The international e-commerce company, Amazon, has failed to resolve elements of its transfer pricing dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The case revolves around the retailer’s use of a European subsidiary to reduce its tax bill which, if it loses, could cost the company billions.
New proposals by the UK government to enlarge the scope of its Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) and VAT Avoidance Disclosure Regulations (VADR) regimes, as well as the drafting of a new financial product hallmark, will increase the number of schemes that could fall prey to controversial accelerated payment powers.
Barrie Akin, formerly of Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers, has joined the tax team at Devereux Chambers, Formerly an accountant, Barrie Akin has been in practice at the tax bar since 1996. His work covers the range of direct and indirect taxes.
Cutting tourism VAT could offer the British economy an extra £4 billion ($6.8 billion) to GDP, and create over 120,000 new jobs, says an economic study.
South Africa’s new dispute resolution rules are a step in the right direction to ensuring that taxpayers are treated fairly when in conflict with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), but the revenue authority may struggle to meet the demands of the new provisions.
The Revenue Department of Buenos Aires (ARBA) attempt to freeze assets in taxpayers’ bank accounts and impose sanctions on financial institutions to obtain account holder information, which lay outside their jurisdiction, is unconstitutional without court approval, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) has decided.
