BRUSSELS I 31 AUGUST 2020
EU Commission Publishes ATAD Implementation Report
The European Commission published a Report to the European Parliament and Council on the implementation of ATAD and ATAD2, the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, a factual document outlining the status of the implementation of the directive in Member states pursuant to Article 10 of the Directive. ATAD is key pan-European legislative instrument, requiring Members States to implement specific tax-avoidance legislation in areas such as interest limitation rules, exit taxation, controlled foreign company rule (“CFC”), hybrid mismatches rule and general anti-abuse rule (“GAAR”). The focus of this report is the early implementation in areas such as interest limitation rules, GAAR and CFC legislation.
Germany to Discuss Tax Priorities in the EU Parliament
Germany’s Federal Finance Minister and Chair of the ECOFIN, Olaf Scholz, will discuss the tax policy priorities of the German EU Presidency at a European Parliament session of the Economic Affairs Committee (ECON) on 2 September 2020.
Mr Scholz will discuss the COVID-19 related measures to support the EU economy and the legislative priorities of the German EU Presidency. The ECON Committee previously published a report containing steps (legislative and non-legislative) that were accomplished or planned by the European Parliament to contend the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to amendments of certain EU Directives which allow for deferral of deadlines, the European Parliament has set out policy options for the post-crisis economic recovery of the Single Market concerning in particular regarding the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2021, the Capital Markets Union (CMU), improving access to capital market finance, in particular by SMEs, further enabling of retail investor participation, and Sustainable Europe Investment Plan on how to finance the European Green Deal.
Forthcoming: Global Forum on Tax Transparency Report
The Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information, an OECD based inclusive-framework organisation, has published a Report (available to read on 1 September) on the second round of peer review concerning compliance with international standards for exchange of information for nine jurisdictions: Anguilla, Chile, China, Gibraltar, Greece, Korea, Malta, Papua New Guinea and Uruguay.
With 161 members, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the leading international body working on the implementation of global transparency and exchange of information standards around the world.
Facebook Reaches Tax Settlement in France
Facebook’s branch in France will pay €106 million of assessed taxes and penalties, in a settlement reached with the French tax authorities, Facebook’s French representatives confirmed in a public statement following a report published in the Capital.
The settlement covers the years 2009 – 2018 concerning revenue which was not declared to the tax authorities under French tax law, including a penalty of €22 million. The French tax authorities initiated inspections in multiple establishments of US digital companies following a raid in 2012.
Save the Date: CFE Professional Affairs Webinar Conference on Taxpayers Rights
Save the date for the 13th European Webinar Conference on Tax Advisers’ Professional Affairs, to be held virtually on Friday, 20 November 2020, on the topic of “Taxpayer Rights and Legal Certainty in the Digital Era”.
The webinar conference will welcome tax experts and academics who will examine global developments in the protection of taxpayers’ rights and the impact and implications of technology on taxpayers’ rights. The conference will also review the recently published IBFD 2019 Yearbook on Taxpayers’ Rights, the most recent compilation of information by the Observatory on the Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights.
More details about the programme, line-up of speakers and registration will be available in due course.
The selection of the remitted material has been prepared by:
Piergiorgio Valente/ Aleksandar Ivanovski/ Brodie McIntosh/ Filipa Correia