December 04, 2024

The Evolution of Tax Enforcement in Switzerland

December 04, 2024/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

As in the rest of Europe, Swiss tax authorities have ramped up examinations of cross border transactions of Swiss residents and cooperation with tax authorities in other countries. Examinations of Swiss residents focus on the abuse of offshore structures and increases in the number of tax examinations and aggressiveness of tax authorities. Regarding Swiss holding companies owned by nonresidents, Switzerland now has an active exchange of information program that provides administrative assistance within the framework of the more than 100 double tax treaties. Thierry Boitelle, the Founding Member of Boitelle Tax Sàrl, in Geneva, and his colleagues Sarah Meriguet and Marine Antunes, Senior Associates at the firm, explain all.

November 20, 2019

I.R.S. Placing Watchdog Agents in International Financial Centers

November 20, 2019/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

In 2015, approximately 21 million people globally owned virtual currencies, but the I.R.S. estimates less than 900 people reported holding virtual currencies in U.S. tax returns. Now, the I.R.S. has adopted measures to ferret out crypto tax cheats. Whether modifying tax forms, cooperating with tax authorities through the J-5, or most recently stationing agents in international financial centers, the I.R.S. is serious in its attempts to track and tax cryptocurrency transactions. In their article, Stanley C. Ruchelman and Lisa Singh, an extern at Ruchelman P.L.L.C. and a student at New York Law School, look at recent global efforts.

June 27, 2017

High-Speed Tax Reform: The U.K. Diverted Profits Tax & Restrictions on Corporate Interest Deductions

June 27, 2017/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Among the most notable changes made to U.K. corporate tax over the past 24 months are the introduction of the diverted profits tax (“D.P.T.”) and the reduction of tax relief for corporate interest payments. D.P.T. is aimed at multinationals operating in the U.K. that try to avoid maintaining a permanent establishment in order to escape U.K. corporate tax. D.P.T. is imposed at the rate of 25% and treaty relief is not available. The reduction in relief for corporate interest payments implements the recommendations of B.E.P.S. Action 4. Eloise Walker and Penny Simmons of Pinsent Masons, London, explain the working of these provisions.

January 26, 2017

New Regulations Imminent for Triangular Reorganizations and Inbound Nonrecognition Transactions

January 26, 2017/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

In Notice 2016-73, the I.R.S. announced that it intends to issue regulations preventing certain taxpayer abuses incident to triangular reorganizations involving foreign corporations. These are transactions in which a subsidiary is the acquisition vehicle and the shares used to acquire the target are shares of the parent company, hence the reference to a triangle. The Notice is another step in the saga of “Killer B” reorganizations in which U.S. corporations attempt to take cash out of foreign subsidiaries without paying significant U.S. tax. Transactions occurring in the past two years have been found to be abusive because they apply recently issued regulations in a way that was not intended at the time of publication. Fanny Karaman and Stanley C. Ruchelman explain the approach enunciated in the Notice.

November 30, 2016

Insights Vol. 3 No. 10: Updates & Other Tidbits

November 30, 2016/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

This month Sultan Arab, Nina Krauthamer, and Galia Antebi look briefly at several timely issues, including (i) a Swiss court order granting UBS the right to appeal an administrative order to disclose French client information to French tax authorities, (ii) the expansion of I.R.S. offshore tax avoidance investigations to banks in countries other than Switzerland, and (iii) a continuing controversy over the Common Consolidated Tax Base, known as the C.C.T.B., proposed by the E.U. Commission.

June 30, 2016

Insights Vol. 3 No. 6: B.E.P.S. Around the World

June 30, 2016/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

This month, we review steps toward implementation of anti-B.E.P.S. provisions in various countries and the E.U. Kenneth Lobo and Nina Krauthamer look at the latest items, including French tax raids on local offices of U.S. companies, disagreement with the E.U. over the adoption of blacklists and the tax treatment of C.F.C.’s, and pushback against proposed Code §385 regulations that deal with debt and equity.

May 23, 2016

On the Blacklist – Is Delaware a Tax Haven?

May 23, 2016/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

One of the fallouts of the Panama Papers is a European call for a blacklist of countries that fail to meet the O.E.C.D. C.R.S. standards. The European Parliament and several E.U. Member States contend that if the U.S. should be declared a tax haven and added to the European Commission’s new blacklist if it does not implement the C.R.S. and B.E.P.S. Project recommendations. Are these contentions based on fact or on political agenda? Christine Long and Beate Erwin explain a trend that that is inching towards an outright trade war.