EU Member States agree to amend the EU PSD to tackle hybrid loan arrangements
On 20 June 2014, the EU’s Council of Economic and Finance (ECOFIN) Ministers took place in Luxembourg. ECOFIN agreed amongst others on the amendments to the Parent-Subsidiary directive (PSD) and adopted conclusions on the report of the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation. Proposed amendments on the Parent – Subsidiary directive The ECOFIN agreed
Formal EU State Aid investigation into certain tax rulings
On June 11, 2014, the European Commission opened a formal State Aid investigation procedure into the transfer pricing arrangements and corporate taxation of certain companies in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. See this link for more information. Wider inquiry into tax rulings In parallel to these three formal investigations, the Commission will continue its wider inquiry
Non-application of NID to foreign permanent establishment and real estate
The Belgian tax authorities have recently issued a practice note with regard to the Belgian notional interest deduction (‘NID’) and the possibility for the taxpayer to file a tax claim or request an ex officio tax relief. Companies subject to Belgian (non-resident) corporate income tax may deduct a notional interest reflecting the economic cost of
Brazil enacts new rules impacting dividend withholding, interest deductions, goodwill amortization and CFCs
The Brazilian government on May 14, 2014 enacted Law No. 12.973/2014, converting into law Provisional Measure 627/2013 (PM 627). The key provisions of the enacted law are the revocation of the Transitional Tax Regime (RTT) and new rules regarding the treatment of dividends, interest on net equity (INE), amortization of goodwill, and controlled foreign corporations
Luxembourg – Adoption of law revising corporate exit tax rules
On 13 May 2014, the Luxembourg Parliament approved the law (bill n. 6556) amending some of Luxembourg tax provisions that were considered not to be compliant with EU law. The changes are most notably in the area of exit taxation for corporate entities. Key changes: Deferral of the tax liabilities arising upon migration; and “Roll-over”
ECOFIN fails to reach agreement on anti-hybrid measure to be implemented into the Parent-Subsidiary Directive – FTT first on shares and some derivatives
1. Background On 25 November 2013, the European Commission has proposed to amend the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive (‘PSD’) in order to tackle tax fraud/evasion and aggressive tax planning/base erosion and profit shifting (‘BEPS’) within the European Union. The proposal sought to insert (i) a specific anti-abuse rule for hybrid loan arrangements resulting in a double
Practice note issued in relation to Belgian fairness tax
As from AY14 (which are financial years ending 31 December 2013 or later), a so called ‘fairness tax’ of 5.15% is levied on certain dividend distributions made by large Belgian companies or by foreign companies with a Belgian permanent establishment, when the underlying profits have not been effectively taxed due to tax losses or Notional
BEPS Webcast – A focus on the digital economy, 17 April 2014
The OECD recently released its discussion draft focused on the digital economy as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. In response to this draft, we will hold another webcast in our series of BEPS related webcasts. Please join us on 17 April where we will review the latest discussion draft
