Int'l Tax News

 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.

The OECD on January 15 published a central record of legislation with transitional qualified status, providing information on the member jurisdictions whose implementation of the global anti-base-erosion model rules has been deemed consistent with the OECD's standard during a transition period.

The OECD on January 15 published a guide on how to complete the global anti-base-erosion information return, including a template that can be used to alert member jurisdictions that they will receive the returns through the exchange of information procedures.

Scott Besent, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice to be Treasury secretary, will be in charge of steering the president’s economic agenda if confirmed by the Senate.

The US has a critical decision to make in the near future over whether it will continue to negotiate at the OECD and see through the work on the global minimum tax, a top Treasury official said Thursday.

Ryan Finley explains why Treasury and the IRS likely have the statutory authority to make a simplified approach to baseline distribution mandatory.

The second Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress are poised to oppose the OECD’s global minimum tax rules, and countries shouldn’t ignore the policy shift, according to House Ways and Means Committee member Ron Estes, R-Kan.

Doron Narotzki and Vered Narotzki argue that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s short-term economic stimulus has been overshadowed by mounting fiscal challenges and unfulfilled promises. They highlight concerns about the sustainability of extending the expiring provisions without addressing revenue shortfalls and call for a targeted restructuring of the TCJA provisions to prioritize long-term fiscal stability over short-term political gain.

The OECD on Wednesday provided an update with a list of countries that have implemented minimum tax legislation that meets the secured transitional qualified status.

Certain deferred tax expenses will be excluded from transitional global minimum tax calculations under new OECD guidance, in an effort to prevent taxpayers from manipulating such calculations.

EU member states are discussing legal ways to ensure that any future changes to the OECD’s standard global anti-base-erosion information return that are implemented through the EU administrative cooperation directive can be introduced quickly.

Concerns from some jurisdictions about a key part of the amount B transfer pricing simplification framework remain a hurdle in finalizing an agreement on pillar 1 of the OECD’s two-pillar global tax reform plan.

 Pillar 2’s global minimum tax “will secure a broad level of protection against harmful tax competition and aggressive tax planning” and some EU antiabuse rules should be simplified or abolished, Germany and the Netherlands said.

Hilary B. Miller explains the basis on which a foreign tax is creditable for U.S. taxpayers and applies the reasoning to France’s social charge called the cotisation subsidiaire maladie.

The OECD on January 13 published a working paper on the relationship between multinational enterprise business functions and effective corporate taxation using country-by-country reporting data from 2017-2021, finding that business functions are effectively influenced by tax incentives and antiavoidance rules and that tax has less influence on corporate decisions regarding routine functions such as manufacturing and sales.

The OECD inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting's co-chairs issued a statement January 13 about the current state of pillar 1 negotiations, reiterating its commitment to ironing out the concerns that member jurisdictions have regarding amount B provisions and reaching a finalized agreement.

Lee A. Sheppard considers what happens to basis in dividend equivalent redemptions involving controlled foreign corporations with earnings and profits representing previously taxed earnings and profits, a problem Treasury plans to address in future rulemaking.