International

  • April 10, 2024

    IRS' DOJ Referral Rules 'A Disaster,' Sen. Whitehouse Says

    The IRS protocols for referring cases to the U.S. Department of Justice are "a disaster" for enforcing laws against bankers and other actors who help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Wednesday during a hearing on offshore tax evasion before the Senate Budget Committee.

  • April 10, 2024

    Belgium's Anticipated Green Tax Break Carries Some Doubts

    A proposal working its way through the Belgian Parliament would create opportunities for investors in green and sustainable technologies, but questions about the long-term durability of the measure, which would offer an expanded deduction for such investments, could weigh on its popularity and effectiveness.

  • April 10, 2024

    EU Gave €46B In State Aid As Tax Breaks In 2022

    European Union countries gave their companies tax breaks worth about €46 billion ($49.4 billion) in state aid in 2022, some to weather the fallout from the Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic and other aid to promote infrastructure projects or environmental protection, a European Commission report said.

  • April 09, 2024

    Treasury Proposes Long-Awaited Stock Buyback Tax Rules

    The U.S. Treasury Department proposed a pair of long-awaited rules Tuesday that detail the calculation and reporting of a new excise tax assessed to publicly traded corporations that recently bought back their own shares of stock on the open market.

  • April 09, 2024

    Healthcare Co. Can't Sue Ex-Exec For Causing Canada Tax Hit

    A Colorado federal judge shot down a pharmacy automation company's suit alleging its former chief commercial officer cost it nearly CA$1.2 million ($907,000) in Canadian taxes by not telling his employer he had moved out of the country, saying the company hasn't shown it suffered any damage as a result.

  • April 09, 2024

    Poland Adopts Digital Platform Reporting Rules

    Poland's Council of Ministers approved a measure Tuesday implementing the European Union's tax information reporting procedures for digital platform operators, known as DAC7, the country's tax authority said.

  • April 09, 2024

    UK Court Affirms Sweet VAT Ruling For Jumbo Marshmallows

    Jumbo-size marshmallows are not candy like regular marshmallows because they're meant to be roasted, so they qualify for a value-added tax exemption for food, the U.K. Upper Tribunal ruled in upholding a lower court's findings.

  • April 09, 2024

    BCLP Says It Had No Obligation To Man's Family In Tax Fight

    Global law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner was under contract to represent only a family's patriarch and thus shouldn't be liable for taxes resulting from advising him to transfer £242 million ($307 million) in assets to his wife, then to his sons, the firm told a London court.

  • April 09, 2024

    France, Luxembourg Extend Old Tax System To 2023 Income

    French residents working in Luxembourg don't yet have to account for a new system for avoiding double taxation included in an updated treaty between the two countries, but there will a final extension for the previous system, the French finance ministry said Tuesday.

  • April 09, 2024

    Greece Adopts Global Minimum Tax Directive After Pressure

    Greece has officially implemented the global corporate minimum tax spearheaded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, after being reprimanded this year by the European Commission.

  • April 09, 2024

    EU Lawmakers OK Revised Deal On Imports From Ukraine

    European Union lawmakers agreed on a revised deal to extend the suspension of the bloc's customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian imports until June 2025 after some EU countries had rejected a previous deal.

  • April 09, 2024

    Adviser Group Wants Limitations Added To EU Disclosure Law

    A group that represents tax advisers in Europe said Tuesday that it wants the European Union's executive branch to add limitations to a major disclosure law designed to combat cross-border tax evasion, saying the law puts too high a burden on them.

  • April 09, 2024

    Labour Party Pledges £5.1B Tax Crackdown If Elected

    Britain's opposition Labour Party pledged Tuesday to raise £5.1 billion ($6.5 billion) by closing tax loopholes and cracking down on tax avoidance schemes if it wins the next election, expected later this year.

  • April 08, 2024

    Tax Court Upholds $11M In Foreign Reporting Penalties

    The U.S. Tax Court on Monday mostly upheld $11 million in foreign reporting penalties against a man who admitted he hid money overseas, but the court declined to overturn its ruling that the IRS lacks authority to assess certain foreign reporting penalties.

  • April 08, 2024

    CPAs Want Treasury To Delay Beneficial Ownership Registry

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury should delay enforcement of beneficial ownership information reporting requirements while courts hear cases challenging the Corporate Transparency Act, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and 54 state CPA societies said.

  • April 08, 2024

    Siblings Sentenced Over £1M UK Film Tax Fraud

    Two brothers who fraudulently filed for more than £1 million ($1.3 million) in U.K. film and value-added tax refunds for movies actually made in the U.S. — and in one case, never existed — were each sentenced Monday to seven years in prison, HM Revenue & Customs said.

  • April 08, 2024

    EU Tax Single Filing Would Aid Small-Biz Trade, Official Says

    A proposal allowing small businesses in the European Union to file a single tax return with the administration of the business' head office as opposed to with every member country where the entity does business would cut compliance costs and encourage trade, an EU official said.

  • April 08, 2024

    EU Expansion Question Shines Light On Tax Voting Procedure

    The question of whether the European Union should expand beyond its current 27 member countries is putting the spotlight on the bloc's voting practices, raising concerns that the current unanimity requirement for tax policy changes would become unmanageable with a larger group.

  • April 05, 2024

    Monopolies Will Raise Prices Under Minimum Tax, Expert Says

    The 15% global minimum tax will worsen the problems that monopolistic companies impose on economies because raising taxes on a company that lacks competition will lead it to raise prices, an academic expert on tax havens said Friday during a conference.

  • April 05, 2024

    Ireland Issues Example Of Dividend Exemption Proposal

    The Ireland Department of Finance released a hypothetical example Friday to help guide further discussions on the country's planned implementation of a participation exemption from Irish corporation tax for foreign dividends.

  • April 05, 2024

    Irish Finance Dept. Seeks 2 Sovereign Funds For Tax Surplus

    The Irish Department of Finance introduced a bill that would establish two sovereign wealth funds in Ireland as a way to take advantage of the country's surplus generated in part by corporate windfall taxes.

  • April 05, 2024

    Contrasts Emerge Between Taiwan Tax Bill, Regular Treaties

    A bill pending in the Senate would lay the groundwork for double-tax relief and other treaty-like arrangements with Taiwan, but the unique legislative process and relatively reduced content could cast uncertainty over the unofficial accord's ultimate fate.

  • April 05, 2024

    UK Urges Delay In Claiming Pensions Until Rules Change

    The U.K. tax authority has warned people to delay claiming their pensions until after Saturday, when the lifetime allowance is abolished, while the government clarifies technical changes to the legislation.

  • April 05, 2024

    EU Executive To Probe Complaint About Hungarian Retail Tax

    The European Commission will look into a complaint it received about a Hungarian tax on the retail sector, the European Union's executive branch confirmed Friday.

  • April 05, 2024

    18 Crime Gangs Specialize In VAT Fraud, Europol Says

    Eighteen major criminal gangs in the European Union specialize in value-added tax fraud, having end-to-end control over the entire criminal process, the EU's law enforcement agency said Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Takeaways From IRS Reversal On FDII Stance

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    The Internal Revenue Service's recent memo regarding allocation of deferred compensation expenses for purposes of foreign-derived intangible income is a departure from the agency's previous position and may have implications beyond the context of deferred compensation, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • New Tax Decree Suggests Expansion In Dutch Transfer Pricing

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    A July 1 decree from Dutch tax authorities updating transfer pricing guidance heralds a major change in how intercompany financial transactions are considered for transfer pricing purposes and forebodes significant audit activity, say Monique van Herksen and Clive Jie-A-Joen at Simmons and Simmons.

  • Is NJ's Voluntary Transfer Pricing Initiative Really Voluntary?

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    The New Jersey Division of Taxation's voluntary transfer pricing audit initiative promises penalty abatement to taxpayers that elect to participate and agree to the division's proposed adjustments, but the effective penalties associated with nonparticipation raise questions about the program's voluntary nature, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Global Tax Chiefs Should Look To US Whistleblower Programs

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    As the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement develops its international whistleblower program to address tax evasion and money laundering schemes in new areas like cryptocurrency, it should take lessons from highly successful U.S. programs on which features to include and pitfalls to avoid, say Neil Getnick and Nico Gurian at Getnick & Getnick.

  • What Microcaptive Reporting Ruling May Mean For The IRS

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    In CIC v. Internal Revenue Service, a Tennessee federal court’s decision to set aside an IRS requirement to disclose microcaptive insurance arrangements may be a step toward evidentiary standards to show that the potential for abuse in a lawful transaction is sufficient to support heightened disclosure requirements, says Samuel Lauricia at Weston Hurd.

  • US Should Leverage Tax Rules To Deter Business With Russia

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    The U.S. should further restrict the flow of resources available for the Putin regime's war in Ukraine by denying U.S. businesses that operate in Russia or Belarus foreign tax credits and global intangible low-taxed income preferences, and by terminating its tax treaty with Russia, says Reuven Avi-Yonah at University of Michigan Law School.

  • Justices Must Apply Law Evenly In Shadow Docket Rulings

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    In recent shadow docket decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has inconsistently applied the requirement that parties demonstrate irreparable harm to obtain injunctive relief, which is problematic for two separate but related reasons, says David Hopkins at Benesch.

  • US Investors Stand To Benefit From Brazil's New Forex Law

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    Brazil's New Foreign Exchange Law facilitates negotiations and reduces bureaucracy for foreign investments, making it a good time for U.S. investors looking for projects with a positive environmental, social and governance impact to allocate funds to Brazilian energy and infrastructure, say Jorge Kamine and Juliana Pimentel at Willkie.

  • A Landmark UK Enforcement Case For Crypto-Assets

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    HM Revenue and Customs' recent seizure of nonfungible tokens from three people under investigation for value-added tax fraud promises to be the first of many such actions against crypto-assets, so investors should preemptively resolve potential tax matters with U.K. law enforcement agencies to avoid a rude awakening, says Andrew Park at Andersen.

  • Simplifying Tax Issues For Nonresident Athletes In Canada

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    Tax compliance can be particularly challenging for nonresident professional athletes playing in Canada, but as NHL contract negotiations approach a close, it's worth looking at some ways the tax burden can be mitigated, say Marie-France Dompierre and Marc Pietro Allard at Davies Ward.

  • Steps For Universities As DOJ Shifts Foreign Influence Policy

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    Notwithstanding Wednesday's U.S. Department of Justice announcement terminating the initiative targeting Chinese influence and raising the bar for criminal prosecutions, universities should ensure their compliance controls meet new disclosure standards and that they can efficiently respond to inquiries about employees' foreign connections, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Why I'll Miss Arguing Before Justice Breyer

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    Carter Phillips at Sidley shares some of his fondest memories of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer both inside and out of the courtroom, and explains why he thinks the justice’s multipronged questions during U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments were everything an advocate could ask for.

  • Corporate Reporting Considerations As Tax Meets ESG

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    With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing season upon us amid increasing pressure for greater transparency around effective tax rates and tax strategies, multinational companies must decide how they will approach voluntary tax reporting and prepare their responses if they want to control the narrative, say Michael Lebovitz and Jenny Austin at Mayer Brown.

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