2016-17 New Zealand Budget
The 2016-17 New Zealand (NZ) Budget was delivered by the NZ treasurer on 26 May 2016. For further information on the NZ Budget, see PwC NZ’s commentary.
Australian Country-byCountry reporting laws
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has finalised the design of the Local File, which will not be a transfer pricing report; rather, it will require certain specific transfer pricing and business information to be reported in a standardised electronic form. For further information, see our feature article, which provides an overview of the Local File requirements under Australia’s new Country-by-Country reporting laws.
Belgium: Introduction of transfer pricing documentation obligations
On 2 June 2016, the Belgian Government introduced before Parliament a draft Program Act which sets out the blueprint of how Belgium aims to introduce the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 13 into Belgian tax law. For further information, see our Tax Insights, Prepare for imminent introduction of transfer pricing documentation obligations.
Canada continues moving forward with OECD transparency agenda
Canada has announced two measures aligned with OECD BEPS project. Effective 1 April 2016, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) began sharing selected Canadian tax ruling with certain countries in accordance with BEPS Action 5, and on 12 May 2016, Canada signed the Multilateral Competent Agreement on the Exchange of Country-by-Country Reports (MCAA). For further information, see our Tax Insights, Canada continues moving forward with OECD transparency agenda.
OECD developments
More countries sign up to the Convention on Mutual Assistance
Jamaica and Uruguay have signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The Convention provides for all forms of administrative assistance in tax matters: exchange of information on request, spontaneous exchange, automatic exchange, tax examinations abroad, simultaneous tax examinations and assistance in tax collection.
Continued commitment to establish global taxation standards
Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Pascal Saint-Amans, has issued a statement on global tax and transparency before the OECD Forum 2016, which was held 31 May – 1 June 2016, noting that, “Establishing global taxation standards and making commitments to implement them, while essential steps, are just the start. It is time to move emphatically towards implementation ... With the G20-OECD partnership at the heart of the international tax agenda, we are determined to promote better tax policies for better lives, everywhere.”
Discussion draft on BEPS Action 15
The OECD has released a discussion draft for public comment on the multilateral instrument to implement the tax-treaty related BEPS measures (BEPS Action 15: A Mandate for the Development of a Multilateral Instrument on Tax Treaty Measures to Tackle BEPS). The discussion draft outlines the background and purpose of the multilateral instrument and describes briefly the technical issues arising from its development. As noted in the discussion draft, the main objective of a multilateral instrument is to facilitate the modification of existing bilateral tax treaties in a synchronised and efficient manner to implement the tax treaty measures developed during the BEPS Project, without the need to expend resources individually renegotiating each treaty bilaterally. The OECD will hold a public consultation on the multilateral instrument on 7 July 2016 in Paris.
Amendments to Transfer Pricing Guidelines
The OECD Council has approved the amendments to the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations(Transfer Pricing Guidelines), as set out in the 2015 BEPS Report on Actions 8-10 Aligning Transfer Pricing Outcomes with Value Creation, and the 2015 BEPS Report on Action 13 Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting. These amendments provide further clarity and legal certainty about the status of the BEPS changes to the Transfer Pricing Guidelines, which were endorsed by the Council on 1 October 2015, by the G20 Finance Ministers on 8 October 2015, and by the G20 Leaders on 15-16 November 2015.
Other International tax news
International Tax News: Edition 40, June 2016 – Read our monthly newsletter for updates and analysis on developments taking place around the world, authored by Member Firm specialists in PwC’s global international tax network. The developments covered by this edition include changes to Brazil’s capital gains tax rates, the United States Treasury’s proposed Section 385 regulations on related party financing, the French Supreme Court’s final decision on remuneration of cash funding from a branch to its head office, and the United Kingdom Court of Appeal decision regarding taxation of foreign portfolio dividends.
