2023

Mindy Herzfeld examines existing and recent proposed U.S. legislation that would apply retaliatory measures against other countries’ discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes.

Larissa Neumann, Mike Knobler, and William R. Skinner review the large amount of guidance released at the end of the Biden administration, including guidance on cloud computing transactions, disregarded payment loss regulations, and several chief counsel advice documents.

The EU will not deviate from its course regarding pillar 2 but would enter any possible OECD talks on a permanent safe harbor for U.S. companies with an open mind, Tax Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said.

After days of deliberation, countries finally agreed to make decisions on a U.N. tax framework convention by simple majority, with a two-thirds majority needed to approve any protocols to the convention.

Implementing a mandatory high-tax exclusion so global intangible low-tax income would apply only to income below the exclusion threshold could reduce tax avoidance, raise revenue, and be relatively simple to implement, according to a February report released by the American Enterprise Institute.

Shuting Pomerleau compares two methods used to border-adjust a carbon price, arguing that border adjustments present unique challenges but, if designed well, would be an important part of a domestic carbon price in the United States.

Nana Ama Sarfo explains the prevalence of QDMTTs versus UTPRs in light of the Trump administration’s executive order and suggests the United States should consider implementing its own QDMTT.

Many countries — across income lines — said they would support dispute resolution and prevention as an early protocol to a U.N. framework convention on international tax cooperation.

China has targeted U.S. agriculture and natural gas with retaliatory tariffs after President Trump moved forward with tariffs on Chinese imports while pausing tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

David J. Sotos and J.P. Gregorcy, in the first in a two-part series, examine the history of noncompulsory payment rules under reg. section 1.901-2(e)(5) and identify areas that need clarification in light of pillar 2.

The United States said it would withdraw from the entire U.N. process to negotiate a framework convention on international tax cooperation and encouraged other countries to join it.

The International Tax and Investment Center explains the concept of significant economic presence and shows the outcome of efforts by the OECD inclusive framework to develop a new net-basis taxation with parallels to the existing physical presence.

Canada's Department of Finance issued a release February 1 announcing that the government will impose 25 percent tariffs on U.S. goods worth C $155 billion in response to the U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian products, noting that the government will continue to consider additional, non-tariff-related countermeasures.

EU member states have not yet resolved the issue of how to quickly introduce any future changes to the OECD's standard global anti-base-erosion information return, which is implemented through the administrative cooperation directive.

Negotiations for a U.N. framework convention on international tax cooperation are slated to begin in February, and key organizational decisions could further alienate EU member states that do not want to duplicate the OECD’s work.

 Lyla Latif reconceptualizes modern tax administration through the lens of surveillance studies, demonstrating that tax studies must expand beyond efficiency to address fundamental questions about individual autonomy and the boundaries of legitimate oversight in a digital age.

Robert Danon and Adolfo Martín Jiménez examine the new model clause for article 25 of the U.N. model tax convention, arguing against introducing it in double tax treaties because it is inconsistent with modern investment treaty policy and a "whole of government" approach and raises several problems under international law.

EU member states have not yet resolved the issue of how to quickly introduce any future changes to the OECD's standard global anti-base-erosion information return, which is implemented through the administrative cooperation directive.

Negotiations for a U.N. framework convention on international tax cooperation are slated to begin in February, and key organizational decisions could further alienate EU member states that do not want to duplicate the OECD’s work.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah points out the importance of considering taxes when evaluating corporate environmental, social, and governance goals and suggests efficient solutions for the resulting gaps.

According to a U.S. official, challenges in global anti-base-erosion (GLOBE) rules negotiations under the OECD's pillar 2 taxation framework have made a permanent safe harbor provision seem unlikely.

The taxation aspects of the European Commission’s promise to boost the EU’s competitiveness will be limited, as steps in that direction rely mainly on coordination and member states’ goodwill.

Lucas de Lima Carvalho examines why a developing country might terminate a bilateral tax treaty with a developed country and what happens after it does.

H.R. 591, the Defending American Jobs and Investment Act, introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., would impose reciprocal taxes on the U.S. income of companies and investors in foreign countries that impose extraterritorial or discriminatory taxes on U.S. businesses.

The economy returned to stagnation as 2024 drew to a close, a blow to its hopes for a recovery as it braces for the possibility that Trump will deliver a long-threatened increase in tariffs.

The OECD and its partners in Latin America are working to improve low trust in the tax system through better communication, digitalization, and shifting tax authorities from an enforcement to a service model.

Robert Goulder comments on the new federal agency to administer U.S. tariffs, and the motivations behind it.

P.V.S.S. Prasad explains the difficulties of reaching multilateral agreements among jurisdictions with varying tax and economic policies, and he argues that bilateralism will remain prominent because it avoids those difficulties while still allowing negotiators to address their specific concerns.

Mindy Herzfeld examines the potential impact of recent U.S. executive orders on international tax and trade policy.

The effects of tariffs and tax cuts will be mild, but an immigration crackdown is cause for real concern.

President Trump used an address to prominent global business leaders to invite investment in the United States with the promise of low taxes but warned of stiff tariffs for companies that decide to forgo his proposition.

The EU Council’s Polish presidency has asked member states to exchange views on several open issues regarding the latest amendment to the directive on administrative cooperation, which will implement the OECD's standard global anti-base-erosion information return.

House Republicans have reintroduced legislation that would increase U.S. tax rates on foreign companies and investors if their countries impose extraterritorial measures on U.S. companies, like those found in the OECD international tax reform plan.

According to a U.S. official, challenges in global anti-base-erosion (GLOBE) rules negotiations under the OECD's pillar 2 taxation framework have made a permanent safe harbor provision seem unlikely.

Treasury must act under section 891 to investigate whether foreign countries are subjecting U.S. citizens or companies to discriminatory taxes, President Trump directed as part of an executive order issued January 20.

The European Commission said it was disappointed by President Trump’s announcement that the United States will pull out of the OECD’s international corporate tax reform deal, while others displayed a “told you so” attitude.

Noting that EU billionaires grew their collective wealth to €2.2 trillion by the end of 2024, Oxfam International called on EU countries to use the U.N. tax convention to effectively tax the ultrawealthy.

The United States’ rejection of the OECD global tax plan shows that there are different approaches to competitiveness on either side of the Atlantic, despite the EU’s promise to declutter its tax system, a business representative said.

The OECD global minimum tax rules have “no force or effect within the United States absent an act by the Congress adopting the relevant provisions of the Global Tax Deal,” because they expose American companies to retaliatory international tax regimes, the White House said in a January 20 memorandum.

Mindy Herzfeld examines how proposed updates to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could be an opportunity to fix its international provisions.

J. Harold McClure poses two illustrations of the appropriate profit margin for a distribution affiliate, contrasting the implications of amount B with a more straightforward economic model.

President Trump wants an External Revenue Service to collect tariffs on imports. One trade expert said the move may be “more branding than substance.”

The president said he planned to put tariffs on America’s neighbors on Feb. 1, as he signed an executive order mandating a sweeping review of U.S. trade policy.

The OECD is working on identifying related-party transactions entered into by taxpayers that may pose integrity concerns under the pillar 2 global minimum tax rules, an OECD tax adviser said.

A statement joined by the majority of Canada’s first ministers says that the government could pursue retaliatory measures if U.S. President-elect Trump follows through with threats to introduce tariffs on Canadian imports.

The OECD has published more administrative guidance for the global minimum tax rules, including a list of legislation temporarily qualified as pillar 2-compliant and advice on deferred tax assets aimed at preserving the rules’ integrity.

Technical work is underway on a possible permanent safe harbor for multinational enterprises in scope of the pillar 2 global minimum tax rules, according to Treasury’s top OECD negotiator.

The OECD inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting has published a variety of tools and guidance regarding the administrative implementation of the global minimum tax under pillar 2 of the OECD's two-pillar tax reform plan, along with a central record of legislation that clarifies the member jurisdictions that have secured transitional qualified status for minimum tax purposes.

The OECD on January 15 published administrative guidance regarding the application of article 9.1 of the global anti-base-erosion model rules to deferred tax assets from benefits arranged by the government or new corporate income tax rates introduced after November 30, 2021.