International
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November 08, 2024
Italy's Finance Minister Says EU Must Adopt Digital Tax
The European Union must adopt a digital services tax despite the threat of retaliatory trade measures by the U.S., Italy's finance minister told the country's Parliament as it seeks to widen the scope of its own measure to domestic companies.
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November 08, 2024
Aussie Accounting Group Says No Need For New Gov't Body
A group representing Australian accounting professionals pushed back Friday on a parliamentary committee's recommendation that the government review the processes of professional accounting bodies with an eye to potentially replacing them with an independent one.
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November 08, 2024
Shutts & Bowen Adds Complex Taxation Pro In Sarasota
Shutts & Bowen LLP has brought on a new partner at the firm's growing Sarasota, Florida, office, bringing close to 20 years of private practice tax law experience to the firm's private client services practice group.
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November 08, 2024
Audits Of Large Australian Cos. Generate $1.64B
Audits and reviews of 24 large companies in Australia generated AU$2.5 billion ($1.64 billion) in tax revenue in 2023-24, the Australian Taxation Office said.
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November 08, 2024
Apache To Pull North Sea Investments Over UK Windfall Tax
Texas-based oil giant Apache Corp. said Friday that it will wind up its North Sea oil operations by 2030 in response to the U.K.'s plan to raise the energy profits levy — known as the windfall tax — by 3 percentage points.
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November 08, 2024
8 EU Countries Call For Increased Russian Import Duties
A group of eight European Union member countries called on the bloc's executive body to consider increased import duties on Russian goods in response to the war in Ukraine, Sweden's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.
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November 07, 2024
Danish Gov't Can't Exclude 2012 Evidence In $2B Tax Case
A New York federal judge allowed U.S. pension plans to present a Danish firm's 2012 opinion as key evidence in an upcoming trial in the Danish government's $2 billion tax fraud case against them, but barred three other pieces of evidence.
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November 07, 2024
EU's Anti-Tax Avoidance Rules Underperforming, Group Says
The European Union should strengthen its rules for combating tax avoidance by categorically including certain income of controlled foreign corporations and by limiting deductions for intragroup royalties and service fees, the Tax Justice Network said in response to a consultation by the bloc.
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November 07, 2024
Varian Not Relevant In Liberty Global Case, US Tells 10th Circ.
A U.S. Tax Court decision that granted medical device company Varian Medical Systems a deduction for dividends received from foreign subsidiaries does not support Liberty Global's claims to a $110 million tax refund, the federal government told the Tenth Circuit on Thursday.
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November 07, 2024
ECJ Says VAT Applies To Land Prepared For Building
Land with foundations to build residential housing is subject to value-added tax as a supply of land in the European Union, the European Court of Justice said Thursday in a dispute between Denmark's tax authority and a real estate company.
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November 07, 2024
Transparency Act Should Exclude Housing Co-Ops, Court Told
A group of housing cooperatives asked a Michigan federal judge to grant them an exemption from the "dragnet" Corporate Transparency Act, claiming the disclosure requirements will deter members from serving on boards that govern affordable housing developments.
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November 07, 2024
G20 Beneficial Ownership Transparency Lacking, Group Says
While Group of 20 nations are making progress on establishing beneficial ownership registers since committing to doing so a decade ago, a nonprofit dedicated to stopping corruption and promoting transparency said Thursday that there is still work to be done, including in countries that have yet to establish their registers.
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November 07, 2024
Gov't Gets Default In $4.9M Son-Of-Boss Case
A federal judge entered a $4.9 million default against the estate of a Michigan man and his widow after having threatened to dismiss the case, in which the government says the couple avoided taxes by participating in a Son-of-Boss scheme.
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November 07, 2024
Aussie Pols Urge Barring PwC From Gov't Work For Now
An Australian Parliamentary committee said Thursday that PwC should be temporarily barred from taking on government work while investigations into its tax document leak scandal continue, along with other recommendations.
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November 07, 2024
Trinidad And Tobago Joins OECD Tax Transparency Treaty
Trinidad and Tobago formally joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's global tax transparency agreement on combating tax avoidance and evasion by multinational corporations, the OECD announced Thursday.
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November 07, 2024
EU Tax Nominee Says Bloc Could Go It Alone On Digital Tax
The nominee to serve as the European Union's next tax commissioner said Thursday that the EU should seek its own solution to digital taxation if it can't keep the U.S. on its side following the elections this week.
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November 07, 2024
IRS To Hold Hearing On Dual Consolidated Loss Regs
The Internal Revenue Service plans to hold a public hearing Nov. 22 on proposed regulations that outline when foreign taxes under the Pillar Two international minimum tax agreement could trigger U.S. rules that aim to prevent companies from double-dipping the same economic loss.
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November 06, 2024
Finance Committee Helm Awaits Crapo After GOP Wins Senate
Idaho Republican Mike Crapo is expected to lead the Senate Finance Committee when Congress convenes next year, following President-elect Donald Trump's win Tuesday in the election that also handed Republicans control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2021.
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November 06, 2024
Portugal Implements Global Min. Tax After EU Pressure
Portugal officially implemented the global corporate minimum tax spearheaded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development following pressure from the European Union to join the majority of the bloc in doing so.
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November 06, 2024
EU Court Won't Toss Commission's Tax Clawback In Portugal
A European Union court on Wednesday tossed two challenges to a European Commission ruling that Portugal must claw back tax breaks provided to companies with no local economic activity because that ran counter to commission-approved policies.
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November 06, 2024
Gov't Urges 11th Circ. To Rethink FBAR Excessive Fine Ruling
The Eleventh Circuit should reconsider its decision that some of the $12.6 million in penalties the Internal Revenue Service imposed on a man for willfully failing to report his foreign bank accounts violated the Eighth Amendment's bar on excessive fines, the U.S. government said.
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November 06, 2024
Hedge Fund Lawyer Defends Signing Off On £1.4B Fraud Docs
The former top lawyer at a hedge fund accused of defrauding Denmark's tax authority of £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion), who signed off on documents falsely confirming the trades were legitimate, told a London trial he didn't think it "was a big deal at the time."
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November 06, 2024
Improved Carbon Measuring Could Guide Taxes, OECD Says
Measuring the carbon intensity of products can help countries design taxes to push toward emission-reduction goals, but countries need to work together to develop more accurate and specific measurements to make them more effective, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
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November 06, 2024
UK Considering Tweaks To Global Minimum Tax
The U.K. is looking at tweaks to its implementation of the OECD's global minimum tax on large multinational entities that HM Revenue & Customs said Wednesday will address concerns from stakeholders and bring it in line with updated guidance.
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November 06, 2024
UK VAT Collection Up £9B In 2023-24, A 6% Boost
The U.K.'s value-added tax revenue increased to £169 billion ($218 billion) in financial year 2023-24, a 6% rise over the £160 billion generated the year prior, HM Revenue & Customs said Wednesday, despite a net drop in registered VAT entities.
Expert Analysis
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
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.
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US-Chile Tax Treaty May Encourage Cross-Border Investment
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.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
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.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
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.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
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.
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Cayman Islands Off AML Risk Lists, Signaling Robust Controls
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.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
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.
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As Promised, IRS Is Coming For Crypto Tax Evaders
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.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
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.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
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.
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Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success
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.
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6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice
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.