Accounting & tax: The global and local complexities holding multinationals to account

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Accounting & tax: The global and local complexities holding multinationals to account

Sponsored by

tmf-grouplogo.jpg
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to put tax at the forefront

TMF Group reports on the global accounting and tax landscape, examining the growth of the digital economy and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on markets worldwide.

Complying with local accounting and tax regulations is an ongoing challenge faced by businesses operating internationally.



The traditional, nexus-based taxation principles do not seem to apply in the new world, where physical flows are replaced by electronic flows and the tracking of goods and services becomes more complex. Consequently, corporate taxation has become a highly contentious topic in recent years. There has been increasing scrutiny on corporate approaches to international taxation, particularly in technology and e-commerce. Jurisdictions are also using taxation on foreign goods as a way of protecting their own economies, as has been seen in the US-China trade war.



The digital economy has become so significant for tax authorities that the OECD in July 2020 issued a global tax reporting framework for digital platforms in the sharing and gig economy, designed to help taxpayers comply with their tax obligations while ensuring a level-playing field with traditional businesses. Companies acting in this field are requested to provide detailed transactional information to tax authorities.



The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to put tax at the forefront, with changes introduced by governments to keep companies up and running and economies in motion. The global economic impact of COVID-19 will be long lasting and far reaching. As part of TMF Group’s reporting on the accounting and tax landscape, they also examined the impact of this crisis as the global economy continues to navigate uncharted territory.



In TMF Group’s Global Business Complexity Index (GBCI), three key themes summarise recent global trends:

  • Internationalisation versus localism with global standardisation harmonising some accounting and tax practices, while local complexities persist – and are even increasing – in some jurisdictions.

  • Modernisation versus tradition as global trends are based around a drive towards modern practices, whereas local considerations often reflect traditional modes of operation.

  • Technology’s role in fostering a globalised business environment and how this is being deployed and used for accounting and tax reporting around the world.


The five most complex markets:

 JURISDICTION 

RANK

 Argentina

 Bolivia

 Greece

 Brazil

 Turkey 

5


Drivers of complexity for the top five most complex accounting and tax jurisdictions are frequent, and rapidly enforced changes in legislation can often lack clarity and be challenging to understand. Another key driver is having varying tax regimes and multiple layers of tax regulations within a jurisdiction. This is particularly apparent in South America, which houses three of the five most complex accounting and tax environments.

The five least complex markets:

 JURISDICTION 

RANK

 Hong Kong SAR

73

 Switzerland

74

 Curaçao

75

 Denmark

76

 British Virgin Islands

77



The least complex jurisdictions for accounting and tax ‘partner’ with businesses that operate within them, establishing a relationship between companies and tax authorities. For some of the least complex jurisdictions such as Curaçao and the British Virgin Islands, there is very little requirement to pay tax as they operate a ‘low tax’ or ‘tax neutral’ economy. Any taxes that do need to be paid in the least complex jurisdictions can usually be submitted through an online portal via user-friendly systems. 



Read the full report here on TMF Group’s site



TMF Group

W: https://www.tmf-group.com/



more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Luxembourg’s reform agenda continues at pace in 2025, with targeted measures for start-ups and alternative investment funds
Veteran Elizabeth Arrendale will lead the new advisory practice, which will support clients with M&A tax structuring, post-deal integration, and more
MAP cases keep increasing, and cases closed aren’t keeping pace with the number started, the OECD’s Sriram Govind also told an ITR summit
Nobody likes paperwork or paying money, but the assertion that legal accreditation doesn’t offer value to firms and clients alike is false
Ryan hopes the buyout will help it expand into Asia and the Middle East; in other news, three German finance ministers have called for a suspension of pillar two
SKAT, which was represented by Pinsent Masons, had accused Sanjay Shah and other defendants of fraudulent dividend tax refund claims
TP managers must be able to explain technical issues in simple terms, ITR’s European Transfer Pricing Forum heard
Prudential had challenged HMRC over VAT group relief; in other news, Donald Trump unveiled timber and wood tariffs, and the European Commission published a ViDA implementation strategy
Australia’s CbCR rules have ‘widespread support’ and do not put American companies at a competitive disadvantage, the FACT Coalition said
Baker McKenzie advised two of the member firms involved, while several advisers provided transaction counsel to US-based Grant Thornton Advisors
Gift this article