Series: Working Papers / RICC

The amount of taxes paid by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host and home countries continues to make headline news. Corporate tax regimes, particularly those in many OECD countries, have never been more complex and the competition to attract and retain foreign direct investment (FDI) has perhaps never been so great. All of these political, legal, economic and competitive realities face countries at a time when they need additional budget revenues. At the June 2012 G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, leaders identified base erosion and profit shifting as key fiscal issue to be addressed. Many are expecting this to translate into a new approach to applying existing international tax standards, an increased pressure to eliminate "corporate tax breaks", enact tougher anti-abuse provisions, and less tolerance of aggressive tax planning. There has been an increased critical focus on transfer pricing, corporate restructuring and double tax treaties. Some have suggested that double tax treaties are eroding the domestic tax bases of developing countries, while others conclude that double tax treaties promote development and FDI and thereby expand the tax base. Dividing up a "revenue pie" has never been easy and the implementation of international tax rules to transparently and predictably allocate revenue to avoid double taxation and double non taxation has never been more adversarial between taxpayers and tax authorities and between tax jurisdictions. It was for these reasons that the Global Tax Policy Center of the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC) decided to undertake this study. The objective of our study was to look at the development impact of double taxation treaties and, more broadly, how tax policy can help generate economic growth and prosperity. Legally domestic tax laws are normally subordinate to international double taxation treaties, but in reality a double tax treaty only serves a country as well as its domestic tax regime. We've concluded that the problems affecting developing countries lie not with double tax treaties but rather in weak domestic tax legislation. Our study reviews empirical data from 20 developing countries, including LDCs, middle-to-high income developing countries, resource-rich countries, and BRIICS[1] countries. We hope that the empirical analysis and the conclusions that can be drawn from it can help guide policymakers to refocus their policy objectives to boost capital formation, expanding exports, and protect their domestic tax bases. We believe that a country with strong domestic tax legislation can advance their pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals by affectively utilizing double tax treaties and the related international tax rules to more transparently share and grow their tax base. (authors' abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

Die Regelungen zur Unabhängigkeit des Abschlussprüfers insbesondere bei Abschlussprüfungen konzernverbundener Unternehmen sind in den letzten Jahren - zuletzt in Folge der Finanzkrise 2007-2009 – auf den Prüfstand gestellt worden. Mit der Verordnung (EU) Nr. 537/2014 und der Richtlinie 2014/56/EU und deren Anwendung zum 17.06.2016 sowie der Umsetzung der europäischen Vorgaben auf nationaler Ebene durch das AReG und das APAReG sollte die Unabhängigkeit des Abschlussprüfers gestärkt werden. Eine Untersuchung des Rechtsrahmens vor und nach der Umsetzung der sog. EU-Abschlussprüferreform 2014 in deutsches Recht zeigt auf, an welchen Stellen Verbesserungen erfolgt sind und an welchen Stellen noch immer Handlungsbedarf besteht. / The regulations regarding the independence of the auditor in particular when the subject of the audit is an affiliated company, have been critically questioned, at least as a consequence of the financial crisis 2007-2009. With the Regulation (EU) Nr. 537/2014 and the Directive (EU) 2014/56/EU and their application until 17.06.2016, as well as the implementation of the European requirements at national level by AReG and APAReG, the independence of the auditor should be strengthened. An analysis of the legal framework before and after the implementation of the so-called EU audit reform 2014 into German law, demonstrates where improvement has been achieved and where there is still a need for action.

The draft for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base Directive in the European Union includes the suggestion for an apportionment formula which allocates taxable group profits to group member corporations. These allocated profits shall then be taxed in the respective Member States. The draft directive delegates the right to define one factor of the apportionment formula, the term "Employee" to the Member States, who are therefore free to choose a narrow or a broad definition, the latter including also atypical employment schemes. Using a game-theoretic approach the paper shows that the individually rational strategy of any Member State to define "Employee" broadly so as to maximize the volume of the apportionment factor and thus maximize the allocated share of taxable income is only the best solution when tax rate differences and differences in the volume of atypical employment schemes are disregarded. If such differentials and the corporate groups' reactions to different Member States' definitions are included in modelling the game's pay-offs a narrow definition of "Employee" yields the highest individual pay-offs to the Member States involved. This change of dominant strategies is triggered by the corporate group's shifting of the employment factor from high-tax to low-tax Member States. Our paper differs from previous research on the economic effects of the CCCTB apportionment formula as it is the first paper identifying and analysing the employment factor and its distorting effects. The paper discusses possible tax minimizing strategies for corporate groups by shifting workforce and develops a model to quantify these potential relocations. Furthermore the paper presents advice to policy makers in their "Employee" definition decision and shows how Member States could use this definition to both minimize outward factor shifting and maximize inward factor shifting.(authors' abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series