Online platforms are an important part of the digital economy and one of the key enablers of the tremendous growth of the e-commerce sector. According to data published by Ecommerce Europe, business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce turnover in Europe is worth over EUR 621 billion and continues to grow at around 13%.[1] This is quite fast considering…
The Spanish government approved, on 18 February 2020, a bill for a digital service tax (DST) for discussion by the parliament[1]. The current government has a majority consensus on the new tax with the rest of the political parties, and it is, therefore, very likely to pass the bill. Background: EU Proposal The Spanish Digital…
In my previous post, I had discussed the judgment delivered in the case of Elsevier Information Systems Gmbh v. Dy. Commissioner of Income Tax which discussed the liability of the taxpayer when it charges a subscription fee from the customers for rendering access to its database. It seems that the Income Tax Department has still…
This is not a technical commentary. It does not react to a ‘new’ development or case. But these comments do try to focus on understated rudiments of the present international tax debate which may not have received the focus and direct unvarnished attention they deserve.[1] We would do well to remember, as we seek solutions…
On February 1, 2020 India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Government’s Union Budget for the year 2020-21. With its continuing promise of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025, the budget announcements contained a host of reforms to obliterate the seeping fears regarding prospects of the Indian economy with focus on agricultural, rural…
The magnitude of the so-called Pillar 1 of the OECD Unified Approach to address the tax challenges of the digitalization of the economy should not be underestimated, especially after the endorsement by the Inclusive Framework that took place last week. Specifically, under the name of “Amount A”, the proposal entails the creation of a new…
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…
The benefit principle is widely known as a traditional justification for the imposition of taxes. Broadly speaking, it has customarily implied that taxpayers ought to contribute to government in proportion to the benefits obtained from government institutions and programs[1]. Today, the usefulness of the traditional version of the benefit principle appears to be confined to…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: The editorial by Roland Ismer on A Union that Strives for More Also in the Area of Taxation: Tax Measures in the Incoming Commission’s Political Guidelines. Marco Greggi, Rise and Decline of the Westphalian…
We are happy to inform you that the issue 1, 2020, of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: My editorial, on The OECD Unified Approach and the New International Tax System: A Half-Way Solution. A Guest Editorial by Maarten Floris de Wilde: On the OECD’s ‘Unified Approach’ as Frankenstein’s Monster and…
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…
In the year 2017, the Indian Parliament enforced “The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017” [hereinafter “CGST”]. The purpose of the Act was to make a provision for levy and collection of tax on intra-State supply of goods or services or both and for other incidental matters by the Central Government. Subsequent to the…
Introduction In an unexpected move, the Mexican government and legislative introduced a sweeping tax reform for 2020, introducing mostly anti-abuse and anti-base erosion rules (the “Reform”). In one shot, the Reform introduces mandatory disclosure rules; a general anti-abuse rule; BEPS Action 7 permanent establishment definition into domestic law; an interest expense deduction limitation based on 30%…
The Change of Scenery On 1 December 2019, the von der Leyen Commission took over for the coming 5 years, and it is called to deliver on a most challenging mandate. The European identity is questioned more than ever before, with Brexit being just one of the several signs. The established structures of the EU…
