The Impact of the Proposed EU Directive on Tax Intermediaries on the Austrian Foundation as Tax Planning Tool


Book Description

For European Union (EU) Member States, it will become difficult to protect their tax bases from erosion. The draft EU Directive on Tax Intermediaries is aimed at preventing aggressive tax planning by enabling the increased scrutiny of the activities of tax intermediaries. On 13 March 2018, the Council reached agreement on a proposal aimed at boosting transparency in order to tackle aggressive cross-border tax planning. The draft EU Directive is the latest of a number of measures designed to prevent tax avoidance and avoidance of transparency rules. The Directive will also have an impact especially on advisers and directors of the Austrian Foundation, who will be potentially obliged to report tax avoidance schemes to the tax authorities.




EU Proposes Tax Reporting Rules for Intermediaries Including Tax Advisors


Book Description

The European Commission believes that individuals and companies that enter into transactions structured to avoid taxes rely heavily on accountants, lawyers, and other advisors to advise them. The Commission claims these "intermediaries" help their clients by structuring certain arrangements, the sole purpose of which is to escape tax in the European Union (EU). To help combat the issue, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) has considered for some time rules that would govern how transactions it viewed as "aggressive tax planning" could be reported to its tax authorities. The ECOFIN is comprised of the economics and finance ministers of the European Union states. On 13 March 2018, the Council reached a political agreement on a proposed directive that would establish new tax reporting obligations for "intermediaries" and taxpayers.




EU Tax Disclosure Rules


Book Description

EU Tax Disclosure Rules provides a comprehensive, practical guide to the 6th amendment of Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (known as DAC 6). Florian Haase offers insight and clarity into the mandatory reporting obligations imposed by DAC 6 on intermediaries engaged in tax matters involving cross-border activities, and in some cases taxpayers themselves, as well as the characteristics or 'hallmarks' outlined in the Directive that trigger these obligations. Key features include: - a critical examination of the Directive's mechanism - an overview of the status of implementation in EU Member States - a contextual consideration of the legislative environment in which DAC 6 operates - insights into practical issues that may arise from the viewpoint of intermediaries and relevant taxpayers - discussion of potential future developments of the Directive. The detailed coverage of the Directive and its implications contained in this new work will prove invaluable for all tax practitioners advising on EU tax law, including tax advisors, lawyers, mergers and acquisitions advisors, and in-house counsel for banks. It will also be of interest to academics working in tax law, as well as in commercial law and EU law more generally.




Reportable Cross-border Potentially Aggressive Tax Planning Arrangements : a New Directive that Concerns Tax Consultants, Other Intermediaries and the Taxpayers Themselves


Book Description

This paper presents the general guidelines of the new Council Directive (EU) (2018/822 of 25 May) which enforces tax intermediaries to disclose to the Tax Authorities the transactions or mechanisms that, according to the said Directive, may qualify as a potentially aggressive cross-border tax-planning arrangement. In the absence of an intermediary or when a legal professional privilege applies, this obligation to disclose falls on the taxpayer. The most relevant aspects of this new reporting obligation are that it is along the line of Action 12 of BEPS, its fully dissuasive nature, the immediacy of the deadlines in which the mechanisms must be communicated to the Tax Authorities, the definition of the said mechanisms through the so-called "hallmarks" that present an indication of a potential risk of tax avoidance, the broad definition of tax intermediary and the "quickness" in which it is going to be implemented. Finally, the work of the legislators of the Member States will be significant, since they will need to lay down rules regarding the professional privilege application and the penalties regime for infringement of the mandatory disclosure rules.




Taxation of Crypto Assets


Book Description

The emergence of crypto assets has required taxation authorities worldwide to develop unprecedented policies and compelled tax lawyers to apply existing laws in new ways. This book – the only one to focus solely on the taxation of crypto assets – provides a detailed country-by-country analysis of how the tax law of thirty-nine countries may apply to this rapidly developing area, including different use cases and compliance and documentation requirements. Following an overview of the technology and key characteristics of crypto assets, as well as the key tax concepts and types of taxes that could apply to them, leading practitioners in each particular jurisdiction summarize the relevant tax law in that country. Fully explained are such aspects of crypto assets as the following and how they are interrelated: sales; exchanges; receipt as remuneration; forks; airdrops; mining; staking; initial coin offerings; security token offerings; and initial exchange offerings. Contributors describe how each jurisdiction applies income and capital gains taxation, value-added tax and sales tax, withholding taxes, transfer taxes, and gift, inheritance, estate and wealth taxes in the context of crypto assets. Reporting requirements and enforcement are also covered. Tax law, as it applies to crypto assets, is new and continues to evolve. This book will be welcomed as the premier resource for tax practitioners, government officials, advisors, investors, issuers, users of crypto assets, and taxation academics who are seeking informed awareness of the policy choices countries make in dealing with the taxation of this new technology. Tax lawyers dealing with crypto assets will have comprehensive practical guidance on how to comply with the tax laws of multiple jurisdictions.




Addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting


Book Description

This report presents studies and data available regarding the existence and magnitude of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), and contains an overview of global developments that have an impact on corporate tax matters.




International VAT/GST Guidelines


Book Description

Value Added Tax (VAT; also known as Goods and Services Tax, under the acronym GST in a number of OECD countries) has become a major source of revenue for governments around the world. Some 165 countries operated a VAT at the time of the completion of the International VAT/GST Guidelines in 2016, more than twice as many as 25 years before. As VAT continued to spread across the world, international trade in goods and services has also expanded rapidly in an increasingly globalised economy. One consequence of these developments has been the greater interaction between VAT systems, along with growing risks of double taxation and unintended non-taxation in the absence of international VAT co-ordination. The International VAT/GST Guidelines now present a set of internationally agreed standards and recommended approaches to address the issues that arise from the uncoordinated application of national VAT systems in the context of international trade. They focus in particular on trade in services and intangibles, which poses increasingly important challenges for the design and operation of VAT systems worldwide. They notably include the recommended principles and mechanisms to address the challenges for the collection of VAT on cross-border sales of digital products that had been identified in the context of the OECD/G20 Project on Base and Erosion and Profit Shifting (the BEPS Project). These Guidelines were adopted as a Recommendation by the Council of the OECD in September 2016.




The Third Sector as a Renewable Resource for Europe


Book Description

This book provides a critical account of the third sector and its future in Europe. It offers an original conceptualization of the third sector in its European manifestations alongside an overview of its major contours, including its structure, sources of support, and recent trends. It also assesses the impact of this sector in Europe which considers its contributions to European economic development, citizen well-being and human development.The Third Sector As A Renewable Resource for Europe presents the findings of the Third Sector Impact (TSI) project funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7). It recognises that in a time of social and economic distress, as well as enormous pressures on governmental budgets, the third sector and volunteering represent a unique 'renewable resource' for social and economic problem-solving and civic engagement in Europe. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.




Assuring the Quality of Health Care in the European Union


Book Description

People have always travelled within Europe for work and leisure, although never before with the current intensity. Now, however, they are travelling for many other reasons, including the quest for key services such as health care. Whatever the reason for travelling, one question they ask is "If I fall ill, will the health care I receive be of a high standard?" This book examines, for the first time, the systems that have been put in place in all of the European Union's 27 Member States. The picture it paints is mixed. Some have well developed systems, setting standards based on the best available evidence, monitoring the care provided, and taking action where it falls short. Others need to overcome significant obstacles.




Harmful Tax Competition An Emerging Global Issue


Book Description

Tax competition in the form of harmful tax practices can distort trade and investment patterns, erode national tax bases and shift part of the tax burden onto less mobile tax bases. The Report emphasises that governments must intensify their cooperative actions to curb harmful tax practices.