Free Talking Points currently available
United Nations/OECD - The New UN Framework Convention: Could ‘Majority Rule’ Doom the Effort to Failure?
Although the United Nations has long played a role in setting international tax policy, since 2013 the OECD has taken center stage in that space as it addresses base erosion and profit shifting in its BEPS Project. This has led many countries in the developing world to seek an alternative forum, the UN, to formulate and adopt international tax policies that address concerns that, they argue, have largely been ignored by the OECD’s Inclusive Framework. In this Talking Points, Lotfi Sellami Khelil examines the UN process and its most recent debate, and wonders whether a solution that relies solely on majority rule could doom the entire effort to failure.
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OECD/International - The Unhelpful Myth of Tax Certainty
One key component of the OECD’s Pillar One proposal to reallocate taxing rights from producer to consumer nations is the promise that businesses and governments affected by this change will be able to achieve something called “tax certainty”. But what exactly is “tax certainty”? In this Talking Points piece, Peter A. Barnes looks at whether it is possible to achieve certainty in any aspect of business, let alone in the complex world of international taxation, and suggests a more productive way forward.
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Ukraine - The Impact of War on Tax Policy – Lessons from Ukraine
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has demanded urgent changes to Ukrainian tax policy, resulting in the adoption of over 20 tax-related laws since the war began in February 2022. The parliament has prioritized measures that ease the tax burden on businesses, whose trade has faced unprecedented challenges. Tetyana Zhuravska’s article discusses some of the lessons learned, points out the crucial wartime tax policy developments and comments on further proposals.
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European Union - Will the European Union Fall in Love with DEBRA?
The European Commission has proposed a new directive to more closely equalize the income tax treatment between equity and debt financing for corporations doing business in EU Member States. Carla Valério examines the details of the proposal – with the clever acronym DEBRA – and looks at what it could mean for European corporations and capital markets, if adopted.
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How Will the World Finally COP to the Realities of Pricing Carbon?
Carbon pricing was high on the agenda at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. Rafael Barbosa de Sousa explains what tax professionals need to know about carbon pricing and carbon taxation, and cautions policymakers to carefully consider all the consequences – intended and unintended – before enacting carbon taxes.
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Crossing the Digital Services Tax Divide – But Is It Worth the Journey? by George L. Salis
Despite compelling legal and constitutional barriers to digital services taxes (DSTs) in the United States, more states are moving forward with EU-style DST taxing models in the post-COVID economy. How did we get here, and what do tax professionals need to know about this growing trend?
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