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The German parliament has made the changes that taxpayers need to adhere to as soon as possible

Hiring the right external advisers can be one of the most difficult jobs for a tax department.

Transfer pricing is now a prominent and global economic consideration for governments, taxpayers and the societies in which they operate. Considering this there is an increasing number of official global organisations, NGOs, individuals, governments and companies working to promote its development and set practical guidelines for others to follow. Sophie Ashley finds out who, or what, international transfer pricing professionals think are the 2012 leading forces in global transfer pricing.

The German Ministry of Finance published a draft Bill of the Annual Tax Act for 2013. The publication, dated March 5 2012, will implement several EU as well as OECD regulations into the German Tax Law. Oliver Wehnert and Ivo Tankov of Ernst & Young explain what these changes mean for taxpayers and their transfer pricing operations.

Canada’s Federal budget in March 2012 included changes to the transfer pricing rules. Matthew Wall, a transfer pricing expert at MDW Consulting, and Susan Robins, an international tax lawyer at Robins Tax Law, explain the benefits for the tax authority and certain concerns for taxpayers and their advisers. Though required reading for Canadians, these changes should also interest other countries particularly if they have a tax treaty with Canada or if they have issues that might be corrected by making similar changes.

In June 2011 the German parliament decided to significantly limit the useful life of German nuclear power plants. Stefan Schultes-Schnitzlein and Michael Dettmeier of Hogan Lovells explain peculiarities of German taxation of wind farms in offshore sites within the German exclusive economic zones.

William Arrenberg and Isaac Zailer, of Herbert Smith, consider the uncertainties created by the UK tax and regulatory regime associated with North Sea decommissioning. They then compare the difficulties faced by companies in the UK with the position in a number of other jurisdictions, before finally considering the recent UK budget announcement aimed at reducing the uncertainty relating to decommissioning tax reliefs.

Júlio de Oliveira and Carlos Eduardo de A Navarro of Machado Associados find out what Brazil’s sales tax war between the states means for taxpayers.

Germany recently amended its VAT rules on what evidence is required to exempt intra-Community supplies. As of July 1 2012, the exemption for intra-Community supplies originating from Germany only applies if the supplier can produce a Gelangenbestätigung, which has been signed by the customer. Martin Morawski and Johan Visser of Baker & McKenzie look at what this means for businesses.

Paul McCartin and James Strong of PwC Australia outline some of the issues the head of tax at a mining company might wish to take into account when mitigating risks associated with the country’s new mining tax, including possible strategies to develop robust audit defence.