Editor’s Introduction

It comes as no surprise that Western governments are struggling to figure out how to pay for services that their prospective populations demand. Those nations that fall outside the Western orbit face a similar challenge of maintaining societal order and that requires, inter alia, money, which in turn provides power. One of the key ways to achieve societal order and harmony is by imposing and collecting taxes from the populace. Put another way, it is taxes that, in part, pay for social and economic programs and the maintenance of societal harmony.

In this guide, you will find a useful and focused, country-by-country examination of the key corporate tax and tax controversy issues. This is the starting point for any thoughtful approach to the subjects. From here, it is up to the reader to connect with the leading law firms and experts that contributed to either the question-and-answer section, market insights or both in this work.

From a review of the country-by-country analysis, certain general themes run true. Past governmental approaches to corporate taxation are no longer in fashion. Older tax planning tactics — such as treaty shopping, profit shifting and the utilization of low tax jurisdiction arbitrage — have become far less prevalent. In today’s environment, law firms around the globe are dealing with tougher rules of enforcement requiring greater, if not complete, transparency. Some of these developments can be traced to initiatives such as the OECD Pillar Two policy, which imposes a 15% minimum effective tax rate on large multinationals. Enforcement has taken centre stage in relation to transfer pricing audits, particularly, and the taxation challenges posed by the digital economy. The growing focus on the concept of permanent establishment, and the broadening of its scope, has further expanded audits by revenue authorities. Few revenue authorities have failed to expand the application of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) as governments around the world broaden domestic anti-avoidance rules. These themes all lead to a conclusion that taxation, with all of its complexities, requires firms and individuals that are truly devoted to the study of tax and understanding of the related law. The contributors to this work possess those essential skills, and I am sure that you, the reader, will discover this to be true.

Acknowledgement

A book of this nature and scope would not be possible without the commitment and assistance of many people. It is always a challenge to single out a few without possibly offending someone who may feel “left out”. But, then again, there are always a few people that are instrumental in leading to the success of this type of project. So, I begin by thanking and acknowledging my former law partner, Ron Choudhury. Ron is a first-rate tax planner and, with his input, we developed the question-and-answer section for corporate tax. Thank you Ron! I am indebted to Katie Burrington of Global Legal Post. It was our previous experience of working together that got me excited about this project and on board as the editor. Thank you, Katie! There is a host of people that are part of the Global Legal Post team, and two further standouts are Emily Kyriacou and Debbie Knowles. Emily is in charge of commercial projects. I have been fortunate to have worked with Emily before — a polished professional with a great sense of humility and humour. Debbie has been indispensable as the editorial and production manager. Without her skills and guidance, this book would never have made it to print!

The Canadian chapter would not have been possible without the work of one of our firm’s finest tax associates, Raffaella Garofalo. Thank you, Raffaella! And I can hardly forget to thank my assistant, Jacob Bourque. Jacob has managed to keep the paper flowing and me “out of trouble”.

Finally, I want to thank our contributors because without their commitment and work this book and project would not have been possible. Thank you contributors!