Anti-tax avoidance

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, Beneficial ownership, BEPS, Direct taxation, Financial transactions, Fund management, Ireland, MLI, OECD, Principal purpose test, Tax haven, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, United Kingdom, Withholding Taxes

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment
article 3(2), burden of proof, OECD Commetary, treaty interpretation, UN Commentary

Even before introduction of the BEPS PPT, the UK has had purpose-based provisions in various forms, designed to limit access to treaty benefits in its double tax treaties since the 1960’s. Its standard formulation first appeared in 1992.  Surprisingly, the first case in which the meaning and application of this wording in a tax treaty…

Abuse of law, Abuse of rights, Anti-tax avoidance, Corporate income tax, EU law, EU/EEA, Finance, GAAR, International Tax Law, M&A and Reorganizations, MLI, MNE Profits, Permanent Establishments, Principal purpose test, Principal/ancillary arrangements, Profit allocation methods, Tax Avoidance, Transfer Pricing, United Kingdom, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

When the UK introduced its diverted profits tax, I was telephoned by a lawyer at the US Treasury. He wanted to know whether the “just and reasonable” apportionment of profits, in certain circumstances where DPT applied, was a new development? What did it mean? I was reminded of that discussion this week as a result…

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, EU law, Finance, Financial institutions, GAAR, Indirect taxation, Principal purpose test, Tax Avoidance, United Kingdom

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Case law on thepurpose of transactions is starting to develop around the world. Is there a common pattern? Whether a financing structure was a “tax avoidance arrangement”  under  now repealed general anti-avoidance provisions of the New Zealand Income Tax Act 2004  was examined last month by the New Zealand Court of Appeal in Commissioner of…

Anti-tax avoidance, Beneficial ownership, EU law, EU/EEA, GAAR, Ireland, Permanent Establishments, State Aid, United States

(Taxdirector.nl)/ /Leave a comment

With the General’s Court ruling on July 15, 2020, a first step has been taken in the question whether the Irish government has provided Apple with State Aid. So far, the General Court has ruled that the Commission has not been able to prove that the Irish government has provided State Aid to Apple. The…

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, Double non-taxation, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, Mauritius, MLI, Netherlands, OECD, Principal purpose test, Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, United Kingdom

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

In last month’s blog I promised to address the treaty aspects of  Davies and Others v HMRC [2020] UKUT 67 (TCC). The case concerned UK resident individuals who each took out a life insurance policy with a Bermuda insurer under which their entitlements were linked to a Mauritian company that developed land in the UK….

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, International Tax Law, Principal purpose test, Tax Avoidance, Tax Treaties, Trusts and Estates, United Kingdom

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

We have all become familiar with the expression in the PPT set out in article 7(1) of the MLI and article 29(9) of the 2017 OECD Model  where “obtaining that benefit was one of the principal purposes of any arrangement or transaction”.  Discerning which is a principal purpose is one of the main challenges in…

Anti-tax avoidance, CFC, COVID-19, EU law, EU/EEA, International Tax Law, OECD, Principal purpose test

(Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law (ACTL) of the University of Amsterdam; Loyens & Loeff)/ /1 Comment

Many States have incorporated General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAARs) into their tax laws to prevent tax avoidance; within the EU, a GAAR is even mandatory for corporate taxation since 1 January 2019 (Article 6 of the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (EU ATAD)). States are recommended in the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital to…

Anti-tax avoidance, Arbitration, BEPS, COVID-19, International Tax Law, MNE Profits, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax risks, Transfer Pricing

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

In my last blog, I looked at the immediate impact of Covid 19 Lockdowns on key elements of double tax treaties – residence, permanent establishment and employment income. Many tax administrations have published guidance on their approach to these issues. Indeed, almost immediately after the OECD also published helpful comment on them too. The general…

Anti-tax avoidance, Dividends, Finland, Withholding Taxes

(Hannes Snellman Attorneys Ltd)/ /Leave a comment

Tax Administration Announces New Control Project The Finnish Tax Administration has announced that it will be tackling arrangements to avoid withholding tax on dividends. According to the Tax Administration, nominee-registered shares are subject to withholding tax avoidance also in Finland. The new control project investigates the extent of the phenomenon and plans to implement comprehensive…

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, BEPS, Double non-taxation, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, MLI, OECD, Principal purpose test, Residence, Substance, Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, Uncategorized, United Nations

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /1 Comment

The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the Tax Court of Canada decision in Canada v. Alta Energy Luxembourg S.A.R.L., 2020 FCA 43 (CanLII).   The case is of some significance because the Canadian Revenue Agency (“CRA”) sought to apply the Canadian domestic general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) in order to deny treaty relief. The…

Anti-tax avoidance, CFC, EU/EEA

(Joseph Hage Aaronson)/ /Leave a comment

It may well be said that George and Ira Gershwin’s simple and unforgettable line, “Let’s call the whole thing off!”, sums up the European Commission’s (“Commission”) view that the “wholly artificial arrangement” limitation in Cadbury Schweppes (C-196/04) does not apply to the CFC rule in Art 7(2)(b) of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (“ATAD”). It is…

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, BEPS, EU law, International Tax Law, Ireland, MNE Profits, OECD, Transfer Pricing

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Revised transfer pricing legislation set out in the Finance Act 2019 (No 45 of 2019), sections 24 to 27, represents a radical shift in the Irish approach to this area of international tax law. Transfer pricing legislation came somewhat later to Ireland than other OECD countries, having been first introduced in Finance Act 2010. The…

Anti-tax avoidance, BEPS, Double Taxation, India, MLI, OECD, Permanent Establishments, POEM, Principal purpose test, Residence, Tax Avoidance, Tax Treaties

(Tax Lawyer)/ /Leave a comment

India recently notified a Protocol that amends the India-China tax treaty and incorporates some of the OECD recommendations put forth as part of its BEPS project. The changes would apply from the 2020 financial year. The Protocol brings about serious changes to the tax treaty in several areas, including limiting treaty abuse, tackling artificial avoidance…

Anti-tax avoidance, Transfer Pricing

(International Tax Manager at Greentube GmbH and Tax Lecturer at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business)/ /Leave a comment

Nothing changed but the change Despite several changes were introduced to Chapter I and Chapter VI of the 2017 OECD Guidelines on intangibles in accordance with Actions 8-10 BEPS Final Reports to align taxing rights and value creation, those changes were not substantial to permit an application of the ALP that will prevent profit shifting…