Magazine
October 2011

Magazine Archive

OECD report revives tax avoidance debate
Reactions to the revised Energy Tax Directive

Environmental taxation has been a divisive issue in recent years. But if there was one strong conclusion at Green Budget Europe's annual conference hosted by the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen last month, it was that the EU's Energy Tax Directive (ETD) was not working effectively and that the Commission's proposed revisions were a welcome improvement.
PwC grows in the US
Quaghebeur leaves Vandendijk
KPMG US hire in Fort Lauderdale
Duane Morris & Selvam adds corporate practice director
Mazars adds to London office
Marccus Partners strengthens tax team
Japan’s finance minister seeks corporate tax cut
How the new UK-Hungary DTA will improve certainty
US reformers agree on need for lower corporate tax rate

The US Senate Finance Committee continues to debate and examine the tax code and recent hearings have sought to propose recommendations for reform to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, but so far the witnesses are only agreed on one thing: that the corporate tax rate should be lowered. Matthew Gilleard investigates.
Effects on ABS notes issued on securitisation transactions

The Italian government passed Law Decree No. 138 in August, which includes a number of fiscal measures aimed at allowing Italy to balance its budget in 2013, rather than in 2014, by way of reducing expenditures and increasing taxes. Fulvia Astolfi and Maria Cristina Conte of Hogan Lovells analyse the changes with a focus on the tax treatment of asset-backed securities.
Ukraine ready to challenge double tax treaty benefits

Oleg Chayka and Yulia Nogovitsyna of KPMG explain that prospective foreign investors will have to pay more consideration to beneficial ownership requirements and substance when structuring their investments in and transactions with Ukrainian businesses.
German tax reporting for foreign limited partnerships

Many private equity funds, including real estate private equity funds, will not fall under the reporting requirements under the German Investment Tax Act (GITA), but will qualify as limited partnerships under the general reporting requirements of the German General Fiscal Code (GFC), explain Simone Stockmar and Friederike Schmitz of Bödecker Ernst & Partner.
Is a UK viable general anti-avoidance rule possible?

The deadline for the latest review of the feasibility of a general anti-avoidance rule for the UK falls at the end of October. Georgina Colegate-Stone of Exeter College, Oxford takes a fresh look at the arguments for and against in the light of recent cases in the UK and elsewhere.
US profit shifting costing billions
GlaxoSmithKline files its arguments to Supreme Court of Canada
Checking out

When the OECD advertised its two top jobs in transfer pricing in May, International Tax Review was quick to secure final interviews. Sophie Ashley talks to Mary Bennett and Caroline Silberztein about their reasons for leaving the organisation, what they intend to do next and what they think will happen in their absence.
Mary Bennett is homeward bound
The show must go on

Earlier this year Caroline Silberztein announced she was leaving the OECD to become a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s Paris office. In a farewell interview, she discusses her time as head of the transfer pricing unit and how she expects it to progress.
Asia steps up transfer pricing enforcement

Tax authorities in Asia are releasing more transfer pricing rules and regulations faster than ever before. Understanding this changing landscape will have an impact on tax management in Asia. Penelope Velten of Velten Partners in Singapore unearths the raft of changes across the region and offers advice on how best to respond to what will be likely challenges.
Questions raised on the new UK patent box

Wendy Nicholls and Paul Smith of Grant Thornton UK welcome the new patent box proposals but believe the take-up may be limited because of the restriction to patents (rather than other intellectual property too), the highly complicated calculation of patent box profits, and potentially more favourable regimes within Europe.
Hong Kong Revenue appeals Li & Fung decision
James Hardie wins Australian GAAR decision
PE ruling highlights importance of detailed documentation
The growing powers of South Africa’s tax officials
Unanswered questions after Mayo

The US Supreme Court’s decision in Mayo earlier this year caught the attention of tax professionals. George Hani and Alan Horowitz of Miller & Chevalier, Washington, DC, argue that the full impact of the case will depend on the outcome of a new case addressing whether deference is owed to a more aggressive effort by the IRS to issue regulations with retroactive effect.
Tax planning challenges in Thailand

Companies looking to invest in Thailand need to think carefully about how they structure their business. With varying tax burdens and different impacts, Chanvitaya Suvarnapunya and Athistha Chitranukroh of DLA Piper run through the options available to taxpayers and offer insight on how to minimise the tax burden.
Czech Republic looks to raise VAT
How to prepare for India’s GST
Why environmental tax is topping the political agenda

Kai Schlegelmilch, vice president of Green Budget Germany/Europe speaks to Jack Grocott about environmental taxation, fiscal reforms and what Europe can learn from Asia’s green tax plans.
Are VAT rates reaching their natural peak?

This time last year, International Tax Review noted a trend in rising VAT rates around the world. Today that trend continues, but opposition is also increasing with calls for cuts in some countries, and new exemptions in others as governments look to stimulate sectors of their ailing economies. Salman Shaheen investigates.
How to streamline Spanish real estate investment structures

The economic and legal situation in Spain has turned some of the structures traditionally used by foreign investors to invest in Spanish real estate into inefficient and highly expensive tools to maintain. Víctor Viana Barral & José Gabriel Martínez Paños of Uría Menéndez outline the disadvantages of these structures and include a proposal for a more efficient alternative.
Albania: Fiscal Amnesty Law
Australia: New tax incentive program for investment in R&D
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Tax treaty with Austria
Brazil: Brazil announces new incentives to boost competitiveness of national goods
Bulgaria: Concept of permanent establishment
Canada: Significant amendments to Canadian foreign affiliate rules
Cyprus: Revised rules for intra-group loans through Cyprus
Finland: Court case concerning Finnish CFC law
Germany: Separate entity transfer pricing for PEs
FYR Macedonia: Norway treaty ratified
Mexico: New tax treaty with Hungary
Montenegro: New decree on criteria and methodology for determining the market value of real estate
Poland: Poland undergoes VAT reforms
Romania: Fiscal credit procedure in case of salary income
Serbia: Protocol with Czech Republic enters into force
US Inbound: Stop Tax Haven Abuse legislation reintroduced
US Outbound: Final and temporary regulations issued on structured passive investment arrangements
Tax relief

A monthly commentary on the notable facts, figures and goings-on in the tax world. Suitable items should be sent to taxrelief@euromoneyplc.com