I want to talk about TP documentation. If what I say seems a little crazy, then at least of part of it is to be deliberately provocative. I attended a wonderful TP conference in London in March with many knowledgeable speakers, but one (shocking) question lingers in my mind. In a workshop, the workshop leader…
This is the first part of a series about numbers in transfer pricing. In this edition, I look at sticking the TP five methods on a typical profit and loss account (hereafter “P&L”). I find it curious that we do not see a lot more of this around, as I believe it is essential to…
(“Every in-house tax department should have their own IT/Financial systems capacity” – JHM, TP Minds London, 2015.) The unexpected benefit from country by reporting (“CbyC”) reporting is that tax departments may learn something about their own groups’ financial systems. What is there to learn? If you are in-house, answer these four questions: 1. Do you…
Introduction It has been a few weeks now since the Commission has made public its decisions in the FIAT and Starbucks cases. I understand that the Commission, the countries involved and the taxpayers are now going through the decisions themselves, agreeing on what information is too confidential to be published, before the actual – blacked…
So what were the other discussions at the UN from 19 to 23 October this year? One of the main topics is the continuing work on a withholding tax on technical services. The reason for developing countries is simple: it is a simple, effective way to protect the local tax base and prevent BEPS through…
It is the annual Session of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. This Ad Hoc subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) is responsible for the UN Model Double Taxation Convention and the Manual for the Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties between Developed and Developing…
Today at 2 pm the OECD announced the final BEPS action plan on a live webstreamed news conference. Though this was very high level, it did not seem as though the final versions of the 15 action plans contain any significant surprises. For me personally, I found the plans to ensure effective implementation the most…
This is another lone voice cry in the wilderness – I am getting used to that. By 9 September 2015, anyone who has an opinion about further corporate tax transparency in Europe, are invited to file it (or forever hold their peace?). Those opinions must not be filed with DG-Taxud, but the EU General Directorate…
On 17 June 2015, the Commission adopted a plan to relaunch the 3CTB (Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base), a common system for calculating the tax base of businesses operating in the EU. Except, it did not, it announced that it would start with a modified 2CTB (Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base) instead. ************** BEPS is…
Whoever thinks that a resident company’s income is protected from taxation in countries where it has no PE, is in for a rude awakening; it is not. The allowance for CFC rules in the OECD Model Convention (hereafter “MC”) commentaries is so all encompassing that it covers far more than just the taxation of a…
I ”grew up” believing that publications of the OECD are the bibles of taxation. They are scientific master pieces, tell you what to do and, like other holy books, are often open for multiple interpretations. My multiple contacts with the OECD over several years strongly nuanced that view. First, there were the invitations to congresses:…
On 14 August 2014 the Philippines Court of Tax Appeals (“CTA”) decided case no. 1041 regarding Goodyear. However, the underlying issue was already decided in March 2013 by the same court in case no. 8188. I first discuss both cases before giving my impressions. Case No. 8188 The facts First, a summary of the timeline…
