Magazine
June 2013

Magazine Archive

Deals of the month

See who has done the tax work on this month’s biggest deals.
Sirotta returns to Ernst & Young
Susan Repo joins Tesla Motors as head of global tax
Paynter reaches partnership at Herbert Smith Freehills
Doug Thomas is PwC’s new tax leader for US east coast
Sieber is new head of tax at Bilfinger
Intuit hires Williams as chief tax officer
PwC US expands International Tax Services practice
Osterberg departs Vinson & Elkins for Mayer Brown
Ellliott takes CLSA tax role
Juggins takes Unilever tax role
ECJ’s ruling on Spanish exit tax creates uncertainty for MNCs
SAT clarifies companies’ secondments in China
How to redefine the alphabet soup of international tax?

Lesley Holstead, former tax controversy and transfer pricing strategist for a large multinational company, offers a simplified guide to some of the interlocking issues that led to the BEPS review.
Exploring the intricacies of the Argentina-Spain tax treaty

The new double tax treaty between Argentina and Spain has been in place for more than two months, having been signed in March (with retrospective effect to January 1 2013) after the unexpected termination of the old accord. Guillermo Teijeiro, of Teijeiro & Ballone Abogados, looks at why the old treaty was replaced, and analyses the new agreement in the context of Argentina’s wider treaty network.
EU: Harmony or discord?

The economic downturn combined with pressure to tackle tax evasion and aggressive avoidance has intensified discussions of greater tax policy coordination within the EU. Emma Powell looks at how achievable EU tax harmonisation is and in what way it could impact businesses.
Catherine McKinnell plans new direction for global tax policy

Opposition member of Parliament Catherine McKinnell is the Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. If Labour win the next election, McKinnell could be the UK’s next minister for tax and her ideas on transparency and tackling avoidance in the UK and abroad may take global tax policy in a bold new direction. Salman Shaheen talks to McKinnell about where she believes the government is going wrong and what she would do differently.
Transparency, trade and tax: A G8 action plan

Jeffrey Owens, the OECD’s former head of tax, and Mick Moore, of the University of Sussex, believe their 10 point action plan for the G8 summit this month could achieve fairer taxation of multinationals, improve tax transparency and help developing countries build up their tax capacity.
TP documentation through global value chain analysis

In the March edition of the magazine, Johann Muller, a member of the Danish Competent Authority for transfer pricing (TP), wrote about the issues that need to be addressed when looking at examples 1 and 2 to Annex C of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) report. Now, he proposes a simplified transfer pricing documentation process for vertically integrated multinational enterprises (MNEs). Both articles are written on a personal level and do not reflect the views of the Danish government.
CMTC is all about information sharing

The financial services tax industry is becoming increasingly organised and coordinated in the Asia-Pacific region. One industry group, which stands out in the region, is the Capital Markets Tax Committee (CMTC) Asia. Sophie Ashley speaks to the newly elected chairman and vice-chairman of the group, Jesse Kavanagh, head of tax (Asia-Pacific except Japan) for Nomura Securities, and David Weisner, US tax counsel for Asia Pacific at Citigroup.
Is the Duke of Westminster doctrine dead?

Undeniably, the spotlight is increasingly falling on the tax affairs and tax payments of multinational corporations. While tax departments retain a duty to shareholders to minimise the tax liability, the debate around such tax strategies has evolved faster in the years since the global financial crisis than ever before. Matthew Gilleard analyses what this evolution means for today’s tax director.
Will the Asian century see the rise of indirect taxes?

By 2025, four of the 10 largest economies in the world will be in Asia – China, India, Japan and Indonesia. Asia will account for approximately half of the world’s economic output. This is why the 21st Century is increasingly being recognised as the “Asian Century” – a period of sustained economic growth and prosperity, already taking place – and expected to continue throughout the region. Tim Gillis and Lachlan Wolfers of KPMG look at whether this growth will also see the rise of indirect taxes.
European Tax Awards 2013

All of Europe’s leading advisers were present at the Dorchester hotel in London on May 15 for the ninth annual European Tax Awards dinner.
Roche Vitamins and Dell judgments highlight PE risks

Juan Jose Terraza and Victor Bartels of Ernst & Young explain how two Spanish decisions should focus taxpayers’ attention on the design of limited risk arrangements
Austria: Austrian changes impacting investors
Brazil: Supreme Court rules on taxation of foreign profits
Bulgaria: Taxation of online betting in Bulgaria
Cambodia: Licensing now in place for tax agency services
Canada: Canadian 2013 Budget - Administrative International Tax Proposals
Chile: VAT reform on exempted services
China: Clarifications issued on when secondment creates Chinese taxable presence for foreign enterprises
France: Appeal Court ruling on the deduction in France of foreign final losses
Greece: Import VAT payment deferral in Greece
India: Ruling on taxability of online advertising revenues
Ireland: Ireland introduces REITs
Italy: Substitute tax on financing agreements executed outside the territory of Italy
Laos: Deductibility of expenses
Luxembourg: State of the Nation speech
Mexico: Mexico’s expanding treaty network with the Baltic States
Montenegro: Tax treatment of purchase of antivirus software licenses from foreign companies
Myanmar: Transition to tax self-assessment is initiated with pilot set for 2014
Norway: Proposed limitations on related-party debt interest deduction
Portugal: Watch out for transfer pricing in Portugal
South Africa: Limitations against excessive interest tax deductions
Switzerland: Switzerland is still an attractive tax location
Ukraine: Foreign cars will become more expensive in Ukraine
US Inbound: New APA report
US Outbound: IRS Releases comprehensive package of section 367(a)(5) Regulations
Vietnam: Draft decree to loosen restrictions on A&P expenses and introduce thin capitalisation rule
Tax Relief