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The OECD’s implementation guidance on country-by-country reporting (CbCR) has done little to placate the debate between multinationals and non-government organisations (NGOs) over the degree of confidentiality required in documentation.

Reports that the US Internal Revenue Service suspects Asian jurisdictions including Hong Kong and Singapore of making tax evasion easier has caused concern in the market, especially amid allegations that banks around the world have been helping clients evade tax. This concern has been heightened because under the terms of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Hong Kong financial institutions are due to begin reporting to the IRS from March 31.

Taxpayers and their advisers want the Indian government to clarify a number of issues including indirect share transfers in their 2015 budget on February 28.

Type of Deal Value Acquirer Target Adviser to acquirer (tax) Adviser to target (tax) Acquisition $2 billion Rite Aid Corporation Envision Pharmaceutical Services Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Stuart Finkelstein Acquisition $600 million AstraZeneca Rights of Actavis' branded respiratory business in the US and Canada Stikeman Elliot: John O'Connor and Lindsay Gwyer Acquisition $97.6 million Greenhill & Co Cogent Partners Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Sally Thurston Acquisition $63 million Centreal National-Gottesman Spicers Canada from PaperlinX McCarthy Tétrault (PaperlinX) Acquisition Undisclosed Nautic Partners IPS Corporation Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Edward Gonzalez Acquisition Fico Tonbeller Faegre Baker Daniels - advised in Germany by Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft: Nicole Frölich and Tilo Künstler Acquisition TPG [a global private investment firm] Actavis' pharmatech business Stikeman Elliot: John O'Connor and Lindsay Gwyer Acquisition Undisclosed Hewlett-Packard Company Voltage Security Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Sean Shimamoto Acquisition Daikin Industries group Solvay Germany's German refrigerant business Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft Acquisition Spectrum Brands Holdings Salix Animal Health Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft; Taxand Netherlands Type of Deal Value Issuer/ Borrower Lead managers/ arrangers Adviser to issuer/ borrower (tax) Adviser to lead managers (tax) Offering of common stock $459 million Omega Healthcare Investors Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith; J.P. Morgan Securities; Morgan Stanley & Co; Stifel, Nicolaus & Company; Credit Agricole Securities; RBC Capital Markets; SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (all) IPO of class A common stock $180 million Easterly Government Properties, Inc Citigroup Global Markets; RBC Capital Markets; Raymond James & Associates Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (all) Offering of common stock $70 million Horsehead Holding Corp Stiefel, Nicolaus & Company Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Work on the G20 / OECD base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project has entered a new phase with the presentation of implementation guidance to a meeting of G20 finance ministers this week.

On February 10 2015 the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced that it will not apply the Skandia judgment, while the UK says businesses will have to make changes to comply with the judgment by 2016.

Aer Lingus and Ryanair have won European Court of Justice (ECJ) cases against the European Commission concerning the Irish air travel tax (ATT).

After the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court ruled in favour of the taxpayers, reducing the tax cost on the import of goods, the federal Government finds yet another way to reverse this effect and increase tax collection.

Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the OECD, has said that progress needs to be made on the arbitration element of the organisation’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been accused of pushing for big corporations to conduct their own tax audits. Negative comments in the media and statements from alleged employees claim the ATO’s efforts to reduce costs will ultimately result in victory for tax cheats.