It has been a big year for employee share schemes (ESS) in Australia. While there have been some tax reforms, on 1 October 2022, legislation was passed that brought about a tectonic shift in the regulatory plumbing that underpins the operation of ESS in Australia. Following the passing of these reforms, all companies that operate ESS in Australia – whether listed or unlisted, large or small – need to pause to consider how the new regulatory rules will impact on the operation of their ESS plans.
Released on Jan 10, 2024
Starting in 2024, for the first time the United States Corporate Transparency Act will require millions of companies to report to the Treasury Department about their principal beneficial owners and controlling persons. Non-exempted business entities formed or registered in the US and in existence after this year must furnish specified identifying information to a federal database, which will be open to relevant governmental authorities and (in connection with KYC and AML diligence) financial institutions, though not to the general public. Affected companies should act promptly to comply with the CTA.
Released on Jul 18, 2023
In 2021 legislation was passed to implement the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority, which is due to take full effect from 1 August 2023. This also coincides with a move to reform property taxes, which had previously been referred to as land and building taxes, but is now expected to be re-implemented as a property tax in 2023, based on a percentage of the annual rental value of the property.
Released on Jun 18, 2023
In recent times, there have been two significant decisions emanating from the Tax Appeal Board of Trinidad and Tobago in which the role and purpose of the holding company within the multinational group structure was critical in determining whether the interposition of such entity within the group structure was a tax avoidance mechanism and, therefore, should be disregarded in the taxation authority’s assessment related to the withholding tax applicable on the particular dividend remittance.
Released on Jun 18, 2023
In 2014, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development developed the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (the ‘AEOI Standard’). The AEOI Standard provides for the annual exchange, between tax authorities, of a predefined set of information on financial accounts held by individuals and entities resident in a foreign jurisdiction. The Common Reporting Standard is the global standard for the automatic exchange of tax information. The Cayman Islands was one of the first countries to commit to implementing the AEOI Standard and completed its first exchange in 2017.
Released on Jun 18, 2023
The Caribbean Community’s Double Taxation Agreement was signed in 1994 and bears close similarities to the UN Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries published in 1980, rather than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Double Taxation Convention on Income and Capital, which was developed in 1963 by developed countries and largely favoured investors from those countries. The Double Taxation Agreement is unfortunately silent on ‘permanent establishment’, an omission which causes businesspersons, accountants and lawyers endless headaches.
Released on Jun 18, 2023
The panel examined two court decisions: the US Tax Court case decision in Coca-Cola, ruled on 18 November 2020, and the Impresa Pizzarotti decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 9 October 2020. The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidance on Financial Transactions were also addressed.
Released on Jul 12, 2021
A report on a conference session at the 10th annual IBA Finance and Capital Markets Tax Virtual Conference 2021. The panel discussed the current trends in merger and acquisition (M&A) structuring and taxation from a multi-jurisdictional perspective, focusing on Europe, the United Kingdom and United States.
Released on Jul 12, 2021