Tax Law › Civil Procedure › International Law & Trade

Government Runs Its Record to 4-0 in Compelling Production of Records of Offshore Bank Accounts

On February 7, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit joined “the three of our sister circuits that have considered the same issue here about foreign financial account records and conclude that the...more

Taxpayer Challenges Validity of IRS Transfer Pricing Regulation

In a petition recently filed in the U.S. Tax Court, a taxpayer has challenged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulation that provides that the IRS can reallocate income between affiliates even when foreign law prohibits...more

Judicial Review Applications Challenging Minister’s Alleged Violation Of Voluntary Disclosure Policy And MAP Agreement Allowed To...

In Sifto Canada Corp. v. Minister of National Revenue, 2013 FC 214, Prothonotary Aalto of the Federal Court rejected the Crown’s motion to strike out judicial review applications filed by Sifto Canada Corp. challenging...more

Cyprus: The Day After - The sun will still shine bright

Introduction - Cyprus has been in the spotlight recently due to the negotiations with what has become known as the troika (the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission)...more

Termination Notice Periods Extended in Brazil—With Retroactive Effect!

Terminations in Brazil are tricky enough. If “just cause”—which is statutorily established and defined—does not exist, an employer can be on the hook for quite a bit, including indemnities and taxes tied to the balance in the...more

Orrick's Financial Industry Week In Review - April 2, 2013

In This Issue: *Financial Industry Developments - CFTC No-Action Relief for Commodity Trader Advisor Registration - CFTC Regulations on Associated Persons of Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants -...more

Tax Advice Given by Accountants Not Protected by Privilege

Legal advice privilege applies only to lawyers and does not extend to tax advice provided by accountants, the United Kingdom Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords) confirmed in its first judgment of 2013: R (on the...more

PPL Corp. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Brief For Southeastern Legal Foundation, Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, CATO Institute, et al, As Amici...

PPL, an American energy company, bought one of many state-owned British utilities privatized in the 1980s. In 1997, PPL became subject to the U.K.’s new “windfall tax,” which was based in part on “profit-making value”— the...more

Sitzverlegung in der EU - Gesellschafts- und steuerliche Aspekte aus belgischer Perspektive

Sitzverlegung in der EU - Gesellschafts- und steuerliche Aspekte aus belgischer Perspektive Gegenstand ist die Freiheit der Sitzverlegung von Unternehmen aus europäischer bzw. belgischer Perspektive sowie um die...more

Velcro Canada – Clarification on Cost Awards

n what circumstances can a party obtain a large lump-sum cost award after a favourable Tax Court decision? That was the question considered by the Tax Court in Velcro Canada Inc. v. The Queen (2012 TCC 273), in which the...more

Tax Topics - July 19, 2012, No. 2106

In This Issue: - More on Rectification in Quebec .. 1 - Tax Treaties Colombia in Force . . 4 Australia Under Negotiations . .4 - Information Circular IC-100 Now IC12-1 .. 4 - Financial Claim...more

Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive: EU and Offshore Perspectives

Directive 2011/61/EU on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, known colloquially as the “Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive” or the “AIFMD”, will overhaul the pan-European regulatory regime applicable to the...more

FBAR Deadline Approaches - Risks Increase

AS the June 30 deadline for filing a Report of Foreign Bank Account (FBAR) approaches the risks of non-compliance increase. A recent Petition to the U.S. Supreme Court illustrates the problem. The case, M.H. v. U.S arises...more

ECJ Decision of 10 May 2012 in Santander Case: French Withholding Tax on Dividend Payments to Non-French Resident Investment...

Domestic withholding tax imposed by EU Member States on dividend payments made to non-resident investment vehicles has been an ongoing issue for some time now, due to the argument that such taxes may restrict the free...more

Reuters: Corporations Face Long Odds in Tax Cases Heard by the United States Supreme Court – Situation Brighter in Canada

Reuters recently reported a study showing that corporations face very long odds in tax appeals heard by the United States Supreme Court. There were 919 income tax cases in the Supreme Court of the United States from 1909 to...more

IRS Statute of Limitations on Foreign Sources of Income

Many people were rejoicing when the Supreme Court decided in favor of Home Concrete & Supply LLC in their dispute with the IRS over the statute of limitations on tax audits. In that landmark case, the highest court in the...more

Proposed Tax Law on Travel Stirs Controversy

There is a new law being proposed that could see your travel liberties curbed if you owe the IRS taxes. This law is to be added to the Highway Code under a new section 7345, entitled “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case...more

Supreme Court of Canada Decides on Trust Tax Residency

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the taxpayers’ appeal in Fundy Settlement (also known as Garron or St. Michael Trust Corp.), deciding on April 12, 2012 that the relevant trusts were resident in Canada rather than...more

Indian Supreme Court Holds for Vodafone

On January 20, the Indian Supreme Court handed down a major victory for foreign investors in the landmark case of Vodafone International Holdings B.V. The Vodafone case arose from Vodafone’s 2007 acquisition...more

Week of February 6, 2012 on ILN Today - Roundup!

Happy Friday all! It's been a very busy week here at the ILN, which makes me feel as though this is a well-deserved weekend ahead. On to the roundup - because it's been so busy this week, I'm going with a top...more

HSBC India Accounts Sought By IRS: Time Running Out For IRS Voluntary Disclosure By HSBC India Customers

On April 7, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") to serve a "John Doe" summons requesting information from one of the world's...more

FBAR Penalty Relief

In U.S. v. Williams decided 9/01/2010, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern Dist of Virginia entered a decision in favor of the taxpayer rejecting the governments assertion of willfulness and finding in favor of the...more

Tax Battle – All Square between P&G and IRS

A US District court judge made two separate rulings each favoring one side in the legal tussle between Proctor and Gamble (P&G) and the IRS. Federal Judge Timothy Black is presiding over the $435 million court battle in which...more