Magazine
May 2018

Magazine Archive

The race to tax the digital economy

The OECD is seeking a global consensus to tax online companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, but the European Commission (EC) wants a quick fix while negotiations for a global plan take place. How do these digital tax plans compare?

Can South Africa’s tax authority rescue its credibility?

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has been rocked by scandals over allegations of corruption, leaving the future of Commissioner Tom Moyane and the credibility of the tax authority hanging in the balance. Experts wonder if taxpayers can still trust the SARS.
Q&A: Ex-Microsoft tax adviser Mike Bernard on data and the digital economy

Mike Bernard, former Microsoft tax counsel, talks to ITR about his experience at Microsoft, how the tax department functioned, and how he will help MNEs use data to be audit-ready in his new role at Vertex.
MNEs should restructure to enjoy China’s beneficial ownership tax treaty rules
Is the UK about to turn against the Big 4?
Goldman Sachs invests in Argentina after Macri’s tax reform
Digital issues and EU VAT reform take centre stage at ITR’s Indirect Tax Forum

The OECD’s David O’Sullivan opened ITR’s Indirect Tax Forum by talking about the role which web companies can play in collecting VAT and GST. Subscribers and delegates can download his presentation – and those of other speakers, including the EU’s Maria Teresea Fábregas – here.
Craving a bit of substance

I've never been one for fine dining. Don't get me wrong, I love flavour, freshness and fancy food, but to be honest I find myself in the same boat as the tax authorities. Something can be intricately and expensively assembled and put in front of me ever so politely, but what I really crave at the end of the day is substance.
The Brockman brief: Legal entity simplification: the time is now

As the US has tried to ‘level the playing field’ with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017, coupled with additional complexities and subjective interpretations around the world, it is time to reflect upon legal entity simplification.
Anti-profiteering and India’s GST: A double-edged sword

Bela Sheth Mao and Parul Anand of Deloitte India explore the anti-profiteering provisions in India’s GST law and make suggestions as to how businesses should deal with its effects.
Plenty on planners’ plates: Tax Planning Survey 2018

The US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and other countries’ responses to it, the BEPS project, various exchange of information agreements, incoming tax treaty changes and national elections are just a few of the obstacles ensuring that tax professionals have plenty of planning on their plates in 2018.
Americas: US tax reform overturns the old order

US tax reform has raised new challenges for investors looking to manage their tax liabilities. Josh White looks at how the landmark reforms have influenced tax planning across the Americas.
Asia-Pacific: Managing change and finding substance

The desire among companies to ensure their tax strategies align with their business objectives has not bypassed the Asia-Pacific region, but the task is not easy. Anjana Haines explores how creating a robust tax plan is costing sleepless nights for some tax directors.
Europe, Middle East and Africa: EMEA corporations restructure as tax planning enters a new era

The way tax planning is being done has been transformed for taxpayers and their advisers. Joe Stanley-Smith looks at how corporations across the EMEA region are restructuring to reduce the tax risks.
Special features - May 2018

Read this month's special features on Germany and Malta
Australia: Integrity measures impacting stapled structures, managed investment trusts and foreign investors
Canada: Tracking arrangement proposals: the foreign affiliate rules and segregated portfolio companies
Chile: Cryptocurrencies in Chile
China announces measures to liberalise financial sector and reduce VAT

Against a backdrop of continuing China-US trade tensions, Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 10, at the Bo'ao Forum for Asia, announced a 'four-point plan' for the further liberalisation of rules governing foreign investment in, and trade with, China.
Croatia: Tax relief: city of Vukovar and assisted areas
Cyprus: Cyprus updates DTAs and protocols and signs new ones
Hong Kong: China clarifies beneficial ownership requirements – how this impacts Hong Kong
Indian Supreme Court: dominant purpose of investment is irrelevant in determining whether expenditure is ‘in relation to’ exempt dividend income

Indian law provides that the dividends paid by domestic companies to their shareholders are liable to a dividend distribution tax at the company level. As a corollary, such dividends are exempt in the hands of shareholders, subject to certain exclusions.
Indonesia: Updates on corporate income tax allowance and AEOI
Italy: New definition of permanent establishment aligned with BEPS Action 7
Impact of MLI’s principal purpose test on Luxembourg's private equity sector examined

Companies, including those in the private equity sector, should consider the relevance of the PPT to their business operating models in the post-BEPS environment.
New Zealand: Court of Appeal considers double tax relief article in DTA with China
Poland: Digitalisation of VAT settlements
Serbia: Serbia joins Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information
South Africa: Budget 2018: tax and exchange control proposals
Spain: The Spanish Supreme Court ends discrimination against non-resident heirs outside the EU
Switzerland: Swiss Tax Reform Proposal 17: Swiss Federal Council submits dispatch to Swiss Parliament
US Inbound: Sale of partnership interest

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017 Act) overturned Grecian Magnesite v Commissioner, which held that the sale by a foreign person of its interest in a partnership engaged in a US trade or business was not subject to US tax.
Tax Relief

US tax returns, divine inspiration, Cardi B and poetry all feature in this month's less-than-serious look at recent tax news.
International updates - May 2018

The latest international updates from our correspondents around the world.