2018

Using gross receipts instead of net income as the basis for the EU's proposed digital services tax (DST) may represent an effort to circumvent countries' treaty obligations, including the arm's-length principle and permanent establishment standard.

France supports the creation of a minimum tax imposed at the international level but alsowants the EU digital services tax plan to go forward, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the European Parliament.

Italy plans to force banks to spread over 10 years deferred tax assets stemming from mergerswith the view of raising 1.2 billion euros (1.1 billion pounds) in 2019 from the measure, a government source said on Tuesday. The government is looking forways to finance its expansionary 2019 budget and is targeting the financial sector to raise money.

In Brazil, the tax system is highly complex because it comprises too many taxes, mainly concentrated on consumption. Moreover, there are several taxing entities and different tax regimes - depending on the taxpayer's profile, products, activities, etc. - that, aside from the tax burden, result in an excessive cost for taxpayers to complywith many ancillary obligations. A proposal to amend the Brazilian Federal Constitution aims to promote extensive changes to the Brazilian tax system. According to the proposal, the federal excise tax (IPI), federal tax on financial transactions (IOF), federal social contributions on revenues (PIS and COFINS), Federal contribution for funding basic education, federal contribution on fuels (CIDE-Fuels), ICMS and ISS,would be substituted by one single federal VAT, the IBS. This consolidation taxwould be levied on transactionswith goods and services,whichwill be non-cumulative taxwith a broad tax credit system.

The U.K. government said it's still considering taxing U.S. tech companies to help fund efforts to combat the spread of fake news on the internet, and a recommendationwill be made before the spring.

Spain could be at the forefront of taxing digital companies like Alphabet Inc.'s Google starting next year if its minority government gets itsway.

Tupperware Brands Corp. and other multinationals are stillwranglingwith calculations on global intangible low-taxed income more than 10 months after the 2017 tax law's passage.

New Zealand is joining neighboring Australia in making online marketplaces like Amazon Inc. and eBay Inc. pay goods and services tax on for items sold on their platforms.

The European Union's proposed tax on digital companies is likely on safe ground, even in Germanywhere the taxwill hit the hardest, despite mounting questions over its legality.

Ireland plans to require U.S. multinational companies to have real substance in their Irish operations for intercompany-pricing purposes. The companieswould need to price the sale of goods and services between units of the group in away that ensures profits are allocated to countrieswhere value is actually created under 2017 OECD transfer pricing guidelines.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire rejected U.S. taxwriters' calls to abandon the EU's plan to tax digital companies like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Le Maire insisted it is the EU's right to set its own tax policy, and said the bloc must pursue its own economic and political interestsÔøΩjust as the U.S. didwith its tax reform in 2017.

U.S. banks are experiencing a lending lull as companies tap into their offshore cash thanks to last year's tax overhaul.

In this article, the author discusses value creation and international corporate income tax policy.

The IRS has already suffered one humiliating defeat in Starr International. Could another setback soon be in theworks? The answer depends on how an appellate court inwashington interprets the principal purpose test (PPT) as applied to the Switzerland-U.S. tax treaty.

Germany's finance minister is pushing for global minimum taxation to catch companieswith digital activities in the tax net, as opposition to an EU digital services tax (DST) proposal continues, most recently from U.S. senators.

The proposed global intangible low-taxed income regulations create an inside-outside basis disparity for consolidated groups, but practitioners might be able to persuade the IRS to revise the rules.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ronwydenwarned of "significant and growing concern" about a proposed EU digital services tax in a joint letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk.

A European Parliament committee has published a list of proposed changes to the European Commission's "significant digital presence" directive, including an amendment harmonizing tax rates and anotherwithdrawing the directive entirely.

If the IRS and Treasury are contemplating any changes to guidance on the transition tax because of criticism from the tax community, itwasn't reflected in the unbroken quiet of officials at a public hearing.

The Professional Publishers Association has pushed for Chancellor Philip Hammond to cut VAT on digital publications in his 2018 budget,whichwill be revealed later this month.

Tax and anti-corruption agenciesworldwide should step up collaboration and communicate more effectively, theworld Bank and the OECD said. Eleven countries allow tax and anti-corruption agencies to have "direct" info access, but communication between tax and anti-corruption officials is often on an ad hoc basis.

Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has proposed a global minimum rate of corporation tax coupledwith tougher measures to prevent tax evaders from stashing their profits in tax havens, newspaperwelt am Sonntag reported.

The acting head of South Africa's tax collection agency said hewas very concerned about the state of the organization,whichwas dogged by low morale and a lack of visionary leadership.

The prospects of the U.K. leaving the EU on March 29, 2019without a deal on its future trading relationshipwith the EU 27 member states continue to fluctuatewildly. Ahead of Brexit day, this article discusses some of the key tax-related matters that finance and tax directorswillwant to have thought about.

In this two-part article, the authors explore interdisciplinary approaches to valuing intangibles. In Part I, the authors briefly review the similarities and differences intangibles valuation for transfer pricing and financial statement purposes, focusing on purchase price allocation. Next, the authors address the conceptual differences that are fundamentally different between these two disciplines aswell as technical differenceswhen taxpayers are applying certain methodologies at the implementation level.

In this two-part article, the authors explore interdisciplinary approaches to valuing intangibles. In Part I, the authors briefly review the similarities and differences intangibles valuation for transfer pricing and financial statement purposes, focusing on purchase price allocation. Next, the authors address the conceptual differences that are fundamentally different between these two disciplines aswell as technical differenceswhen taxpayers are applying certain methodologies at the implementation level.

In this two-part article, the authors explore interdisciplinary approaches to valuing intangibles. In Part I, the authors briefly review the similarities and differences intangibles valuation for transfer pricing and financial statement purposes, focusing on purchase price allocation. Next, the authors address the conceptual differences that are fundamentally different between these two disciplines aswell as technical differenceswhen taxpayers are applying certain methodologies at the implementation level.

In light of the recent elevation of protectionism that created uncertainties and tension to international trade, the authors review the latest gap-bridging efforts between transfer pricing and customs valuation regimes in Part II of this article. In the first part of this two-part article,we explored the similarities and differences of the intangibles valuation between transfer pricing and financial statement purposes, focusing on purchase price allocation.

Tax authorities across theworld, dazzled by potential revenue, have taken notice of the cryptocurrency marketÔøΩdespite its many booms and busts. For tax authorities, the cryptocurrency market could be a rich source of revenue that has gone largely untapped.

Indian tax authorities are making the country an easier place to do business though foreign companies in India still face high tax rates and costly disputes.

The Senate's top taxwriters are urging the European Union to abandon its plan for a 3 percent tax on major digital companies like Facebook Inc., saying it discriminates against U.S. companies.

Ireland released legislation codifying its first controlled foreign corporation regime and other corporate tax changes as the European Commission released the government from a court action concerning Apple's receipt of allegedly illegal state aid.

The IRS has yet to decide fully on the scope of upcoming regs addressing previously taxed income (PTI), an area that has attracted increased attention following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97).

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholzwants a global minimum corporate tax to prevent companies from shopping around for tax havens, Handelsblatt daily reported.

The proposed regulations dealingwith revised foreign tax credit ruleswill likely be sent for review by October 19,with proposed regs on section 163(j) following soon after, according to Treasury officials.

Spain's Socialist governmentwants to introduce new taxes on big Internet companies and on financial transactions as away of paying for improved pensions and public services.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's shift toward a territorial tax system and its provisions on global intangible low-taxed income and foreign-derived intangible income increase incentives for U.S. companies to move jobs overseas and punish U.S.workers, according to an October report from the Joint Economic Committee Democrats.

Baker McKenzie has recommended a change to proposed transition tax regulations (REG-104226-18), urging that section 965(c)(1)(ii),which disallows certain foreign tax credits, be left out of the final regs because it exceeds Treasury's regulatory authority, resulting in an unauthorized taking of a tax asset granted to taxpayers by Congress.

A congressionally mandated fiscal board has said itwill closely evaluate the Puerto Rican government's latest tax reform plan,which the board said has the potential to "significantly impact" the island's revenues and tax structure.

Mineral resources harbor awealth of opportunity to improve the tax take of many developing countries, and the OECD is aiming to helpwith industry-specific recommendations concerning interest deductions, tax incentives, and valuation.

Negotiations on Gibraltar's future after Brexit have delivered "a fairly final protocol," but tax is one of several issues still to be resolved, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said.

The press has obtained a list of companies that the proposed EU digital services tax (DST)will reportedly target, but the European Commission has clarified that the listwas created for analysis purposes only.

The European Commission has recommended that EU member states use all available legal mechanisms to improve coordination in transfer pricing enforcement in an effort to reduce double taxation and nontaxationwithin the EU.

There are several options for addressing rules on the new branch basket in proposed regs on the U.S. foreign tax credit, but despite the regs' imminent release, it's unclearwhichway the IRS is leaning.

The IRS's proposed business interest deduction ruleswill address issues that could affectwhether a U.S. multinational decides to incur debt at the level of the parent or the controlled foreign corporation.

A few months before the interim proposal to tax U.S. tech companies more heavily, the European Union launched a colorfulwebsite designed to teach children about taxation. Announcing "Tax builds my future," the site cheerfully explains in shades of teal and hot pink that taxes pay for playgrounds and parks and encourages children to learn about taxes by doing internet searches, considering a scenario about intellectual property rights and digital music, and connectingwith TAXEDU on Facebook. The only thing missing is a chirpy directive to little Europeans to ask Alexa about taxation. Europe has a complicated relationshipwith U.S.-developed tech.

Italian tax officials visited the recent International Bar Association annual meeting in Rome to discuss tax administration. An OECD base erosion and profit-shifting project graduate, Paolo Valerio Barbantini, deputy director general of the Italian Revenue Agency, told participants that his agency is looking for an enhanced relationshipwith taxpayers and their representatives.

The OECD's base erosion and profit-shifting projectwas the first populist phenomenon, according to Raffaele Russo of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. Readerswill remember Russo as the OECD official in charge of BEPS. His audience, at the recent International Bar Association (IBA) annual meeting in Rome, could be forgiven for notwelcoming this observation.

The U.K. Diverted Profits Taxwas introduced to target unacceptable tax planning arrangements. How successful has it been?

Europe's highest courtwill likely still have sway on tax cases after Brexit, according to a report by the U.K. Parliament considering how disputes between the EU and U.K.will be resolved after Brexit.