There are several misconceptions in international taxation, some of them more pervasive than others. Many are often repeated by speakers at tax conferences without being contradicted. The first is the so-called interest deduction bias. It is not the main topic of this blog, but I will deal with it by way of introduction. The Interest…
Much changed in the world of taxation the last couple of years. The OECD started and finished the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit shifting) project. The objective of BEPS was to develop rules that would prohibit multinational enterprises to implement tax avoiding structures or tax evasive set-ups. The EU investigated the tax structures of Apple,…
A recent ruling in GE Money Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. v. DCIT, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has further contributed to the uncertainties in Transfer Pricing in India. The ruling is a drastic departure from international transfer pricing norms especially the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and UN Transfer Pricing Manual. Brief Facts GE Money…
Italy has embarked upon the challenging task of redesigning its tax system. The Act[1] of late November 2016 (hereinafter, “Act”) constitutes a best-practices example, or at least for our Country. The above Act illustrates the national fiscal policy for the coming 3-year period, i.e., for 2017 – 2019, specifying the primary objectives and the guidelines…
India has entered into more than 100 double tax avoidance agreements with foreign nations. Almost all these tax treaties contain an article on Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) setting out how India and its treaty partners would resolve, at the instance of the taxpayer, disputes that lead to “taxation not in accordance with the treaty.” International…
In the EU Commission’s view a tax ruling (hereinafter “APA”) confers on the beneficiary a selective advantage under Art. 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter “TFEU”) insofar as it leads to a lowering of the tax burden by deviating from the tax that the beneficiary would otherwise be obliged…
The European Union’s Court of Justice finally rendered its judgement in the famous Banco Santander and Autogrill cases on 21 December 2016. For state aid specialists and tax lawyers this decision was bound to be a landmark case whatever way it would turn out. In this decision the Court essentially had to decide on the…
On 24 November 2016, the OECD released the Multilateral Convention designed for the implementation of tax treaty measures related to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Project. The Multilateral Convention is backed up by an Explanatory Statement, which clarifies the approach adopted to modify the provisions of existing bilateral tax treaties. The Multilateral Convention…
“A camel is an animal designed by a committee” – Anonymous In launching the BEPS programme in 2013, the OECD warned that replacement of the current consensus-based framework by unilateral measures, could lead to global tax chaos marked by the massive re-emergence of double taxation (OECD: Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (2013))….
The recent appearance of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax treaty Related measures to prevent BEPS (the Multilateral BEPS Convention or the Convention)[1] rounded up the implementation of the treaty-related final BEPS package (actions 2, 6, 7, and 14) in one single document which will be open for signature as from December 31, 2016. A…
A global silver alert for fair and efficient tax systems is active already for a couple of years. The heated debate sparked all over the world has engaged national governments, NGOs, international organizations as well as each and every taxpayer – or tax evader. The EU has been driving the discussions and – most importantly…
Publication of text of The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS Convention) by the OECD on 24 November 2016 is one of the key milestones in the OECD/G20 Project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. The BEPS Convention will be open for signature from…
Volume 25 (2016) issue 4 contains: EDITORIAL: Han KOGELS, ‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and Value Added Tax in the Digital Economy’ ARTICLES: Pieter van OS, ‘Interest Limitation under the Adopted Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and Proportionality’ Abstract: This article scrutinizes the compatibility of the interest limitation rule the European Union (EU) legislature included in its anti-tax…
There are many things in life that we take for certainties, which are not, e.g. that it was the Scots that invented whiskey, the French champagne, or the Italians pizza. All not necessarily true. Similar certainties exist in tax and in transfer pricing. I recently had the honour of giving a training in France to…
