Abuse of law, Beneficial ownership, Double Taxation, EU/EEA, International Tax Law, OECD, Substance, Tax Avoidance, Tax Treaties

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /3 Comments

The judgements of the CJEU in N Luxembourg 1 v Skatteministeriet (Case C-115/16) and joined cases and in T Danmark (Case C-116/16)  and another joined case, on 26 February 2019, once again addressed numerous controversies over meaning of the term “beneficial ownership”. The court’s concern in N Luxembourg was qualification for relief from withholding tax…

Finance, OECD, Transfer Pricing

and (Tax Policy Center of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland)/ /Leave a comment

1. Purpose of the blog Intra-group guarantees are usually used by companies within the same multinational enterprise to obtain beneficial conditions for funding arrangements. For instance, lower interest rates due to the decreased level of the credit risk assumed by the lender (such as a bank) or/and extended borrowing capacity. In this blog, we will…

Tax Treaties

(Partner Cuatrecasas Madrid) and (Tax Associate Cuatrecasas)/ /2 Comments

The classic issue of dynamic versus static interpretation of tax treaties arises again. Not only is this a hot topic in the international tax arena, but it is also a permanent pain in the Spanish Supreme Court’s neck since its judgment on the Julio Iglesias case of June 11, 2008 (available here). In that case,…

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

( PwC Netherlands, Lazarski University and Singapore Management University)/ /Leave a comment

This second and last part of the contribution concentrates on the present and future of artificial intelligence (AI)[1] and tax law. Let us see if AI can be happily married with tax law in order to get the best of both worlds. Present: Assisting Rather Than Replacing of Tax Lawyers All of the features that…

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

( PwC Netherlands, Lazarski University and Singapore Management University)/ /Leave a comment

According to recent research’s prediction,[1] global GDP could be up to 14% higher in 2030 as a result of various artificial intelligence (AI)[2] applications, which is the equivalent of an additional $15.7 trillion. It makes AI oriented sectors the biggest commercial opportunity in the currently supersonic fast changing economy. This contribution, perhaps surprisingly, does not…

Germany, MNE Profits, Tax Policy

, (University of Muenster)/ /Leave a comment

According to an undisclosed policy paper that is currently circulated within the OECD, the German government is promoting an internationally coordinated reform of corporate taxation. Specifically, Germany proposes an effective minimum tax on the profits of multinational companies. Complex, easy to manipulate and unfair – there is widespread discontent with the current system of international…

EU/EEA, International Tax Law

(International tax professional)/ /2 Comments

As we approach the halfway mark between the 2018 IFA conference in Seoul and the 2019 one in London, I want to clear up some issues around “Business” as in stakeholders in tax discussions. Classically these stakeholders are “Government”, “Academia” and “Business” (plus the last 10 years “Civil society”). So, who should “Business” be? Setting…

Italy

(Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law (ACTL) of the University of Amsterdam; Lund University)/ /1 Comment

The Italian Stability Law for 2019 finally approved on 30 December 2018 has introduced a new art. 24-ter in the Income Tax Act (ITA). It includes a substitute tax of 7%, in lieu of ordinary taxation, on all non-Italian-sourced income earned by foreign pensioners transferring their tax residence in the southern regions of Italy. The…

Cyber-Diplomacy

(Crowe Valente/Valente Associati GEB Partners; Link Campus University, Rome)/ /Leave a comment

For thousands of years the human species was constrained to limit its activities and creativity in the planetary space. Today, the Digital Revolution has opened a new space: the cyber-space, removing the limits once and for all. Cyber-space is understood as a virtual world, a notional environment existing in and due to the network of…

BEPS, International Tax Law, MAPs and APAs, Transfer Pricing

(Tax Lawyer)/ /1 Comment

Transfer pricing cases in India are estimated to account for more than half of the world’s transfer pricing disputes. Prolonged transfer pricing litigation due to overburdened courts and tribunals is a sad reality for many companies doing business in India. The consequence is that a cloud of uncertainty constantly hangs over cross-border, intra-group transactions routinely…

Intertax

(General Editor of Intertax)/ /Leave a comment

Intertax issue 12 is available and I am delighted to share with the reader the topics dealt with in the issue. In my editorial, “Taxes and Competiveness: How Much Competitive Is European Tax Competition?”, I critically address some of the topics discussed on the Platform for Tax Good Governance at its meeting after the summer…

BEPS, MAPs and APAs, OECD

(Bond University)/ /Leave a comment

On 30 August 2018 the OECD released the fourth round of BEPS Action 14 peer review reports on improving tax dispute resolution mechanisms. Included in this round was a report on Australia. The report concluded that Australia meets part of the elements of the Action 14, and in particular meets some of the requirements regarding…

Intertax

(General Editor of Intertax)/ /Leave a comment

I am delighted to share the contents of Intertax issue 11 with our readers. My editorial entitled “Profit Splitting and the Aspirational Arm’s Length Principle” discusses the (in)adequacy of the arm’s length principle, mainly or almost exclusively based on comparable transactions among unrelated parties, in cases where comparable transactions do not exist, in order to…

EU/EEA, State Aid

(Crowe Valente/Valente Associati GEB Partners; Link Campus University, Rome)/ /Leave a comment

Following three years of investigation, McDonald’s has been cleared from the charge that it received fiscal state aid from Luxembourg, by virtue of the European Commission’s concluding decision of 19 September 2018. Thus, the Commission seems to have closed one of the various fronts opened in the fiscal state aid area in the last five…