that disallow nonrecognition treatment to some transfers of built-in gain property to partnershipswith foreign partners.
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U.K. Opts for Clean Break from EU, Prompting Tax Haven Fears


British Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that the U.K.will leave the EU single market and seek a bespoke free trade dealwith the bloc, prompting concerns that her governmentwill use the threat of turning the U.K. into a tax haven as leverage in negotiationswith the EU.

In a highly anticipated January 17 speech, May outlined a general strategy for Britain to leave the EU, following the controversial June 2016 referendum vote, emphasizing that the U.K. is not seeking any kind of arrangement that leaves Britain "half in, half out."
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Swedish Tax Agency Opposes Financial Industry Tax


A Swedish government plan to introduce a tax on banks and other financial institutions is prompting criticism from an official at the nation's tax agency.

Tomas Algotsson, head of unit at the agency's legal department, told the Dagens Industri (DI) newspaper Jan. 15 that the proposed taxwould increase administrative burdens both for companies and the tax authority, Skatteverket.
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Globalism vs. Populism in the International Tax World


Adoption of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action items in specific countries can be expected to alter traditional multi-national enterprises (MNE) tax strategy processes. In this regard, it is appropriate to note that tax authorities and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) often seem to overlook, or conveniently ignore, that MNE strategies are often a function of the rules established by countries to develop their own tax base (at the expense of other countries). In otherwords, countries, in their respective self-interests, grant incentives of various sorts to encourage economic investment. MNEs take advantage of these incentives to minimize their tax liabilities,which the BEPS process views as, somehow, inappropriate behavior of MNEs denuding the tax base of other countries.
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U.A.E. Ratifies Tax Instruments With 12 Countries


United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued federal decrees ratifying the pending income tax treatieswith Belize, Comoros, Jordan, and Macedonia, and the pending tax information exchange agreementswith Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, according to a U.A.E. government news release.
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House Republican Blueprint: A destination based cash-flow tax

  • By PwC

The increased potential for comprehensive tax reform in 2017 has put a spotlight on the House Republican Blueprint, released by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) andways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) last June. The Blueprint is the likely starting point for drafting tax reform legislation in the House. The business provisions of the Blueprintwould radically transform the existing corporate income tax and individual income tax on pass-through business income into a consumption-based tax by providing for "cash-flow" taxation and border adjustability. This Tax Insight provides more detail on these business provisions and discusses the impact the Blueprintwould have on US competitiveness, the potential market impact of border adjustability, and the change itwould represent in the taxation of cross-border income.
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France Must Slash Corporate Tax Rate to Compete in EU, Advisory Body Says


France should lower its corporate tax rate from 33.3 percent to 25 percent, the average rate among the major European economies, if itwants to remain competitivewith other EU member states, according to a French government advisory council.

In its January 12 report, le Conseil des prélèvements obligatoires (CPO), a government advisory council associatedwith, but separate from, the French Court of Auditors, noted that the French corporate tax rate faces two challenges: the mobility of capital, companies, and individuals; and the intense competition between countries. Although the French government already plans to gradually reduce the rate to 28 percent by 2020, it must aim for a lower, more harmonized ratewith its European partners, the report says.
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IMF boosts U.S. growth forecasts on Trump spending, tax plans


The International Monetary Fund on Monday said the U.S. economywould grow faster than previously expected in 2017 and 2018 based on the incoming Trump administration's tax and spending plans, but it kept its global growth forecasts unchanged due toweakness in some emerging markets.

Updating itsworld Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast overall global growth at 3.4 percent for 2017 and 3.6 percent for 2018, unchanged from October. That compared to 3.1 percent in 2016, theweakest year since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
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The worrying macro-economics of US border taxes


The financial markets have begun towake up to the fact that the Republican reforms to US corporate taxationwill probably include important new "border adjustments" to the definitions of company revenues and costs. The basic idea is that US should shift to a "territorial" system,with corporations being taxed only on revenues and costs incurredwithin the US itself, and not on theirworldwide aggregates,which is the principle behind the present system.
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Companies Examine Shifting Production to U.S. Ahead of Tax Code Overhaul


Companies are increasingly exploring the economics of moving production to the U.S., as an overhaul of the U.S. tax code looms and President-elect Donald Trump calls out their peers for expanding abroad.

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OECD Survey Credits Mexican Tax Reform but Concerns Remain


The OECD's 2017 economic survey of Mexico credits the country's 2014 tax reformwith helping to improve the tax-to-GDP ratio and to offset declining oil revenue, but concerns about the level of tax avoidance and evasion in the country persist.
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Merkel Says Brexit Will Force EU to Confront Corporate Tax Rates


German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the U.K.'s divorce from the European Unionwill be a catalyst for the bloc to confront the thorny issue of corporate tax rates as it renews a push for a common agenda.

Saying that "we all know thatwe need more harmonization" across the 28-member EU, Merkel told reporters Thursday in Luxembourg, itself at the center of an EU storm over tax issues, that the topicwill increasingly be a point of contention as Brexit negotiations loom.
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Trump's Tax Cuts Could Jump-Start Global Economy: World Bank


President-elect Donald Trump's tax cuts and spending plans could deliver a shot in the arm to the U.S. economy, lifting growth around theworld, although uncertainty about his trade policies adds to the risks, according to theworld Bank.

The Trump administration could squander the economic gains of a fiscal stimulus if it imposes new trade barriers that provoke retaliation by other countries, thewashington-based development lender said Jan. 10 in the latest update to its global economic outlook.
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Peru Scraps Corporate Tax Cut, Raises Rate


Peru recently abandoned its plans to reduce the corporate tax rate and instead raised the rate by 1.5 percentage points.

Law decrees 1261 and 1262were published December 10, 2016, in the official gazette. The new measures increased the corporate tax rate to 29.5 percent and repealed plans to reduce the rate to 27 percent for 2017 and 2018 and to 26 percent for 2019 and onward.
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Toy Makers Gird for Tax-Code Change


Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and other U.S. toy makers are bracing for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code that is likely to hit especially hard an industry long reliant on overseas labor to manufacture Barbie dolls, Nerf guns and Hotwheels cars.

A proposal to apply a border adjustment to the U.S. corporate taxwould strip toy makers of the ability to deduct the cost of imported goods from their profits, potentially forcing major price increases. The proposal, still in early stages, aims to cut tax rates and keep jobs in the U.S. But the implications are challenging for an industry that sells many of its products in the U.S.while producing nearly all of them overseas.
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US tax reform is vital but Donald Trumps plan is flawed


Corporate tax reform has rightly been identified by both the President-elect and Congress as an immediate priority. There is no doubt that the status quo ÔøΩwhere America has the highest statutory rate among major countries and companies hoard cash overseas ÔøΩ can be improved on. Unfortunately, the reforms identified by Paul Ryan, speaker of the House of Representatives, and Donald Trump appear set to damage the tax base and the US and global economies.
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India Holds Out for Last Takers on Tax Dispute Settlement Scheme


The Indian government has extended a scheme to settle tax disputes by one month to allow companies to resolve pending litigation ahead of the introduction of the country's budget before parliament.

The success or failure of the Direct Tax Resolution SchemeÔøΩwhichwill now expire Jan. 31, 2017, just before the Feb. 1 presentation of the budgetÔøΩwill determine the Indian government's next steps in creating a more conducive business environment for foreign multinational corporations, a considerable issue for foreign companies like Cairn Energy and Vodafone Group currently stuck in decade-long arbitration.
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EU's Juncker faces renewed pressure over Luxembourg tax policy


European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker faces renewed claims that he impeded EU moves against corporate tax avoidancewhen Luxembourg's prime minister, casting a shadow over his political future as a tussle over the bloc's top jobs looms.

Juncker has faced criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups in past months over tax deals during his 18-year tenure as Luxembourg premier, including favorable arrangements for multinationals including Amazon and Fiat.
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Afghanistan Gets Tough on Tax Evasion


Afghanistan is cracking down on tax evasion to repair its finances as the country's economy struggleswith renewed violence and thewithdrawal of the huge coalition presence that fed business for years.

The departure of most foreign troops two years ago allowed the Taliban to take advantage of the security vacuum and escalate attacks on the government, hurting consumer and business confidence. Double-digit economic growth rates collapsed to almost zero a year after thewithdrawal.
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Can GOP Tax Plan Stem Profit Shifting? Both Interest and Skepticism


A House Republican plan to radically overhaul the international tax system has raised ample interestÔøΩbut also a lot of skepticism.

The plan,whichwould convert the U.S. corporate tax system into a sales-based cashflow tax, could stem international tax avoidance and prevent alleged profit shifting through abusive transfer pricing.
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Swiss Voters Get a Say on Future of Corporate Tax Paradise


Switzerland, long an attractive location for corporations on the lookout for tax savings, is fighting to keep that standing.

Under pressure from abroad, it's doing awaywith a special benefit for multinationals and plans to tax everyone from globally active commodity traders to corner bakeries at the same rate. Unhappywith the proposals --which include a reduction in regional rates that could hit municipal budgets -- opponents are now forcing a referendum on the issue.
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Brazil Launches Program for Payment of Company Tax Debts


The Brazilian government has issued a decree establishing a Tax Regularization Program to entice companies to pay their tax debts.

Under the decree, issued Jan. 5 and first announced Dec. 15, companieswill be offered favorable terms to pay accumulated tax debts existing as of Nov. 30. Theywill be allowed towrite off part of their taxes using financial losses reported as of Dec. 31, 2015, and declared by June 30, 2016.
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India reluctant to give special tax incentives to Apple


India is resisting tech giant Apple Inc's demand for tax incentives to make iPhones in the country,with the trade minister saying on Thursday that the government may not make exceptions for the U.S. company.

Applewants to open its own stores in India, but has been asked by the government to locally source at least some of the components, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid to boost manufacturing in the country.
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Deutsche Bank to Pay $95 Million to Settle DOJ Tax Evasion Lawsuit


Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit to recover $190 million in unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest based on the German bank's use of a currency option investment strategy (COINS) tax shelter to avoid paying U.S. taxes in 2000.
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Transfer Pricing and Developing Economies : A Handbook for Policy Makers and Practitioners


Recent years have seen unprecedented public scrutiny over the tax practices of Multinational Enterprise (MNE) groups. Tax policy and administration concerning international transactions, aggressive tax planning, and tax avoidance have become an issue of extensive national and international debate in developed and developing countries alike.within this context, transfer pricing, historically a subject of limited specialist interest, has attained name recognition amongst a broader global audience that is concernedwith equitable fiscal policy and sustainable development. Abusive transfer pricing practices are considered to pose major risk to the direct tax base of many countries and developing countries are particularly vulnerable because corporate tax tends to account for a larger share of their revenue.
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EU tax data exchange goes live


EU rules that promote greater cooperation among governments in corporate taxation came into force on January 1, as part of the European Commission's crackdown on tax evasion. Data on all new cross-border tax rulingswithin EU countrieswill now be automatically exchanged among governments through a central depository, the Commission said today.
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Togo's Draft Budget Introduces Stricter Antiavoidance Measures


Togo's draft Budget Law 2017, recently presented to the National Assembly,would impose more restrictive conditions for the tax deduction of interest and royalties paid in connectionwith the transfer or the use of patents, trademarks, or formulas or processes, aswell as other payments for services rendered by nonresident suppliers in a jurisdictionwith a preferential tax regime or a noncooperative jurisdiction.
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Swiss banking secrecy nears end following new tax rules


Switzerland's reputation as a secretive tax haven looks set to end following the introduction of rules over sharing bank account data.

The International Convention on the Automatic Exchange of Banking Information (AEOI) entered into force on January 1, pulling Switzerland in to linewith international standards on taxation.
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The Effective Income Tax Experience of U.S. and Non-U.S. Multinationals


In this paperwe examine how the incorporation of a parent firm outside the United States affects the effective income tax rates of global firmswith material business operations in the U.S.we find that for profit firm years, firmswith a non-U.S. parent corporation have lower effective tax rates than firmswith a U.S. parent. However, in loss firm yearswe find that these non-U.S. firms report smaller negative tax expense.we find no statistically significant difference in outcomes if the non-U.S. firm engaged in an inversion transaction.we provide evidence that earnings stripping opportunities available to non-U.S. firms and theworldwide tax law applicable to U.S. firms contribute to the better tax results of non-U.S. firms in profit years. For loss firm years,we find evidence that the U.S.worldwide tax law and differences in valuation allowance practice support better tax outcomes for U.S. firms.
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What Are Tax Havens and Why Are They Bad?


In this book review, Conor Clarke consider's Gabriel Zucman's new book, The Hiddenwealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Clarke first summarizes and explains Zucman's central findings for a legal audience, then situates those findings against the backdrop of two long-running debates in international taxationÔøΩwhat is a tax haven, andwhy are they bad?ÔøΩbefore finally commenting on the prescriptions Zucman offers for battling unreportedwealth.
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