Mutual agreement on the implementation of the arbitration process pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 5 of the Dutch-Swiss DTA published in the Dutch State Gazette
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On September 22, 2023 the mutual agreement on the implementation of the arbitration process pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 5 of the Dutch-Swiss DTA as agreed between the Dutch and the Swiss competent authorities was published in the Dutch State Gazette. The agreement was signaed on September 22, 2022.
Some of the important matters arranged for in the mutual agreement include a.o.:
The Irish Department of Finance published a Roadmap for the Introduction of a Participation Exemption in the Irish Corporation Tax and opened a public technical consultation
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On September 14, 2023 the Irish Department of Finance published a Roadmap for the Introduction of a Participation Exemption into the Irish Corporation Tax and opened a public technical consultation. The consultation period will run from September 14, 2023 to December 13, 2023. The technical consultation regards the introduction of a Participation Exemption and a potential introduction of an exemption for foreign branch profits in the Irish Corporation Tax.
The General Court of the EU again rules the Belgian excess profit scheme to constitute illegal State Aid
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On September 20, 2023 on the website of the General Court of the EU a whole bunch of judgments of the Court was published that all regard the question whether or not the Belgian excess profit scheme constitutes illegal State Aid. At the bottom of this document you will find links to the texts of these judgements. In this article we will focus on the judgment in Case T‑131/16 RENV, Belgium versus the Commission, ECLI:EU:T:2023:561. In its judgment the Court for the second time confirms the decision of the European Commission which, in 2016, found that the Belgian ‘excess’ profits scheme infringed the EU rules on State aid.
The OECD published the comments it received on its public consultation of July 17, 2023 regarding Amount B of Pillar One
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On September 20, 2023 the OECD published the comments it received on its public consultation of July 17, 2023 regarding Amount B of Pillar One regarding the simplification of transfer pricing rules.
The European Commission released proposals for a BEFIT-Directive and a Council Directive on transfer pricing
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On September 12, 2023 the European Commission released a proposal for a Council Directive on Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT). This Directive lays down a common set of rules for computing the tax base of large groups of companies in the European Union and replaces the Commission's CCTB (common corporate tax base) and CCCTB (common consolidated corporate tax base) proposals, which are withdrawn. If the proposal for the Directive is adopted Member States should apply the new rules as laid down in this Directive as of July 1, 2028.
Furthermore the European Commission released a proposal for a Council Directive on transfer pricing, which integrates key transfer pricing principles into EU law with the aim of putting forward certain common approaches for Member States. If the Directive is adopted, Member Sates should apply the new transfer pricing rules as of January 1, 2026.
In this article you will find a few of our initial remarks with respect to these 2 Directives.
During the IF meeting of July 10-12 the Netherlands advocated for international agreements on the taxation of so-called high net worth individuals
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On September 4, 2023 the Dutch Secretary of State for Finances has sent a sent a summarization of the July 10-12 meeting of the Inclusive Framework (the IF) to the Dutch House of Commons. The letter gives some interesting insights in what has been discussed and on some of the views of the outgoing Dutch Government. In this article we focus on some of the interesting remarks made by the Secretary of State in his letter to the House of Representatives. The article is therefore not a full translation of the 5 page letter of the Dutch Secretary for Finances.
The New Zealand Government has introduced a Draft Digital Services Tax Bill into the House
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On August 30, 2023 the New Zealand Government has introduced a Draft Digital Services Tax Bill into the House. The Bill would allow the Government of New Zealand to impose a tax on gross revenues of large multinational entities with highly digitalised business models that earn income from New Zealand.
The Irish Department of Finance has published its Annual Taxation Report 2023
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On August 24, 2023 the Irish Department of Finance has published its Annual Taxation Report. According to the report the with a total amount of EUR 83.1 billion the Irish tax revenues grew to the highest level ever. In 2022 the highly profitable ICT sector accounts for some 35 per cent of corporate tax receipts and around 10 per cent of income tax revenues.
Tunisia deposited its instrument of ratification for the MLI
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On July 24, 2023 the Republic of Tunisia deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI).
The German Federal Cabinet passed a draft law to implement the EU Minimum Taxation Directive
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On August 16, 2023, the German Federal Cabinet passed a draft law to implement Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 of 14 December 2022 on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups in the Union. The Draft law also contains accompanying measures.
The District Court of Luxembourg (Belgium) lodged an interesting request for a preliminary ruling regarding the conditions authorities can set for a MAP to be finalized
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On June 16, 2023 the Tribunal de première instance du Luxembourg (Belgium) lodged a request for a preliminary ruling with the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-380/23, Monmorieux. Basically the parties in the underlying case are disputing whether the enforcement of the amicable settlement reached between the tax authorities of 2 States can be contingent on the taxpayer’s unconditional withdrawal of his legal action in one of these States.
The independent Scientific Advisory Board to the German Federal Ministry of Finance considers the proposed DEBRA-Directive not the right way forward
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On August 17, 2023 the German Federal Ministry of Finance issued a short press release announcing that the independent Scientific Advisory Board to the Ministry has presented its opinion on the European Commission's proposal for a Directive on a Debt-Equity Bias Reduction Allowance (DEBRA). The Scientific Advisory Board shares the Commission's concerns about preferential tax treatment of debts, but it does not consider the proposed Directive to be the right way forward.
Hoe de uiterste indiendatum van een beroep tegen o.a. een EU-Richtlijn bij het Gerecht van de EU moet worden berekend
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Op 16 maart 2023 hebben Koninklijke Boskalis NV, gevestigd te Sliedrecht en Boskalis Offshore Transport Services NV, gevestigd te Antwerpen bij het Gerecht van de EU (the General Court) (Hierna: het Gerecht) een beroep ingediend tegen Richtlijn (EU) 2022/2523 van de Raad van 14 december 2022 tot waarborging van een mondiaal minimumniveau van belastingheffing voor groepen van multinationale ondernemingen en omvangrijke binnenlandse groepen in de Unie. Op 14 juli 2023 heeft de zevende Kamer van het Gerecht beslist dat het beroep niet ontvankelijk is omdat het 1 dag te laat is ingediend.
Fugro lodged an action with the General Court of the EU to partially annul the EU Pillar 2 Directive
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On March 15, 2023 Fugro lodged an action with the General Court of the EU to partially annul the Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 of 14 December 2022 on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups in the Union (Case T-143/23).
The action brought by Boskalis against the EU Pillar 2 Directive was thrown out of Court because of lodging the action one day too late
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On March 16, 2023 Koninklijke Boskalis NV, established in Sliedrecht (Netherlands), and Boskalis Offshore Transport Services NV, established in Antwerp (Belgium), lodged an action against Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 of 14 December 2022 on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups in the Union. The applicants claimed that the Court should:
- partially annul the Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 of 14 December 2022 on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups in the Union (OJ 2022 L 328, p. 1); “the contested measure”;
- order the Council of the European Union to pay the costs of the proceedings.
By its order of July 14, 2023 (ECLI:EU:T:2023:415) the Seventh Chamber of the General Court ordered that the action is dismissed as manifestly inadmissible.
Taxing the rich – The VanMoof case shows how quickly things can change and why careful considerations are needed
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In recent years the international call to narrow the wealth gap between the (super-) rich and the poor has become louder. In addition, the pleas for taxing the (super-) rich have also become louder. On July 11, 2023 the European Commission for example decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Taxing great wealth to finance the ecological and social transition'. (See our article from July 12, 2023) The obvious question that arises is what would be the best way to tax the high-net-worth individuals?
The Bermuda Government has opened a public consultation on its considerations to introduce a corporate income tax for large scale multinationals
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On August 8, 2023 the Government of Bermuda issued a press release in which it announced that as a reaction to the Two Pillar solution of the OECD it is considering to introduce a corporate income tax to apply to Bermuda businesses that are part of Multinational Enterprise Groups (MNEs) with annual revenue of €750M or more. Also on August 8, 2023 the Bermuda Government opened what it calls a first public consultation regarding its considerations to implement such corporate income tax. The consultation period will end on September 8, 2023.
The Swiss Government has published a first report on the expected effects of the implementation of the OECD minimum tax on the individual Swiss cantons and on the measures planned by the cantons
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On August 8, 2023 The Swiss Federal Department of Finance FDF has published a first report on the expected effects of the implementation of the OECD minimum tax on the individual cantons and on the measures planned by the cantons. The report is based on a survey of the cantons as of 31 May 2023.
The Canadian Government has opened consultations on draft legislation to implement a Global Minimum Tax (Pillar Two) and draft legislation introducing a Digital Services Tax
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On August 4, 2023 the Canadian Government has opened consultations on several Budget 2023 measures to grow the clean economy, close tax loopholes, and deliver tax relief for Canadians. Two of the measures on which the Canadian Government opened a consultation are draft legislation to implement a Global Minimum Tax (Pillar Two) and draft legislation introducing a Digital Services Tax.
