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09 December 2021
Abolishing digital taxes one part of the OECD's global tax reform
The OECD announced in October 2021 final agreement, by 136 of the 140 base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Inclusive Framework countries (including the UK, US and China), of a landmark global tax reform package, aimed at addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the...
25 October 2021
The final Senate report on Australia as a tech and finance hub – An opportunity missed
The Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre produced its Final Report on 20 October 2021 which supplements its recommendations in its first two interim reports. For the Committee’s recommendations in its second interim report, see our Article available here .
16 July 2021
Federal Ministry of Finance reacts to the ruling of the Fiscal Court of Hesse on cum/cum trades
The German Federal Ministry of Finance has now reacted to the ruling regarding cum/cum-trades of the Fiscal Court of Hesse dated 28 January 2020 by way of two decrees (dated 9 July 2021 which were published today), and amended the previous decrees of 2017 on the "Tax Treatment of Cum/Cum...
22 June 2021
German Federal Tax Court decides that "Sweet Equity" can be taxed at beneficial capital gains tax rates – what does this mean for financial investors?
The German tax treatment of disposal proceeds of so-called "sweet equity" had until recently been somewhat unclear: While the German tax authorities often tried to apply the regular, top income tax rates of up to c. 48%, taxpayers usually aimed for the more beneficial so-called partial income...
08 April 2021
Real estate transfer tax (“RETT”) reform likely to be implemented on short notice
The German RETT reform is gaining momentum and an updated draft bill is contemplated to be voted on by the German parliament as early as mid-April. While a draft bill has not yet been published, with a few exceptions, the new rules are expected to be largely similar to a previous draft published in...
14 September 2020
Restructuring and turnaround: tax implications of financial restructurings (Germany)
Introduction Businesses are struggling. Many have lost a significant portion of their annual revenue as a result of lockdowns and other measures to prevent the spread of Covid19 during the first half of 2020.
12 August 2020
Germany: DAC6 – The impact of the new EU Disclosure Rules on Lending Transactions
With effect from 1 July 2020, new mandatory disclosure obligations to tax authorities of certain cross-border arrangements have come into force in Germany. The new rules are based on the 6th EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation (“ DAC6 ”). Even though the underlying updated EU rules would...
27 May 2020
Tax Treaty Interpretation: The Limits of Fiction
In Fowler v HMRC [2020] UKSC 22, the Supreme Court determined that a statutory fiction created by a deeming provision of UK tax law did not affect how the terms of a bilateral tax treaty should be applied. In particular, the Supreme Court held that although the UK deeming provision in question...
14 May 2020
Rapid resolution of domicile disputes: be careful what you wish for
In Henkes v HMRC [2020] UKFTT 7645 (“ Henkes ”), the First-tier (Tax) Tribunal (“ the Tribunal ”) held that (a) it could (and would) determine the taxpayer’s domicile status when determining an application for the closure of a domicile enquiry and (b) its determination of that issue would be...
27 March 2020
COVID-19: PRESSURE POINTS: WITHHOLDING TAX – UNEXPECTED LINKS, UNUSUAL MECHANISMS (RUSSIA)
On 25 March 2020 president Putin in his television speech addressing Russian citizens 1 announced a set of support measures to be provided to the poorest citizens and small and medium businesses in the context of the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, in addition to these measures, the President...
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04 July 2022
Unbundling Competition: Asia competition law podcasts
In this podcast, members of the Herbert Smith Freehills Competition, Regulation and Trade team examine key competition law and related regulatory developments. In each instalment, we update you on the latest developments across Asia, as well as those affecting Asian businesses around the world,...
30 June 2022
Asia-Pacific Competition Law Guide 2022
We are pleased to announce the launch of the sixth edition of Herbert Smith Freehills’ Asia-Pacific Competition Law Guide. Since the previous edition of the guide and in the context of the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, competition authorities across the Asia-Pacific region have...
29 June 2022
Trust Companies see cyber security as key business risk
Our survey confirms that trust companies continue to see cyber security as a key business risk. This is in line with companies in other areas: in IBM's 25 th edition of "The CEO Study", drawn from interviews with 3,000 CEOs worldwide, CEOs ranked cyber risk as their greatest organisational...
27 June 2022
Australia’s new employee stock ownership plan disclosure exemptions present a stark choice
New reforms designed to expand access to employee equity and reduce red tape by removing disclosure and other regulatory requirements will come into force in October – but the reality is they will present companies with a stark choice when offering equity in Australia to employees.
23 June 2022
Trust Companies Survey 2022: Beneficiary Disputes
Respondents continue to identify Beneficiary Disputes (ie disputes between the trustee and one or more of the beneficiaries) as a significant challenge. However, trustees' primary concerns remain in other areas, with Beneficiary Disputes ranking as the sixth most pressing issue. In this article, we...