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Tokyo The number of mutual agreement procedures (MAP) involving an advance pricing agreement (APA) in Japan has increased by 600% in the last decade.

Nélio Weiss Philippe Jeffrey Back in 2003, two of Brazil's leading exporting companies had challenged the constitutionality of the applicability of the Social Contribution on Net Profits (CSLL) on income derived from export transactions, based on the modification of article 149 of the Brazilian Constitution by Constitutional Amendment – CA n° 33/2001. In that year, two Brazilian courts of first instance ruled that the export income was not subject to CSLL. As a general rule, Brazilian taxpayers are subject to a corporate income tax rate of 15%, plus income surtax of 10% on annual taxable income exceeding BRL 240,000, and also to CSLL, at the rate of 9% (usually referred as the combined 34% corporate tax rate).

Ed Liptak South African law firm Webber Wentzel Bowens has recruited Ed Liptak as director of corporate tax from the South African Revenue Services. Liptak will have partner status.

International law firm Denton Wilde Sapte has made its head of tax in Paris a partner in the practice.

In Germany the taxpayer is under a duty to disclose all relevant facts to the tax authorities in the course of the normal processes of assessing the tax due and then auditing the accounting records on which it is based. This duty is enhanced where foreign aspects come into play. Thus the taxpayer is required to gather the necessary details up front, rather than being allowed to wait until after the event. Nowhere is this more apparent – or acute – than in the field of transfer pricing. Latterly, the situation has grown in sensitivity with the inappropriately named "Profit Recording Order" setting out the transfer pricing documentation requirements in considerable detail, and with the finance ministry decree on the procedures to be followed in connection with transfer pricing reviews and negotiation with foreign taxing authorities.

Paul Chambers Philippe Loux After the opinion issued by the European Commission objecting to the Luxembourg legislation that introduced a 10% final withholding tax on savings income paid in the form of interest to individuals resident in Luxembourg, the government has adopted a draft law that amends the regime to be in line with the EU rules.

Bob van der Made Under article 56 of the EC Treaty, persons who are neither nationals nor residents of a member state of the EEA (EU 27 + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) can invoke the free movement of capital guarantee under article 56 EC in courts throughout the EEA. This means that, theoretically at least, the same rules seem to apply for capital movements between EEA member states and third countries as for intra-EEA capital movements. The EC Treaty provides for a special standstill or "grandfather" clause under article 57 EC which permits the member states to apply the restrictive measures to third countries which were in force before December 31 1993, article 57 EC covers four categories: direct investment (including real estate), establishment, provision of financial services and admission of securities to capital markets.

Ralph Cunningham

International law firm Mayer Brown has appointed five new international tax partners. Their elevation comes as part of 43 promotions worldwide. They will become partners on January 1 2008

Priit Lätt and Rainer Eidemiller of Glimstedt Straus & Partners in Talinn see potential for conflict with the European Commission in the new Estonian corporate tax system