International briefing for September 2017

It is two months since my last update as August is generally a very quiet month in the world of international tax. This year was no different with the exception of a few new announcements in Europe which I discuss below. However things are starting to pick up again now with a lot of media attention focused on an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) of the EU held in Estonia on 15 and 16 September where EU finance ministers discussed corporate taxation challenges of the digital economy. This was in response to concerns about international taxation rules not being geared to the modern digitalised economy leading to some digital companies paying ‘minimal amounts of tax’ in European countries. This was followed by a communication from the European Commission on 21 September setting...