International

  • April 26, 2024

    Top EU Judge Sees Lower Court Becoming Like Tax Court

    The lower court of the European Union, the General Court, will over time become a venue that specializes in some tax matters after a reform is put into place, the EU's top judge has said.

  • April 26, 2024

    HSBC Beats Investors' £1.3B Disney Film Scheme Fraud Case

    HSBC fended off on Friday a £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) fraud claim brought by hundreds of investors who alleged the bank misled them into financing a Disney movie tax relief scheme it developed which turned out to be worthless.

  • April 25, 2024

    Romanian Sanctions On Fuel Violate EU Law, Court Says

    A Romanian law imposing sanctions of €77,000 ($83,000) — 21 times the usual rate of taxation — on fuel placed back into storage is so extreme it violates European Union law, the EU's top court said Thursday.

  • April 25, 2024

    Dutch Tax Authority Aiming To Beef Up Data Security

    The Netherlands' tax authority is introducing more data protection measures based on suggestions from a KPMG report commissioned after signs of possible security threats within the tax administration, it said Thursday.

  • April 25, 2024

    Workers' Effective Tax Rates In OECD Countries Rise Again

    The effective tax rates on labor income in the majority of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries rose for the second year in a row in 2023, thanks in part to continued inflation, the OECD said Thursday.

  • April 25, 2024

    OECD Says Latvia Must Shift Tax Burden, Limit Fuel Subsidies

    Latvia needs to shift its tax burden off labor and onto other forms of income such as property, and to eliminate harmful subsidies and tax practices around fossil fuels, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.

  • April 25, 2024

    OECD Consolidates Past Pillar 2 Guidance Into Single Doc

    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published administrative guidance Thursday that consolidates past publications on the interpretation and application of the international minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two, which countries began implementing this year.

  • April 25, 2024

    EU Parliament Gives Final Approval To AML Package

    The European Parliament has given the final go-ahead to a package of laws to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, creating a single rule book and establishing a dedicated agency for the bloc.

  • April 25, 2024

    Ministers From 4 Countries Back Billionaire Tax

    Government ministers from Germany, Spain, South Africa and Brazil said Thursday that they have backed a global plan to ensure that billionaires pay a minimum amount of tax, arguing that the move is necessary to make the tax system more equitable.

  • April 24, 2024

    EU Court Won't Disturb Spanish Tax Break Rulings

    A Spanish company on Wednesday lost its attempt to legitimize a tax scheme declared illegal by the European Commission when the European Union's General Court rejected its appeal, refusing to disturb prior decisions in the long-running dispute.

  • April 24, 2024

    GOP Reps Seek IRS Nonprofit Info After China Reports

    House Ways and Means Republicans asked the Internal Revenue Service to provide information about how it monitors tax-exempt organizations for possible violations of their status after reports China may be funding and improperly influencing nonprofits, according to a letter sent Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Treasury Limits Reach Of Look-Through Rule In Final Regs

    The U.S. Treasury Department finalized regulations Wednesday that retain but narrow the scope of a proposal to, in a manner of speaking, look through the corporate owners of real estate investment entities to determine whether they are domestically controlled.

  • April 24, 2024

    Tax Pros Suggest How HMRC Can Assess Digitalization Effort

    HM Revenue & Customs should abide by a set of benchmarks when evaluating tests of its digitalization program for income tax self-assessment forms, two groups representing U.K. tax professionals said.

  • April 24, 2024

    Ex-England Footballer Banned As Director For Unpaid Tax

    Former England football international John Barnes has been banned from being a company director after his business failed to pay more than £190,000 ($236,000) in tax, a U.K. government agency announced on Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Papua New Guinea Commits To Automatic Tax Info Exchange

    Papua New Guinea has committed to enacting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's standard for automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters by September 2027, the OECD said Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    EU Keeps Gibraltar, Panama, UAE On AML Blacklist

    Gibraltar, Panama and the United Arab Emirates should remain on the European Union's blacklist of high-risk countries for money laundering, the European Parliament said, stopping the EU from following the lead of a global organization promoting standards for countries to fight those crimes.

  • April 24, 2024

    EU Expected To OK Withholding Tax, Digital VAT Laws In May

    European Union finance ministers are expected to agree on a new withholding tax refund law and a package to modernize value-added tax reporting at their May 14 meeting, an EU official said Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

  • April 24, 2024

    EU Says 3 States Aren't Correctly Following AML Law

    The European Commission said Wednesday that three European Union countries — Ireland, France and Latvia — aren't correctly implementing the bloc's laws against money laundering, meaning that the countries now have two months to correct the shortcomings.

  • April 23, 2024

    Treasury Says Aussie Royalty Ruling Contradicts US, OECD

    Australia's updated draft ruling regarding when payments for the rights to distribute software would be considered royalties conflicts with OECD and U.S. standards on the treatment of such deals, a U.S. Department of the Treasury official said in a letter made public Tuesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Biz Ownership Law Constitutional, Lawmakers Tell 11th Circ.

    The Corporate Transparency Act is a garden-variety exercise of Congress' powers to address threats to national security, foreign affairs, commerce and tax collection, five Democratic lawmakers told the Eleventh Circuit, disputing a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.

  • April 23, 2024

    DC Circ. Backs Tax Penalties Against Swiss Couple

    A Swiss couple who incurred $500,000 in penalties for failing to report millions of dollars they held in Swiss bank accounts can't get out of paying, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday, rejecting their argument that the IRS didn't properly approve the fines.

  • April 23, 2024

    Int'l Pricing Pact Guidance Is Coming Soon, IRS Official Says

    Updated Internal Revenue Service guidance that would help multinational corporations pursue advance pricing agreements will likely be released in a few months, an agency official said Tuesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    Disney, IBM Stuck With Tax On Royalties, NY Top Court Holds

    New York's highest court rejected Disney and IBM's arguments that the state unconstitutionally denied their attempts to take tax deductions on royalties received from foreign affiliates, holding Tuesday that the law at issue didn't discriminate against interstate commerce.

  • April 23, 2024

    EV Levy Could Blunt Swiss Climate Plan Pains, Report Says

    The first report on the long-term fiscal impact of climate change mitigation measures in Switzerland, released Tuesday, projects a major negative impact on public funds as certain tax sources dry up, but a planned replacement levy on electric vehicles could lessen that effect.

  • April 23, 2024

    Irish Minister Warns Corp. Tax Windfall Still Shrouds Deficit

    Ireland's budget is projected to have an €8.6 billion ($9.2 billion) surplus this year, but the country's finance minister again cautioned Tuesday that without the slowly decreasing windfall corporate tax receipts there would actually be a deficit.

Expert Analysis

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment

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    Provisions in the recently effective U.S.-Chile bilateral income tax treaty should encourage business between the two countries, as they reduce U.S. withholding tax on investment income for Chilean taxpayers, exempt certain U.S. taxpayers from Chilean capital gains tax, and clarify U.S. foreign tax credit rules, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Cayman Islands Off AML Risk Lists, Signaling Robust Controls

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    As a world-leading jurisdiction for securitization special purpose entities, the removal of the Cayman Islands from increased anti-money laundering monitoring lists is a significant milestone that will benefit new and existing financial services customers conducting business in the territory, say lawyers at Walkers Global.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • As Promised, IRS Is Coming For Crypto Tax Evaders

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    The IRS is fulfilling its promise to crack down on those who have neglected to pay taxes on cryptocurrency earnings, as demonstrated by recently imposed prison sentences, enforcement initiatives and meetings with international counterparts — suggesting a few key takeaways for taxpayer compliance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

  • Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success

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    Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.

  • 6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice

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    An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.

  • Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga

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    Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

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