2023

Mindy Herzfeld examines the history of the base erosion and antiabuse tax and considers options for its future.

Błażej Kuźniacki examines the interplay between taxation and international law by considering possible U.S. defense measures against the UTPR (formerly known as the undertaxed payments rule) and digital services taxes.

The U.N. tax convention negotiations should build on what was achieved in the OECD two-pillar plan discussions and implementation, according to South Africa's finance minister.

The EU Council’s Polish presidency reportedly has proposed three options to assuage U.S. concerns about the OECD's pillar 2 minimum tax rules.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah examines the history of IRS transfer pricing enforcement to provide context for the Coca-Cola litigation.

Developing countries should adopt taxes aimed at the digital economy, including digital services taxes, and band together to resist external threats against those measures, the South Centre told G24 nations.

The IMF has released a communiqué from the G24 regarding the navigation of international economic affairs among geopolitical and trade conflicts emerging from announced tariff policies; the communiqué notes that G24 members and the IMF are committed to working together to increase funds and promote sustainable, efficient tax reforms.

Tax incentives represented more than 50 percent of all government support for business research and development across most OECD countries and other major economies in 2023, according to OECD analysis.

Bertin Kiénou examines the terminations of double taxation agreements with France by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, and he explains how they could be harbingers of the future if unfair tax treaties are not renegotiated, particularly those involving the Global South.

Finding a politically acceptable and stable coexistence between the U.S. global intangible low-taxed income regime and the OECD pillar 2 rules is the Trump administration’s priority in OECD tax reform talks, a Treasury official said.

The United States and Italy have agreed that there should be a “non-discriminatory environment” for digital services taxation to encourage innovative tech company investment.

Karl Berlin explains the potential difficulties in taxing shipping income and vessel sales under the OECD’s pillar 2.

The White House has issued a joint statement with Italy regarding the United States and Italy's cooperation on a mutually beneficial partnership, noting that the two countries are prioritizing nondiscriminatory digital services taxation to attract technological investments.

Ryan Finley explains why the United States’ “reciprocal” tariff policy and U.S. tax unilateralism are a bad combination.

Members of the OECD inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting want to work with the United States to find a way forward on global minimum tax rules, the OECD’s tax head said.

EU ambassadors have asked the high-level working party on tax questions to discuss pillar 2 of the OECD’s global corporate tax project in light of the United States’ disengagement and to work out policy options.

Doubts have emerged about the compatibility of the pillar 2 administrative guidance released by the OECD inclusive framework in 2023 and 2025 and the EU’s pillar 2 directive, which was approved in 2022, observers say.

The United States has opened tariff investigations into pharmaceutical products and semiconductors to examine and resolve potential threats to national security.

Small, vulnerable countries should be exempt from new U.S. “reciprocal tariffs” because the new measures could devastate their economies without meaningfully affecting U.S. trade deficits or increasing U.S. revenue, according to a U.N. department.

Danielle Rolfes, Casey Caldwell, and Alistair Pepper explore some of the key issues presented by four retaliatory tax measures now under consideration by President Trump and Congress to respond to discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes imposed by foreign countries.

Antonio Lanotte explores the development of digital technologies in the EU as a means to boost sustainable competitiveness, support innovation, and drive a clean transition.

The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development published a report on April 14 analyzing the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on small and developing countries, including information on how more vulnerable countries would not significantly affect the United States' additional tariff revenue collections but would be disproportionately affected by high tariff rates.

Lee A. Sheppard examines the implications of the Trump administration’s tariff policy.

Jurisdictions in the OECD inclusive framework on base erosion and profit shifting, including the United States, have confirmed they will keep going with negotiations on the OECD’s plan to revamp the corporate tax system.

EU finance ministers showed that they're willing to consider retaliatory measures against U.S. tariffs after the European Commission floated the idea of a digital levy if negotiations fail.

Extending the transitional undertaxed profits rule safe harbor to ease U.S. concerns over pillar 2 would be easier under the EU directive than by granting the United States minimum tax equivalence, a Dutch official said.

 Larissa Neumann and William R. Skinner examine the Trump administration’s calls for action against countries with discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes in place; review recent important case law developments; and explore IRS rulings on the controlled foreign corporation group election under section 163(j), check-the-box, and proposed regulations for previously taxed earnings and profits.

The 50 largest Swiss groups will pay nearly $300 million for the 2024 financial year in Switzerland and elsewhere, far less than government expectations, according to a Deloitte Switzerland study.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah examines the history of worldwide combined reporting and its relevance today.

Germany’s mainstream political parties have pledged to cut corporate tax rates while supporting the OECD’s minimum tax plan as part of an agreement that lays out the framework for a governing coalition.

South Korea will introduce tax incentives for new car purchases and other measures to support the country’s automobile industry, which has been buffeted by sharply higher U.S. tariffs.

Lucas de Lima Carvalho explores the excess negative tax introduced in the model rules, which raises concerns about ability to pay and whether jurisdictions can tax “income” that constituent entities did not earn in the relevant fiscal year.

Giammarco Cottani and Nadia C. Altenburg explain the necessity for international consistency regarding taxation of software to avoid an escalating rift between technology-exporting and technology-importing countries.

Members of the European Parliament said EU competition rules are not a bargaining chip to avoid U.S. tariffs and that companies structured through tax havens should be barred from receiving state aid.

Joseph J. Thorndike examines how the United States, since the earliest days of its nationhood, has attempted to use tariffs to pressure Canada into becoming a U.S. state.

Advocacy group BusinessEurope urged the EU to consider the United States’ disengagement from the OECD’s global tax plan to ensure that the bloc’s pillar 2 implementation doesn’t expose its businesses to "geopolitical and economic retaliation."

Economists and trade groups alike are concerned that the uncertainty produced by Trump’s new round of tariffs will create trade barriers and detrimentally affect consumers.

Kerem Yener Toklu proposes an approach to estimate the distribution of returns for a tested party based on its entity- and market-specific factors, enabling the identification and statistical testing of economically significant risks while capturing the risk-return tradeoff.

Paul Poliakov explains the key features of proposed cloud computing transaction regulations and suggests how to simplify the rules to promote taxpayer certainty and reduce compliance problems.

The Spanish government has published in its official gazette regulations that implement its global minimum tax regime, covering administrative issues including tax calculations, information return filing, and penalties.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) officials have finalized a protocol to the 1994 CARICOM income tax treaty that would align the agreement with international standards for information exchange and dispute resolution, according to a March 31 release published on the CARICOM website.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has cataloged EU countries' taxes that it considers trade barriers hindering U.S. exporters in a report published ahead of President Trump's self-declared “Liberation Day.”

President Trump should stop negotiating with the OECD on the global tax deal but could continue talks to eliminate digital services taxes, but he should leave negotiations if United States interests aren’t addressed, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation said in a March 28 report.

Wes Cornwell, Ana María Romero, and Kirsten Speas examine the rise of tariffs in international trade and explain their effect on typical manufacturing models across four sectors of the economy.

Lee A. Sheppard examines regulations on the determination of taxable income or loss and foreign currency gain or loss regarding a qualified business unit.

In Part 2 of a series, Mindy Herzfeld suggests substantive changes to international tax rules necessitated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and later global tax developments, including pre-TCJA provisions that need revision and TCJA law changes not functioning as intended.

The IRS is highlighting a Department of Transportation appellate court decision as an “interesting” development following the elimination of Chevron deference, as debate swirls over reg writing authority based on a general rulemaking statute.

A U.N. framework convention for international tax cooperation could address solutions for the taxation of cross-border digital services, including withholding taxes on technical services.

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah examines President Trump’s “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” to impose reciprocal tariffs.

In Part 1 of a two-part series, Robert Goulder comments on the ability of U.S. taxpayers to challenge tariffs in federal court.