Back in 2015, my first ever blog asked Does the UK Diverted Profits Tax help or hurt BEPS? Whatever the answer, the level of complexity and the challenges it brought to UK cross-border taxation cannot be underestimated. The recent decision of the UK Upper Tribunal in in Refinitiv Ltd and others v HM Revenue &…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Tsilly Dagan, GLoBE: The Potential Costs of Cooperation This article argues that the fact that the 2021 global tax deal (focusing on Pillar 2) is cooperative is not in itself proof of the deal…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Jeroen Lammers & Błażej Kuźniacki, The EU Solidarity Contribution and a More Proportional Alternative: A Study Under EU and International Investment Law This paper reviews the EU Solidarity Contribution that was recently introduced by…

Climate change and the use of natural resources present us all with a major challenge. We all have our part in it and we can all contribute to ensure that we do not live at the expense of future generations. Various reports and goals were agreed upon internationally (e.g. Brundtland Report and Sustainable Development Goals)….

Executive summary: When we look at the digital economy, we tend to think of it as a global, intangible and knowledge-driven system. However, the digital economy is not only driven by patents or trademarks – so-called “intangibles” – but also driven by “resources, data and labour”. Against the background of this incomplete understanding of the…

Energy security and energy prices have become one of the biggest economic challenges for the world right after the global pandemic. Commodity prices for coal, oil and gas increased sharply in 2022.[1] The soaring prices have generated abnormally high profits in the energy sector. In response, in September 2022, the European Union (EU) has agreed…

State aid law is closely linked to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) commitment to creating, maintaining, and strengthening a common market in which competition is not distorted. Precisely what characterises companies that form part of a group of companies (multinational or not) is that transactions carried out between them are…

“It follows that only the national law applicable in the Member State concerned must be taken into account in order to identify the reference system for direct taxation, that identification being itself an essential prerequisite for assessing not only the existence of an advantage; but also whether it is selective in nature.”[1] With this statement,…

On August 25, 2022, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals answered a fundamental question about advance pricing agreements (APAs): Is an APA a contract between the IRS and a taxpayer?[1] If it is a contract, is it subject to contract law? Circuit Judge John Nalbandian answered this question for the unanimous three-judge Appellate panel, opening…

On Thursday, August 18, 2022, Chief Judge Kathleen Kerrigan of the U.S. Tax Court published her 75-page decision on the Medtronic and I.R.S. controversy (“Medtronic III”).[1] This decision resulted from a remand by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Medtronic II”) of her original 144-page 2016 decision (“Medtronic I”).[2] The IRS and Medtronic had agreed…

Two years on since Chapter X of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (Chapter X) was published in February 2020, the practical transfer pricing aspects of financial transactions are due another look. While financial transactions were often ignored once put in place, administrative practice, case law, interaction with interest limitation rules and new guidance have elevated…

  A conversation on International Tax Practice culminated into an IFA webinar series on May 20th with global experts sharing their perspectives on landmark treaty and transfer pricing rulings delivered by Courts in various jurisdictions suggesting areas of alignment and divergence of principles. In an eminent panel moderated by Professor Robert Danon, Mr. Mukesh Butani…

Bram Markey – EMEA Leader Tax Controversy & Dispute Resolution at PwC Belgium Raphaël Devroye – Transfer Pricing Manager at PwC Belgium In a recent judgement[1], the Belgian Court of Appeal of Ghent ruled in favour of the taxpayer as regards a transfer pricing case in relation to intangibles. Even though the case is complex…

  On 20 May, 2021 the first Webinar of IFA’s online series “A conversation on International Tax Practice” was held. Chaired by Robert Danon (Chair IFA Permanent Scientific Committee), global experts shared their perspectives on India’s software royalty case and on landmark transfer pricing rulings delivered by Courts in various jurisdictions thereby suggesting alignment and…