Int'l Tax News

In 2011, the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. identified "big data" as the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. Big data has since caught upwith the taxworld,which is not known for being on the forefront of information technology (IT) innovation, in the form of the OECD's recent release of the discussion draft on transfer pricing documentation on January 30. The discussion draft, prepared in fulfillment of Action 13 of the OECD base erosion and profit shifting effort, represents the OECD's and tax administrations' efforts to capture multinationals' big data and use it for their benefit.

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The various international tax reform measures contained in the discussion draft released February 26 by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., look to balance simplicitywith precision and relief,ways and Means tax counsel indicated.
Simplicity had likewise been a goalwhen designing the international tax reform discussion draft Camp released in 201, said Ray Beeman,ways and Means tax counsel and special adviser for tax reform. "At every juncturewherewe had choices to make between something that may be a little more precise versus something that may be a little bit simpler to do,wewentwith the simpler approach," he said February 27, speaking on awebcast sponsored by Deloitte.

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You can only stall so long on the details of tax reform. On February 26 the clock ran out. Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., provided 194 pages of details, and now tax reform gold has turned to dust. The political damagewill mainly be to Republicanswho made tax reform part of their brand.
Where dowe go from here? "I thinkwewill not be able to finish the job, regretfully. I don't see howwe can," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Andwhen asked if hewould allow a vote on the Camp draft, House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, could only respondwithwhat may be the quote of the year: "Blah, blah, blah."

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An international tax regime featuring a dividend exemption systemwith a transition rulewill continue to be a top priority for Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) as discussions continue on the new draft of his tax overhaul plan, a top committee aide said.
"The goal remained the same on international," Ray Beeman,ways and Means tax counsel and special adviser for tax reform, said as part of awebcast on the new draft hosted by Deloitte Tax LLP.

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The US tax reform discussion draft from Dave Camp, chairman of the Houseways and Means Committee, achieves two key goals for business, says John Engler, the leader of one of America's most influential employers' organisations: a corporate tax rate of 25% and a modern tax system.

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The European Union has dropped a requirement for mandatory country-by-country tax reporting in reaching an agreement to include social, environmental, human rights and anti-corruption criteria in EU accounting legislation that applies to listed companies.
After a fierce battle between EU member states and the European Parliament, the unexpected compromisewas reached after itwas agreed that the European Commissionwill file a report to include tax criteria by 2018. Companies from Europe and the U.S. lobbied fiercely to block adding mandatory country-by-country tax reporting standards as part of the current agreement.

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A new tax plan from Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chairman of the Houseways and Means Committee,would shift the U.S. into a mostly territorial tax systemwhile beefing up rules against earnings stripping and reinsurance and expanding Subpart F taxation of highly valuable intangibles.
Camp released his tax overhaul plan Feb. 26 amid speculation that the proposal has little hope of success in the highly polarizedwashington climateÔøΩespecially since his Senate Democratic counterpart, Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), resigned his post Feb. 6 to become the U.S. ambassador to China.

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Reactionwas mixed to awide-reaching plan to reshape the U.S. tax code by Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.),who pushed his draft legislative language as away to improve domestic economic prospects.

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Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) outlined a tax overhaul that lowers individual and corporate tax rates to no more than 25 percent, relying on vigorous economic growth and the scaling back of popular tax preferences to achieve the reduction.
Camp's plan, released Feb. 26,would eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes, impose a new surcharge on somewealthier households and hit large bankswith a new tax; these are among the provisions sure to spark conversation in Congress and spur a newwave of lobbying.

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Lawmakers should include in tax reform a "competitive domestic tax rate" for businesses and "a modern, hybrid international tax system" to stimulate investment and protect the U.S. tax base, the Let's Invest for Tomorrow Coalition said in a February 26 release on the release of the Tax Reform Act of 2014 discussion draft.

For the release, go here.

The tax reform proposal introduced by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., is a significant step toward achieving key corporate tax reform priorities, but furtherwork is needed to address competitiveness concerns and to increase growth, Business Roundtable President John Engler said in a February 26 release.

For the release, go here.

The top Republican tax-writer in Congress proposed restructuring the U.S. tax code to eliminate dozens of breaks to pay for reductions in the corporate and individual rates.
The 979-page plan from Representative Dave Campwould mark the most significant changes to the U.S. tax system since 1986, affecting every part of the economy and reflecting politically unpopular tradeoffs that sparked immediate complaints from business groups.

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Many provisions in the tax reform proposal introduced by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., are problematic, including the decrease in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent and the expansion of some corporate tax "loopholes," Citizens for Tax Justice Director Robert McIntyre said in a February 26 release.

For the statement, go here.

Earlier today,we published Part 1 of our analysis of Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp's proposal for tax reform,which dealt specificallywith provisions thatwould modify the individual income tax regime. Now let's take a look at Part II,which focuses on changes to the corporate, flow-through, and international tax laws.

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Dave Camp, chairman of the Houseways and Means Committee, has released a comprehensive tax reform proposal and the comments are flying in. Iwill try to give you as good a summary of them as possible, but I believe that I can give you the essence of most of them. You can use this as a template to make your own comments if youwant:

Comprehensive tax reform and simplification is a fantastic idea.we here at the ABC Coalition for DEF just love the idea that you areworking on it and totally support you. Of coursewe are sure that you know the DEF is critical to the Americanway of life and the health, safety andwell-being of theworld.wewould just like to remind you that the GHI deduction and the JKL credit play a critical role in supporting DEF. Sowhen you are doing your simplifying don't even think about messingwith the GHI deduction and the JKL credit. As a matter of fact, you probably should beef them up a bit and get busy on the MNO exemption thatwe have been asking for. Other than that, chop away at those special tax breaks and give us a simpler Code.

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Thomas Barthold, chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, on February 26 presented testimony regarding pending income tax treatieswith Chile and Hungary, treaty protocolswith Luxembourg and Switzerland, and a protocol amending the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

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The Joint Committee on Taxation has released a February 26 technical explanation of business tax reform provisions included in the Tax Reform Act of 2014 discussion draft, introduced by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich.

For the report, go here.

The Joint Committee on Taxation has released a report, dated February 26, providing a technical explanation of provisions included in the Tax Reform Act of 2014 discussion draft, by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., to reform the participation exemption system for taxing foreign income.

For the report, go here.

The Tax Reform Act of 2014 discussion draft, by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich.,would raise $3 billion from 2014 to 2023, according to estimates released by the Joint Committee on Taxation February 26.

For the report, go here.

The recommendations in the discussion draft of the Tax Reform Act of 2014, by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich.,would result in an increase in economic output relative to current law, according to a macroeconomic analysis of the proposal by the Joint Committee on Taxation in a February 26 report (JCX-22-14).
The proposal's broadening of the tax base through ending tax expenditureswould provide incentives for more labor, increase demand for goods and services, reduce after-tax return on investment, and provide an incentive for reducing domestic capital stock, according to the analysis.

For the report, go here.

The comprehensive tax reform draft plan released February 26 by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich.,would transform the international tax rules by replacing the current systemwith a 95 percent dividend exemption for foreign business income.
Under the plan, therewould be a one-time transition tax on all previously untaxed foreign earnings and profits currently held overseas. E&P retained in the form of cash or cash equivalentswould be taxed at 8.75 percent and any remaining E&Pwould be taxed at 3.5 percent. Funds from this one-time revenue raiserwould be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and allocated 80 percent to the Highway Account and 20 percent to the Mass Transit Account. That allocationwould "address the deep funding shortfall that currently exists for Federal transportation infrastructure projects," according to a section-by-sectionways and Means summary of the plan.

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Making the corporate income tax rate a flat 25 percent is one of several changes to corporate taxation proposed in the Tax Reform Act of 2014 discussion draft released February 26 by Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich.
Ensuring that businesses pay no more than a 25 percent corporate tax ratewould "increase America's ability to compete internationally" and "ensure that American corporations have more resources here in the United States to invest, hire and grow their businesses," according to aways and Means executive summary .
According to the summary, the new ratewould end America's "dubious distinction of having the highest corporate rate in the developedworld."

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Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., on February 26 released his long-awaited plan to overhaul the tax code, proposing sweeping cuts and changes to individual and business tax breaks to pay for significant tax rate cuts.

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The last time the U.S. enacted a comprehensive tax reformwas 1986. But many of America's major competitors have been actively reforming their tax laws in recent years. Even our closest neighbors are getting ahead of us. Canada has already reformed its tax laws and Mexico is doing so right now. If Congress doesn't take action, the U.S. risks falling further behind.

For the op-ed, go here.

The International Tax Policy Forum has released the 2014 edition of the "ITPF Competitiveness Index,"which includes a variety of charts demonstrating the relative performance of US-based multinationals in the US economy, the relative performance of foreign affiliates of US multinationals, and how the US is faring in terms of the global economy.

For the scorecard, go here.

Many of the most profitable U.S. corporations paid little or no federal income tax from 2008 to 2012, according to a five-year study issued on Tuesday by a left-leaning tax activist group.
In a reflection of how the tax code's complexity leaves many issues open to question, corporations sometimes dispute theway Citizens for Tax Justice calculates its numbers.

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On Feb. 12, 2014, TEI submitted comments to the OECD recommending substantial changes to the OECD's revisions to Chapter V of its Transfer Pricing Guidelines included in its Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Documentation and CbC Reporting. TEI's recommendations included, among other things, delaying and substantially revising the proposed Country-by-Country reporting template, balancing tax authorities need for information against the compliance burden on taxpayers, and keeping taxpayer information confidential. The Institute also provided detailed responses to the OECD's specific requests for comments in the draft.

For the comments, go here.

Taxpayers must be carefulwith transactionswith foreign branches or disregarded entities to ensure that noncompulsory foreign tax payment rules are suitably dealtwith and must consider the proper level of documentation to satisfy compliancewith arm's-length principles, according to a February report from K&L Gates LLP.

For the report, go here.

The changing landscape for transfer pricing as a result of the OECD's base erosion and profit-shifting project has far-reaching implications, said taxpayers and practitioners on February 20. Speaking at separate panels on the treatment of intangibles and transfer pricing controversy at the TP Minds Americas Transfer Pricing Summit in Coral Gables, Fla., panelists offered suggestions for improvements to the OECD's action plan and draft on intangibles, aswell as practice points for companies involved in or anticipating transfer pricing audits.

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In news analysis, Lee A. Sheppard discusses a debate at the International Bar Association/Chartered Institute of Taxation cross-border taxation conference in London about how European countries are already implementing portions of the OECD base erosion and profit-shifting initiative.

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After a lot of anticipation and rumor, Houseways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., confirmed that hewill release his tax reform plan thisweek. Expect the unexpected.
Camp has promised to deliver revenue-neutral corporate tax reform thatwill reduce the statutory tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Thatwon't be easy. And ifwe are talking about something that has a real chance of becoming law, it is probably impossible. There is no plan he can offer thatwon't alienate large swaths of the business community he is counting on for political support. Or hewill break one of his promises -- either to reduce the rate to 25 percent or to introduce a truly revenue-neutral bill.

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After 14 years, is the EU Marks & Spencer group loss relief case finally over?

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The U.S. business community should be preparing to contribute comments toward the "incredibly broad" project of regulating hybrid mismatch arrangements that is part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), a Treasury Department official said.
Given the broad territory to be covered by the regulations, the business communitywill have limited time for reviewing and commenting on the draft, Danielle Rolfes, international tax counsel for the Treasury Department, said Feb. 20 in her luncheon speech at the Tax Executives Institute seminar in Atlanta.

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Eaton Corp.'s curious and contentious litigationwith the Internal Revenue Service over the cancellation of two advance pricing agreements has raised questions from practitioners aboutwhat the company did to merit such a response from the agency. The IRS has accused Eaton of misrepresenting material facts, but never has saidwhat misstatements the company made. Documents filed at the U.S. Tax Court offer some insightÔøΩinternal IRS memos and reports are critical of the level of profits going to Eaton's foreign subsidiaries, and show that the government no longer accepts some of the fundamental presumptions of Eaton's APAsÔøΩincluding the choices of tested party and pricing method. Still, they don't explainwhy the agency accepted those presumptions in the first place.

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Taxwriters on the Houseways and Means Committee crafting an overhaul of the U.S. tax code don't quite have their hands around intangibles.
The treatment of intangible incomeÔøΩthe money companies make from technology, patents and other nonphysical aspects of the products they sellÔøΩis one of the issuesways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) still needs to resolve in preparation for a comprehensive tax overhaul, tax lobbyists told Bloomberg BNA. Camp may help fill that holewhen he releases a draft for the tax bill theweek of Feb. 24ÔøΩbut perhaps not completely, lobbyists said.

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The timeline of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project is extremely ambitious,with the first outputs expected for September 2014 and the completion of the project by the end of 2015. Input from relevant stakeholders is essential in order to develop the measures envisaged in the BEPS Action Plan. In December 2013, the OECD published a timetable for planned stakeholders' input.

For the revised timetable, go here.

Thewhite House in its upcoming budget proposal plans to propose stricter tax rules targeting multinational companies to prevent tax avoidance and evasion, according to an administration officialwho requested anonymity.
Companies affected by the proposals include U.S. companieswith overseas operations and foreign companies that operate in the U.S. The proposed changeswould target attempts by companies to utilize different countries' tax rules by engaging in transactions that are considered debt in one country and equity in another.

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At the outset of the base erosion and profit-shifting project, the OECD analyzed the arm's-length standard and consideredwhether a different approachwas needed to combat BEPS, but it decided that a switch to formulary apportionmentwould not solve the problem, Mayra Lucas, a transfer pricing adviser at the OECD, said February 19.
Speaking at the TP Minds Americas Transfer Pricing Summit in Coral Gables, Fla., Lucas said that BEPS has become "damaging to governments, emerging economies, developed countries, business reputations, and small businesseswho do not have the resources to engage in aggressive tax planning." She added, "This iswhy BEPS has become one of the top issues for every country and the private sector aswell."

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The OECD's draft country-by-country reporting standards call for too much information from multinationals, said Robert Stack, Treasury deputy assistant secretary (international tax affairs), on February 20. The standards are part of the OECD's base erosion and profit-shifting project.
"My own instinct is that the template that came out is probably too many columns forwhat the risk assessment needs to be," Stack said, adding that tax authorities are just trying to get at a few high-level data points, namely income, taxes, and revenues, and maybe the number of employees and the property, plant, and equipment in a particular country.

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developmentwill issue three discussion drafts and hold four public consultations before the end of May as the organization ramps up its joint projectwith the Group of 20 nations on base erosion and profit shifting, an official announced.
Raffaele Russo, head of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration's BEPS project, gave a revised calendar for the items under the plan Feb. 20 at the Tax Council Policy Institute's tax policy and practice symposium. He said the OECDwill publish its discussion draft on tax treaty abuse March 17 and that stakeholderswill have until April 11 to submit their comments to the OECD. The organizationwill hold a public consultation April 14-15 on treaty abuse.

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The pending discussion draft on revamping the U.S. tax code from Houseways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) appears likely to include proposals on inbound, cross-border issues, one of his top aides said.
Simply put, there are inbound and outbound concerns even though the latter enjoy more visibility, Ray Beeman, tax counsel and special adviser for tax reform on the committee's majority staff, said Feb. 20 at the Tax Council Policy Institute's tax policy and practice symposium.

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Jim Flaherty, Canadian finance minister, continued the theme of recent yearswhen he delivered his 2014 Budget speech lastweek, focusing on improving the integrity of the country's tax system. He also announced measures that could see Canada acting unilaterally on issues being discussed at OECD level.

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The top tax executives from four major U.S. companies said a lower corporate tax rate is essential and Congress shouldwork to ensure corporations can remain competitive as discussions of a tax overhaul continue on Capitol Hill.
Representing FedEx Corp., Ford Motor Corp., Johnson & Johnson and Exxon Mobil Corp., the four officials shared a panel at a Feb. 19 Tax Council Policy Institute's tax policy and practice symposium.
Michael Fryt, corporate vice president of tax for FedEx, said a lower U.S. corporate tax rate is critical to help companies compete in an increasingly global economy. He said FedExwants to see a tax rate of 25 percent or lower, alongwith "strong capital investment incentives," such as 100 percent expensing.

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Lastweek Oregon Sen. Ronwyden became the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Even as a liberal Democrat, he has supported two key goals of corporate tax reform: reducing the U.S. corporate tax rate and repatriating corporate profits held abroad. Sen.wyden's challengewill be implementing these goalswithout increasing the federal debt.
Rather than fighting about political untouchables, legislators should change the tax treatment of foreign profits of U.S. corporations. Under current law, foreign profits are subject to a 35% U.S. tax, but that tax may be deferred indefinitely if those profits are kept abroad. U.S. corporations are sheltering almost $2 trillion in profits abroad, according to Audit Analytics.

For the op-ed, go here.

Finance ministers from France and Germany met in Paris today to discuss the future of the financial transaction tax (FTT).

For the story, go here.

Ending deferralwould be best for broadening the tax base, but Option Y as proposed in the Senate Finance Committee international tax reform discussion draftwould be better than shifting to a territorial tax system, international tax practitioner Jeffrey M. Kadet said in one of seven letters to the committee commenting on the draft.

For the letter, go here.

"There is a concern that transfer pricing isn't always able to be enforced."
What is surely the understatement of the yearwas uttered by Stevewrappe of EY at the International Tax Institute lunch in New York on February 18,where Natalie Hodapp, supervisory tax law specialist (transfer pricing), IRS Large Business and International Division,was the government guest.

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The Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation's base erosion and profit shifting project,while potentially controversial, should preserve the arm's-length principle and many other elements of U.S. law, an Internal Revenue Service transfer pricing official said.
Speaking Feb. 18 in New York at an International Tax Institute program, Natalie Hodapp, a supervisory tax law specialist in the IRS Transfer Pricing Practice, faced questions from practitioners onwhether the BEPS process for coordinating enforcement and improving transparencywould hurt U.S. interests.
However the BEPS process develops, Hodapp said, itwill "still be aligned by the arm's-length standard,"which should serve as its "primary driver."

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The Indian Revenue authorities have been trying to allege that contract service providers operating in India,whether providing IT, ITeS, BPO, contract manufacturing or toll manufacturing services, on a standalone basis or by themselves, constitute permanent establishments (PEs) of their foreign principal companies. This allegation is directed towards creating taxable income,which is over and above the income being generated by the contract services providers, and is despite the fact that their operations are being undertaken on a principal-to-principal basis.

In this backdrop, the Indian High Court's ruling in the case of e-Funds Corporation, USA and e-Funds IT Solutions Group, Inc., USA (hereinafter collectively referred to as 'e-Funds USA' or 'the foreign companies') comes as a silver lining. The foreign companieswere engaged in providing IT and IT enabled services, in respect ofwhich back office contract serviceswere performed by e-Funds International India Private Limited (e-Funds India) for the foreign companies, under a 'cost-plus' remuneration model. Overturning the decision of the Indian Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal), the High Court (HC) has ruled in favour of e-Funds USA and against the formation of any PEs,whatsoever, of the foreign companies in India.

For the report, go here.

The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development on February 13, 2014 released the Common Reporting Standard (CRS),which seeks to establish a new global standard for automatic exchange of financial account information between Governments.

Aswith the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the CRS model imposes obligations on financial institutions (FIs) to identify reportable accounts and obtain the accountholder identifying information that is required to be reported for such accountswith their local tax administration. It also provides the scope of the information to be collected and exchangedwith the accountholder's residency country.

While the documents released do not include any specific timelines,we understand that FIs in countrieswhich adopt the standardwill be required to undertake the necessary due diligence obligations in 2016with reporting starting in 2017.

For the report, go here.