2018

he OECD has released a statement outlining the implementation of information exchange methods now in use, such as the Automatic Exchange of Information, the Exchange of Information on Request and the effort the Global Forum is putting forth to secure a level playing field through identifying jurisdictions that may be relevant to thework of the Global Forum following the eleventh meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

he Court of Justice of the European Union in Sofina SA, Rebelco SA, Sidro SA v. France, C-575/17 (CJEU 2018), held that articles 63 and 65 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union preclude France fromwithholding tax on dividends paid to nonresident companieswhile not taxing similar loss-making resident companies, finding that such treatment amounts to a restriction on the free movement of capital.

"Deeming" provisions are often introducedwithin antiavoidance legislation and can often produce unexpected, unreasonable, and absurd resultswhen taken literally. In this article, the author looks at a recent decision of the U.K. Upper Tribunalwhere common sense prevailed over the letter of the law.

Karen Sowell of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section has submitted a report on proposed regulations (REG-104390-18) on global intangible low-taxed income, supplementing a prior report to reiterate some suggestions thatweren't adopted in the regs and raising concerns about the complexity created by various basis adjustment rules.

Add the New York State Bar Association Tax Section to the list of parties that have taken a strong stance against the global intangible low-taxed income proposed rules' antiavoidance provision aswritten.

The Swiss Government is to press aheadwith its plans to implement the recommendations made by the OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, despite domestic opposition.

The business community is bracing for Democratic proposals to raise the corporate tax rate to pay for infrastructure spending and other priorities. Infrastructure is seen as one of the rare areaswhere Democrats and President Trump might be able to come to a deal, since both sides have called for improvements to the nation's roads, railways and bridges. The problem is how to pay for the new spending.

The United Arab Emirates iswilling to expand its multi-billion dollar investments in Brazil as long as it's no longer labeled a tax haven by Latin America's largest economy.

This article discusses the recent changes to tax incentives in New Zealandwhich are intended to increase corporate investment in research and development.

General Motors,which is closing five North American factories,was criticized by lawmakers in Ohio,with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) accusing the automaker of using the benefits of last year's tax cut to invest in Mexico.

In this opinion article, the author discusses the recent tax cuts effect on the US economyÔøΩthe Trump administration claims the corporate tax cutswould spur huge investment and growth, raisingwages and ushering a new era of bullishness. Not quite.

Amazonwill grant Australians access to products from its mainwebsite,walking back a decision made earlier this year that angered its customers in the country. The online retailer had announced that itwould redirect Australians to a localwebsite to complywith changes to Australian tax lawwhich requires online retailers to impose a 10 percent goods and services tax on items sold and shipped from overseas.

Foreign investors in China's onshore bond marketwill be exempt from taxes for the next three years, China's Ministry of Finance said Thursday.

A Caribbean trade bloc is removing taxes on imported oil and petroleum products for the region as a major refinery on the island of Trinidad prepares to close.

Canada's federal government saidwednesday it is stepping in to help the struggling Canadian media industrywith new tax credits and incentives.

The European Commission has ruled that Luxembourg granted illegal state aid to Engie, but the Luxembourg government disagrees. On September 6, 2018, the European Commission released its decision of June 20, 2018 regarding the Engie state aid investigations. The Commission ruled that Luxembourg granted illegal state aid to Engie and should collect around 120 million euros ($136.5 million) of taxes from the company.

The Australian Taxation Office has issued final guidance to assist taxpayers to manage their compliance risk by outlining straightforward low risk restructuring towhich theywon't seek to apply tax avoidance provisions.

In a significant decision, the European Commission found that Luxembourg did not grant illegal state aid to McDonald's. However, multinational groups that still operatewith hybrid permanent establishments should carefully analyze upcoming tax law changes.

The European Union needs to put pressure on member states to do awaywith the kind of shell companies that attract tax avoidance and money laundering, according to Jeppe Kofod, spokesman for the European Parliament's committee that focuses on financial crime.

Justin Trudeau spent awindfall on billions in tax breaks for Canadian businesses. Their response is that he still haswork to do.

Canada is offering tax incentives totaling C$14.0 billion ($10.6 billion) to offset the impact of President Donald Trump's tax reforms on the country's ability to compete for capital investment.

Companies that fallwithin a group structure are keen on Hungary's latest plan to help them reduce their collective tax by sharing corporate tax losses. The optionwould let affiliated companies set up a corporate tax group. Further, the planwould make it possible for these companies to eliminate the need to prepare domestic transfer pricing documentation.

Bankers are piling the pressure on the European Union to ensure all financial services receive a blanket exemption to the bloc's pending 3 percent digital services tax.

Companies in Europe are being advised towork now to complywith new rules requiring them to report certain aggressive cross-border tax planning arrangements to national tax authorities.

The European Union's digital tax geared at clawing back money from tech giantswould take effect in member states across the bloc by 2022 at the latest, according to a draft outlining a compromise legislative proposal by Austria,which holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Some of the biggest oil companies are looking for details on how to navigate the transition between the old U.S. international tax system and the new one. Representatives from the American Petroleum Institute and a number of major energy companies metwith officials from thewhite House's Office of Management and Budget on Nov. 19 to talk about soon-to-be-released proposed regulations and guidance on foreign tax credits and the base erosion and anti-abuse tax. The group is asking the OMB to include transitional details in those proposed regulations that clarify how the 2017 tax law treats net operating losses a company accrued before the law passed, and how companies can apply their old foreign tax credits under the law.

The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation is set to release its explanation of the 2017 tax law soonÔøΩwhat's known as the "blue book." It may be the most anticipated edition yet of the publication.

Foot Locker Retail Inc., Gap Inc., and Deere & Co., commonly known as John Deere, all revised down their one-time 2017 tax overhaul payments in their most recent quarters.

U.S. insurance companies can be taxed twice on foreign earnings under one of the international provisions in the 2017 tax overhaul, even if those profits have been taxed highly elsewhere, insurers told the Treasury Department.

Australia is to require businesses seeking to tender for significant federal government procurement contracts to demonstrate their record of tax compliance. From July 1, 2019, tenderers for procurement contractsworth over AUD4m (USD2.9m) (inclusive of goods and services tax)will need to provide a statement from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to show that they have a satisfactory tax record.

Jurisdictions are beginning to create 'synthesised texts' to help taxpayers understand how the OECD's multilateral instrument (MLI) interactswith bilateral double tax treaties, but some believe they do not offer the legal clarity taxpayers seek and risk future disputes.

While some economies have continued to integrate new technology to improve their systems for the benefit of taxpayers aswell as tax authorities, other countries have trailed behind, introducing new taxeswithout technological advances, according to a report releasedwednesday by PwC and theworld Bank.

Canada onwednesday unveiled billions in economic measures aimed at jump-starting lackluster business spending and countering the risk of lost investment to the U.S. stemming from the Trump administration's tax reform.

White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters on Tuesday the next phase of U.S. tax reformwill not happen during the final months of 2018, the "lame duck" periodwhen Republicanswill still control Congress.

Tuesdaywas another down day in the markets amid concerns about global growth, U.S. interest rates and President Donald Trump's trade disputewith China. But investors suffering high market anxiety fortunately do not need towonderwhether tax competitivenesswill help the U.S. in the long run.

Internet-based companiesÔøΩranging from Amazon and Facebook, to Tinder and Alphabet Inc.'s GoogleÔøΩwill have to unravel the geographic origins of their revenue streams and customers to check if the U.K.'s digital taxwould apply to their businesses.

Robert Carroll and Brandon Pizzola of EY discuss the effect of 2017 tax law on the economies of the states. The authors find that there are variations across the states caused by the differences in the composition of state economies, the sunset of some tax-reducing provisions, and the delay of some tax-increasing provisions.

In this article, the author examines the opinion statement by CFE Tax Advisers Europe on the compatibility of limitation on benefit clauseswith EU fundamental freedoms and offers some insights.

Public records indicate that lobbying on the proposed base erosion and antiabuse tax continues evenwhile proposed regulations are being reviewed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget recently metwith several oil industry representatives as part of their regulatory review process in anticipation of the release of base erosion and antiabuse tax guidance.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) pushed for expanding the scope of the proposed EU digital services tax (DST) at a meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON).

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has commented on proposed regulations (REG-104390-18) under section 951A on the inclusion of global intangible low-taxed income by U.S. shareholders, addressing the double taxation of high-taxed foreign income and seeking several changes to the regs, including clarification of an antiabuse rule andwithdrawal of a per se rule and the basis reduction rules.

The EU Code of Conduct Group has issued a report on the activities of the EU Council's Austrian presidency regarding business tax measures that the group assessed during the second half of 2018.

The United Kingdom may need at least two years to set up a functioning customs border and may temporarily forgo tariff collection in a no-deal Brexit scenario, a top HM Revenue & Customs official said.

In response to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Canada has proposed three measures to boost its competitiveness,whichwould give it the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment among G-7 countries.

Congress makes tax laws, but accounting guidelines are mostly left for the Financial Accounting Standards Board, a private rulemaking body, to determine. As a result, the many international tax law amendments enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97) don't necessarily result in any immediate changes to how companies should calculate their tax liabilities or determine their deferred tax assets or liabilities in their financial statements, nor how they should provide supplemental disclosures about their tax liabilities. The SEC's accounting guidelines for companies traded on the U.S. stock exchanges generally follow FASB's guidelines,which set rules for generally accepted accounting principles.

Canada's federal government is stepping in to help the struggling Canadian media industrywith new tax credits and incentives.

A proposed European Union digital tax should be set at 5 percent rather than 3 percent and should include revenue from sites such as Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., European Parliament lawmakers said Monday.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has commented on proposed regulations (REG-104390-18) under section 951A on the inclusion of global intangible low-taxed income by U.S. shareholders, focusing on a tailored basis adjustment rule and on the exception for qualified interest expense.

In this article, the authors discuss recent U.S. international tax developments, including guidance on basis adjustments, the Tax Court's decision in Smith, and treaty issues related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.