On 16 February 2017 the Public Consultation on the proposed introduction of rules at EU level to disincentivize promotion of aggressive tax planning schemes was closed. The rules under consideration focus on a Mandatory Disclosure Regime (MDR) – referred to also as a Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime. Under such rules, tax advisers…
The Italian Supreme Court issued a landmark case (n. 27113 December 2016) setting out the principles to be taken into account when analyzing whether a company can be deemed the “beneficial owner” for the purpose of being entitled to double tax treaty benefits. In particular, the Italian Supreme Court examined whether a company resident for…
In March, 2015, in wrote in this same pages: “The BEPS Project is subject to internal (inherent) risks (tight schedule, quality of outcomes, jurisdictional overlapping) as well as external risks (potential breach of the Nations’ compact behind a common goal due to competing interests, and misaligned, premature and unilateral actions by States) which might conspire…
Tax treaty negotiators in 100 countries will be tied up over the next few months with the challenge to evaluate their positions on the BEPS Multilateral Convention (BEPS Convention) with a view to participation in the signing ceremony scheduled for 7 June 2017 in Paris. The many options offered by the BEPS Convention make it…
On February 1, 2017, India’s Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, presented the country’s 2017-18 Budget, which contains several tax proposals in the area of international tax law, including the introduction of a new provision to provide for transfer pricing secondary adjustments and new thin capitalization rules. The Budget also contains much-needed clarity on the tax treatment…
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))….
