October 03, 2023

Regulating the Issuance of A.P.A.’s in Greece

October 03, 2023/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Advance Pricing Agreements (“A.P.A.’s”) regarding intercompany transactions have been issued in Greece for several years. In late July, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue introduced new procedural and timeline-related modifications, aligning the A.P.A. procedure in Greece with global standards. In her article, Natalia Skoulidou, a partner of the Iason Skouzos Law Firm, Athens, addresses new rules for (i) pre-submission consultations, (ii) procedures to be followed when applying for an A.P.A., (iii) the content of the information that must be submitted, (iv) the taxpayer’s A.P.A. history in other countries, (iv) the disclosure of key assumptions on which the proposed pricing method is based, (v) the ability to roll back the methodology to open years, and (vi) revisions, revocation, or cancellation of the A.P.A.

September 20, 2017

Eaton A.P.A. Cancellations Were an Abuse of I.R.S. Discretion

September 20, 2017/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

A recent U.S. Tax Court decision involving Eaton Corporation affirmed that the I.R.S. cannot arbitrarily circumvent administrative rules that are set down in revenue procedures and relied upon by the I.R.S. and a taxpayer. As a result, the I.R.S. must reasonably exercise its discretion when seeking to terminate an advance pricing agreement with a taxpayer. Michael Peggs looks at the process of obtaining an advanced pricing agreement and comments on the court’s decision.

May 15, 2015

Ten Year Throwback

May 15, 2015/ Web Admin

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Two years ago, a U.S. Senate investigation accused Ireland of granting Apple Inc. special tax treatment. This accusation sparked a seemingly never-ending investigation into the state aid granted by certain European countries to specific multinational companies. More recently, Apple, Starbucks, Fiat, and various other companies exposed in the “Luxembourg Leaks” scandal were accused of having paid substandard taxes as a result of agreements between those companies and the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Ireland, which constituted illegal state aid.

Now, the European Commission (the “Commission”) is looking into the penalties that should be levied upon the income earned through these agreements. The Commission’s investigations into these advance rulings and advance pricing agreements (“A.P.A.’s”) between E.U. member-states and major U.S. multinationals could lead to tax adjustments dating as far back as ten years.

STATE AID

State aid is defined as “an advantage in any form whatsoever conferred on a selective basis to undertakings by national public authorities.” This does not include subsidies or tax breaks available to all entities. A measure of state aid constitutes an intervention by a state, or through state resources, that gives specific companies or industry sectors an advantage on a selective basis, thereby distorting competition and affecting trade between E.U. member states.

November 15, 2014

Insights Vol. 1 No. 10: Updates & Other Tidbits

November 15, 2014/ Web Admin

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ISRAEL ANNOUNCES ADOPTION OF O.E.C.D.’S COMMON REPORTING STANDARD

Israel has announced that it will adopt the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information: Common Reporting Standard (“C.R.S.”) issued by the O.E.C.D. in February 2013.

The C.R.S. establishes a standardized form that banks and other financial institutions would be required to use in gathering account and transaction information for submission to domestic tax authorities. The information would be provided to domestic authorities on an annual basis for automatic exchange with other participating jurisdictions. The C.R.S. will focus on accounts and transactions of residents of a specific country, regardless of nationality. The C.R.S. also contains the due diligence and reporting procedures to be followed by financial institutions based on a Model 1 F.A.T.C.A. intergovernmental agreement (“I.G.A.”).

At the conclusion of the October 28-29 O.E.C.D. Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, about 50 jurisdictions had signed the document. The U.S. was notably absent as a signatory to the agreement. In addition to the C.R.S., the signed agreement contains a model competent authority agreement for jurisdictions that would like to participate at a later stage.