Swedish exit tax edges closer to reality
As I explained in the first quarter issue of the Cayman Financial Review, the Swedish government is considering a new tax on the outbound migration of capital. The proposal, which originated with the...
View ArticleOn the question of morality in the debate on international taxation
In his article “International Tax Planning, Ethics and our New World” (Bulletin for International Taxation, 2018 (Volume 72), No. 2), Hans van den Hurk lays out his personal views on the status of...
View ArticleThe not so large tax gap
The world faces one of those unfathomable mysteries. Any number of charities, campaign fronts and political groupuscules adamantly insist that corporations and the rich are dodging their rightfully due...
View ArticleCCCTB and the European Union’s three-pronged tax grab
The European Union is working on its latest attempts to squeeze more money out of multinational businesses for its bankrupt governments. The Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) is not new,...
View ArticleWill U.S. tax reform kick off another round of beneficial tax competition?
When Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher slashed top personal income tax rates in the 1980s for the U.S. and the U.K., other nations were forced to follow suit. In the following decades, the global tax...
View ArticleA review of the world’s offshore financial centers: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
In this first article in a series about the world’s premier offshore financial centers we look at the city and emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is the largest and most populous city...
View ArticleOECD’s tax initiatives thwart US policy goals
International tax bureaucrats at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and elsewhere have waged a decades-long campaign to promote a one-size-fits-all approach to tax policy....
View ArticleThree lessons in international taxation
It was “one of these days” at the office. I was writing a transfer pricing memo for defending one of my clients against a challenge made by some rather aggressive tax auditor, when I looked at my...
View ArticleCanada: Economic trouble is brewing
Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Financial Group weighed in on Canada’s investment woes. “The bottom line is there really is a need for more urgency on the competitiveness front,” he said. “We’ve...
View ArticleOECD Watch
A regional meeting for the Inclusive Framework on BEPS was held Nov. 7-9, 2018, in Yerevan, Armenia. Over 60 delegates from 16 countries attended, where they discussed recent developments as regards to...
View ArticleThe EU Commission’s tax policy shift
On March 7, 2018, European Union Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici remarked, that the EU Commission – the governing body of the European Union – attacked what he and the Commission called “aggressive...
View ArticleOECD not up to fighting modern trade challenges
The global trade system is under assault thanks in large part due to the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. His pledge to “put America first” has been carried out through tariff hikes, U.S....
View ArticleThe rotten smell of the European tax agenda for 2019
With European economies in a slump and the discussion about the Brexit dominating headlines, taxation was not among the hot issue during the last couple of months. It would, however, be a mistake to...
View ArticleOECD Watch
The Inclusive Framework on BEPS announced agreement to continue working towards a new long-term solution by 2020 to tax challenges arising from digitalisation. A policy note released after the Jan....
View ArticleHas corporate management grown more brazen in abusing creditors?
A pair of recent commentaries on high-profile battles between management and large financial creditors reveals two things: Such battles might be heating up, and opinions continue to differ sharply on...
View ArticleThe OECD position on digital taxation fuels the global corporate tax push
In my previous contribution to the Cayman Financial Review, I discussed the European tax agenda for 2019, focusing on the EU initiatives in respect to the taxation of digital economy, as well as...
View ArticleOECD Watch
The 20th OECD Forum was held 20-21 May in Paris. This year’s theme was World in EMotion, which “aimed to reflect on how globalisation and digitalisation are stirring perceptions, emotions and responses...
View ArticleTax morality and elections for the European Parliament
In the early months of 2019, tax and transfer pricing professionals were captivated by the debate on digital taxation – and rightly so. As the debate drags on, however, the initial excitement has...
View ArticleBlacklists, unilateral action test the credibility of the OECD
If you read any new tax policy reports produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), or listen to its public communications, you are likely to encounter the word...
View ArticleOECD-led tax reforms: A prescription for a less competitive economy
On 28 May, 2019, Paris-based international quango, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the OECD, has published the latest agreement between the Inclusive Framework countries....
View Article
