Expert Analysis

With the European VAT Directive set for a drastic rewrite, Joe Stanley-Smith gets the inside line from the man who oversaw this year’s implementation of the place of supply rules, and takes in advisers’ views on how stakeholders will be affected.

Much time and attention has been devoted to planning for a post-BEPS world, from analysing systems that may need to be adopted to looking at how taxpayer-tax authority relationships are likely to change. But less has been said about the impact of BEPS deliverables on commercial contract documentation and the extent to which such contracts will be scrutinised. Jen Winterhalder, a solicitor in PwC Legal and Latika Sharma, a partner and head of PwC Legal’s intellectual property and commercial contracts team, focus on the importance of matching contract terms to commercial substance, both now and for the future.

Country-by-country reporting (CbCR) has been heralded as the solution to the perceived problem that existing accounts for multinationals do not, and cannot, provide a true and fair view of business. This month’s Brockman brief takes taxpayers through the proposed model CbCR template.

Jess Williams, Jimmy Man, and Olivier Hody of Deloitte explain how tax can be elevated from a post-close support function to a value-realisation tool in M&A transactions through quick wins and longer-term actions

Deloitte pillar two experts Chad Hungerford and Alison Lobb share their insights on the latest developments and practical issues that are emerging – and what may lie ahead

Dave Yaros, tax principal, Deloitte Tax LLP

Several South Korean transfer pricing cases have established clearer judicial standards emphasising robust comparability analysis and stronger functional and economic evidence. Yulchon tax partners provide practical insights for navigating the heightened requirements

Ichwan Sukardi and T Qivi Hady Daholi of RSM Indonesia examine how geopolitical conflict and economic volatility are reshaping transfer pricing risk and enforcement, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia and Indonesia

Monika Bieri and Daniel Schönenberger of Tax Partner use a Swiss lens to examine how workforce mobility is reshaping transfer pricing models, and why the location of key decision‑makers is becoming a critical tax risk

Federico Vincenti and Carola Valente Della Rovere of Valente Associati GEB Partners/Crowe examine a recent decision concerning the transfer pricing treatment of non-remunerated intra-group guarantees, focusing on economic substance, legal form, and group-level business justifications

The key changes under Budget 2025 and the outlook for 2026 raise several areas of heightened focus for taxpayers, say Matthew Kraemer, Adam N Unick, and Justin Ng of McCarthy Tétrault

The Tiger Global Supreme Court ruling weakens the status of tax residency certificates under tax treaties and increases substance‑based scrutiny, say S Vasudevan, Bharathi Krishnaprasad, and Krishna Laasya V of Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan