Expert Analysis

The latest international updates from our correspondents around the world.

It is stating the obvious to say that current international efforts to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) have attracted a great deal of global attention. Since the OECD and G20 countries, working together on an equal footing, adopted a 15-point action plan to address BEPS in September 2013, the focus on this issue has steadily grown. David Bradbury, head of the tax policy and statistics division at the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, and the man overseeing this aspect of the project, provides exclusive insight into an action point that has not always received as much attention as other items in the Action Plan.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been a huge success growing far beyond their initial function of tracking large liquid indices in developed markets. Global ETFs now hold more than $2.9 trillion of assets in upwards of 5,400 products listed on 60 exchanges. Marie Coady, financial services tax partner at PwC in Ireland, tackles the associated tax and regulatory challenges.

Join Grant Thornton and insightsoftware on April 23 for a free ITR webinar exploring how flexible tax software aligns with your existing processes, enabling smoother adoption, integration, and phased implementation across complex organisations

Join ITR for a free webinar on February 4 as senior tax practitioners from BDO India analyse a highly significant ruling by the Indian Supreme Court

Interview with Candy Ye Tang, tax and business advisory leader, Deloitte China

Antonio Ruiz and Alejandra Arguedas of EY Central America, Panama and Dominican Republic explain how tax, geopolitical factors, and trade agreements shape foreign investment in Central America, offering guidance for companies navigating the region

David Hamzah Damian of DDTC Consulting examines recent procedural changes in Indonesia’s tax disputes process and the Supreme Court’s stance on tax evidence, highlighting key implications for taxpayers facing audits, objections, and appeals

Eddie Morris, Josep Serrano Torres, and Jen Breeze of Deloitte compare transfer pricing controversies in the pharmaceutical and automotive sectors, highlighting how DEMPE functions, regulation, and intangibles drive both common themes and sector-specific challenges

Ahdianto Ah and Aditya Nugroho of GNV Consulting explain recent Indonesian tax reforms affecting business restructurings, treaty access, and enforcement

Ahdianto Ah and Aditya Nugroho of GNV Consulting summarise an extension of the government-borne incentive, new risk-based taxpayer compliance supervision rules, and revised mutual agreement procedure guidelines

Rabie Morsy and Ahmed Khalifa of Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz – Grant Thornton Egypt analyse the amendments and guidance, focusing on construction, commodities, exemptions, and practical compliance implications for businesses