Earlier this year, the OECD observed there has been a significant increase in global wealth inequality over the last two decades. It also acknowledged that “taxation is a key instrument . . . that governments have at their...more
Welcome to November’s edition of the UK Tax Round Up. This month has seen the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement as well as an interesting confirmation from the Court of Appeal on the scope of “arrangements” for capital gains tax...more
The Department of Finance (Finance) released draft tax legislation for public consultation on August 4, 2023, with a stated focus on promoting tax fairness and a clean economy. The most significant item released is the...more
Across the world, governments are increasingly focusing on using tax measures to address ESG issues. In the UK, whilst it may not have been front and centre of the Chancellor’s speech on Budget Day, you don’t have to look too...more
On 14 February, the EU Council added four jurisdictions (the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Marshall Islands and Russia) to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (Annex I) (the “EU Blacklist”)....more
In Haworth v HMRC the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the Court of Appeal’s (CA’s) decision to quash a follower notice (FN) and accelerated payment notice (APN) issued to the taxpayer, Mr Haworth. An FN can be issued by HMRC where...more
UK Case Law Developments - Income tax consequences of pension-related payments in E.ON v HMRC - E.ON v HMRC concerned a large UK power and gas supplier, which paid certain lump sum payments, called “facilitation...more
UK Case Law Developments - EIS relief not available for shares carrying preferential rights - The Upper Tribunal (UT) in Foojit v HMRC dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal against the First-tier Tribunal’s (FTT’s) decision...more
The European Council has announced its decision to remove the Cayman Islands from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. In February we reported on Cayman’s inclusion on the list and our expectation...more
There have been several recent developments in trade disputes involving the Trump Administration and the European Union (EU), including an increase by the U.S. Trade Representative in tariffs on new Airbus aircraft and...more
The Cayman Islands Receive “Top Honors.” But, Global Financial Transparency is Reportedly Improving in General - The United States has overtaken Switzerland as a financial secrecy haven, according to the latest rankings –...more
Following-up from our previous blogs on Tech Tax, we thought it would be useful to take a whirlwind tour of what to expect in tax and transfer pricing related topics in 2020. But for those that are curious, why are such...more
Background on the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive - On January 1, 2019, the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (“ATAD”) went into effect for all 28 Member States. ATAD is the European Commission’s response to the relevant Action...more
The Commonwealth Senate Economics Committee (a standing committee composed by members of the upper house of Parliament) handed down its long-awaited final report on corporate tax avoidance in Australia. The final report is...more
The Situation: The Member States of the EU have unanimously agreed on a proposed directive establishing new and far-reaching tax reporting obligations for "intermediaries" and taxpayers. The Result: The proposal lays down...more
As part of a wide-ranging crackdown on multinational tax avoidance, the Australian Federal Government and the Australian Tax Office have introduced significant reforms to the country’s transfer pricing regulations. The...more
UK Tax News and Developments - Government White Paper on Customs Bill - On 9 October, the Government published a White Paper setting out its approach to the introduction of a new customs and VAT regime after the UK...more
UK Tax News and Developments - Finance (No 2) Bill 2017 - The second Finance Bill of 2017, known as Finance (No 2) Bill 2017, has now been published. As expected, this contains most of the provisions which were dropped from...more
UK Tax News and Developments - Conservative legislative agenda set out in Queen's Speech - Following the UK general election on 8 June 2017, at which the Conservative party won the largest number of seats but lost its...more
We wrote in February (European Commission Publishes Anti Tax Avoidance Package) about the draft EU Anti Tax Avoidance Directive (“ATAD”). On 21st June 2016, the EU Council agreed on the final text of the ATAD and it will...more
On 21 June 2016, the EU Council reached agreement on the EU Anti Tax Avoidance Directive (“ATAD”). The ATAD is expected to be adopted in a forthcoming ECOFIN meeting, possibly on 12 July 2016. The Council had reached...more
The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered the UK Budget for 2016 on 16 March 2016. The Budget was delivered against the backdrop of international tax developments, relating to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and...more
On December 21st, 2015 the IRS proposed Country-by-Country (“CbC”) reporting rules requiring certain U.S. multinational companies to provide extensive information about business operations (including their revenue, number of...more
The proposed Council Directive marks another, significant, though likely problematic, step towards tackling tax avoidance across Member States. Background - The European Commission (the Commission) has been moving...more
A focus on hybrid arrangements, interest deductions, treaty abuse and permanent establishment structures. On 5 October 2015, the OECD published its highly anticipated final reports in relation to Base Erosion and Profit...more