International
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July 25, 2024
Global Tax Revamp Continues To Progress, OECD Tells G20
Implementation of the Pillar Two minimum tax portion of the OECD's international plan to address tax base erosion and profit shifting is well underway, while an agreement is close on the Pillar One taxing rights overhaul, the organization told the Group of 20 nations Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
UK Telecom Co. Owes VAT For Phone Plans In £51M Dispute
A U.K. telecommunications provider will not recover £51.1 million ($65.7 million) in value-added tax payments after the First-tier Tribunal ruled that VAT is chargeable on phone plans from the point of sale, not when the services are used.
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July 25, 2024
Global Tax Police Unit Probes More Than 30 Cybercrime Cases
The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, an intergovernmental tax enforcement group, is investigating more than 30 active cybercrime cases tied to financial and tax criminal activities all over the world, the group announced Thursday in its first report.
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July 25, 2024
Income Inequality Calls For Stronger Tax Policies, OECD Says
More focus is being drawn to stronger tax policies as a way to solve persistent income inequality, especially in light of the continually increasing concentration of wealth by the top 0.001% of earners, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
Mixed Progress Made On Beneficial Ownership, OECD Says
The U.S., Japan and the European Union now have wide-reaching beneficial ownership registries in place, but many jurisdictions worldwide aren't effectively exchanging data on the owners of legal entities, the OECD said Thursday in a report based on peer reviews.
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July 25, 2024
Australian Officials Defend Basis for Tax Reporting Framework
Australia's public corporate tax disclosure legislation builds on global standards that could provide more insights into profit shifting risks than European Union reporting rules, Australian government officials said Thursday in response to calls for closer alignment between the two regimes.
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July 25, 2024
Billionaire Tax Not Fit For Global Agreement, Yellen Says
The U.S. government doesn't think it's appropriate to seek a global agreement on taxing billionaires, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday ahead of a discussion by the Group of 20 nations on coordinating wealth taxes.
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July 25, 2024
58 Jurisdictions Plan For Crypto Info Swaps By 2027
Fifty-eight tax jurisdictions have pledged to implement the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's crypto-asset information exchange system by 2027, the OECD said Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
Wyden Seeks Swiss Bank Info On Indicted Defense Contractor
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden asked Swiss bank UBS in a letter published Thursday for information about a former U.S. defense contractor who the Department of Justice says avoided taxes on more than $350 million in income.
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July 25, 2024
Clark Hill Adds Tax And Estate Atty From Plunk Smith In Texas
A former Plunk Smith PLLC senior associate jumped to Clark Hill in Collin County, Texas, to serve as a member in the tax and estate planning practice, the firm announced Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
Cyprus Consents To Pillar 2 Safe Harbor Rules
Cyprus has formally consented to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Pillar Two safe harbor rules, continuing its support for the organization's push against tax base erosion and profit shifting despite not being a full member, the Cypriot finance ministry said.
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July 25, 2024
Gov'ts Seek Info On Foreign Real Estate Holdings, OECD Says
Governments are keen to receive information on their residents' foreign real estate holdings, especially related to disposals and regular income from owning properties, which could be achieved with a new treaty under the existing tax transparency framework, the OECD said Thursday.
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July 25, 2024
Belgium Taken To EU Court Over Deposit Exemption Rules
The European Union's executive branch said Thursday that it is taking Belgium to court alleging that the country's system of exempting remuneration of savings deposits from tax violates EU law.
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July 24, 2024
Int'l Firm Garrigues Merges With Full-Service Mexican Firm
International legal and tax services firm Garrigues will create one of the largest law firms in Mexico by integrating a full-service Mexican firm into the group by the end of 2024, both firms announced.
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July 24, 2024
Nigerian Parliament Passes 70% Bank Windfall Levy
The upper house of Nigeria's Parliament passed an amendment to its finance bill that included a 70% one-time levy on banks' foreign exchange gains, an increase over the 50% rate originally proposed by the country's president.
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July 24, 2024
IRS' $15M Jeopardy Assessment OK'd In Offshore Tax Fight
A Florida federal court has upheld a $15 million immediate tax assessment against a man who transferred his father's estate into trusts for himself and his mother and refused to pay what the IRS claimed was tax debt on his father's undisclosed offshore accounts.
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July 24, 2024
Affordable Housing Pro Moves Practice To Nelson Mullins
An attorney who specializes in advising clients on completing affordable housing development projects has recently moved her practice to Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's Pittsburgh office.
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July 24, 2024
HMRC Wins Battle Over Candy Maker's Holiday Fund Scheme
HM Revenue & Customs has convinced an appeals tribunal that a Scottish sweet maker must compensate its employees for salary deductions it put aside in "holiday funds," with the judge finding the scheme ran afoul of national minimum wage regulations.
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July 24, 2024
Germany Failing To Address Nonprofits' Tax Status, EU Says
Germany has failed to make any progress addressing uncertainty surrounding the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations a year after the European Commission recommended it do so, the commission said Wednesday.
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July 24, 2024
Dentons Brings On Former Big 4 Exec As New Global CEO
Global law firm Dentons, which has made a name for itself by aggressive growth through combinations, has tapped a new global chief executive officer with leadership experience at accounting giant EY, the firm's first change at the top in over a decade.
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July 24, 2024
Phillips Lytle Private Wealth Pro Joins Gunster In Florida
Gunster has announced that the firm picked up an of counsel for its private wealth services team in West Palm Beach, Florida, from Phillips Lytle LLP, as well as three associate attorneys.
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July 24, 2024
Can New Pensions Minister 'Serve Two Masters'?
A new British pensions minister with a foot in two competing government departments could help create a more coherent pensions reforms, although some analysts warn of a potential Treasury takeover of pensions policy to prioritize economic stimulus.
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July 23, 2024
Newell Says IRS Misapplied Pricing Law In $124M Dispute
Newell Brands told the U.S. Tax Court the Internal Revenue Service misapplied transfer pricing law to levy almost $124 million in additional taxes and penalties.
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July 23, 2024
IRS Notice Signals Direction On Corp. AMT Regs, Official Says
An Internal Revenue Service notice regarding the U.S. corporate alternative minimum tax can be read as a signal about how the agency will more broadly address the measure's potential for counting offshore income twice, an IRS official said Tuesday.
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July 23, 2024
Winston & Strawn Adds MoFo Tax Pro As Partner In NY
Winston & Strawn LLP has added a transactional tax specialist from Morrison Foerster LLP as a partner with the firm's transactions department and tax practice in New York.
GOP Control Could Muddle Tax Picture For Multinationals
Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump could create more confusion for multinationals with their tax and trade policies if they sweep the U.S. elections in November, because they are likely to pursue retaliatory measures in opposition to the OECD's global tax rewrite.
Hungary's EU Leadership Could Slow Tax Progress
Hungary's six-month term leading meetings of European Union ministers could hinder progress toward agreement on tax legislation, as the country's position on the war in Ukraine alienates other bloc members.
US Treasury Working To Extend Pillar 1 DST Compromise
As OECD-led negotiations continue on a taxing rights overhaul known as Pillar One after a missed June deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department is working to extend the political agreement between it and several countries to nullify their digital services taxes once the rights overhaul is implemented.
Featured Stories
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GOP Control Could Muddle Tax Picture For Multinationals
Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump could create more confusion for multinationals with their tax and trade policies if they sweep the U.S. elections in November, because they are likely to pursue retaliatory measures in opposition to the OECD's global tax rewrite.
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Can New Pensions Minister 'Serve Two Masters'?
A new British pensions minister with a foot in two competing government departments could help create a more coherent pensions reforms, although some analysts warn of a potential Treasury takeover of pensions policy to prioritize economic stimulus.
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Hungary's EU Leadership Could Slow Tax Progress
Hungary's six-month term leading meetings of European Union ministers could hinder progress toward agreement on tax legislation, as the country's position on the war in Ukraine alienates other bloc members.
Expert Analysis
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed
The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.