Category: News

As of today we can proudly announce the addition of a new partner to the CORIT team. We have managed to attract Professor dr.jur. Niels Winther-Sørensen to the team.

Niels has been a leading figure in the Danish tax scene for some 30 years, and has an impressive production in terms of publications, presentations and handling of complicated tax cases. His interests have been centered around international tax law, where he among other things authored the leading treatise on allocation of profits to permanent establishments as well a leading contribution to EU tax law. Moreover, Niels brings with him extensive experience as a big 4 international tax partner, as a law professor and as the chairman of several committees etc.

It is our clear ambition through this addition to the team to strengthen our position as a Danish tax powerhouse even further. Niels’ competences fits perfectly with the existing capabilities within CORIT, and we are looking forward to offer his services to new as well as existing clients.

I have some exciting news to share.

As of today, I have been appointed Chairman of the Danish Tax Scientific Association (Dansk Skattevidenskabelig Forening), which is also the Danish Branch of the International Fiscal Association (IFA). Prior to this, I have served on the Board for 6 years and attended the meetings for some 23 years now.

The Association is pivotal for the tax community and serve as a forum for debate and knowledge creation and sharing. As such, no other institution has linked public and private, academics and practitioners together for more than 5 decades. I sincerely hope that we can ensure this remarkable position in the future and will definitely work hard for this.

I follow in some very big footsteps, since the departing chair is no less than the doyen of Danish tax lawyers Hans Severin Hansen and before him my old mentor and first boss Søren Rasmussen. I sincerely express my gratitude to Hans for the trust shown over the years and for rendering the leadership of this old and very well-respected association in the hands of me and my fellow Board members. The association is handed over in good shape, with some remarkable achievements under the leadership of Hans. Most notably, the global IFA conference was held in Copenhagen in 2013, which required an immense load of work for a small association such as ours.

I really look forward to continue working with the association in my new capacity. My main goal is to ensure a continued broad interest on tax matters and to facilitate debate among the peers in the tax profession.

I welcome any ideas, suggestions and proposals to improve our dear association and to maintain relevance and to inspire also the coming generations. You can contact me on jb@corit.dk or via telephone: +45 40422284.

Sincerely,

Jakob  

On 16 June 2020 Jakob Bundgaard gave a presentation on the experiences of the ATA-Directive GAAR after the first 18 months in place for the Danish Association for EU Tax Law.

See the presentation here

Peter Koerver Schmidt has contributed with a chapter to the book “Tax Sustainability in an EU and International Context“

Peter discusses whether the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) may be expected to promote tax fairness and thereby contribute to increased sustainability of the international tax regime. Even though the ATAD suffers from severe shortcomings with respect to legal certainty, and can be questioned with respect to its legitimacy, it is argued that the adoption of the ATAD is an important first step towards better coordination of the corporate tax regimes within the European Union. Moreover, it is seen as a preferred solution compared to the alternative of (some) Member States unilaterally introducing new anti-avoidance rules or strengthening existing ones. Furthermore, as the ATAD curtails MNEs’ possibilities for taking advantage of aggressive tax planning, the ATAD must be expected to promote a more level playing field. This development may contribute to a more sustainable international tax framework and to reaching the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

We are honored to announce that CORIT members Katja Dyppel Weber, Louise Fjord Kjærsgaard and Jakob Bundgaard have been appointed national branch reporters at the annual IFA congress in Berlin 2021. Katja will prepare the report on Subject 1: Group approach and separate entity approach in domestic and international tax law. Louise and Jakob will prepare the report on Subject 2: Big data and tax – domestic and international taxation of data driven business. You can read more about the congress in Berlin here

CORIT staff member Peter Koerver Schmidt has authored a new working paper discussing why and how multinational enterprises should prepare and apply a responsible tax policy. In the first part of the paper, it is argued that multinational enterprises (MNEs) may benefit from including considerations of corporate responsibility when determining their tax planning behavior. The conclusion mainly rests on the fact that increased awareness of responsible tax behavior may shed useful light on the damaging effects aggressive tax planning may have on an MNE’s reputation. In addition, an increased focus on responsible tax behavior may assist the MNE’s management in maximizing shareholder welfare – and not only shareholder value. Against this background, the second part of the paper is devoted to an analysis of how MNEs actually can implement and design their own tax policy/strategy in a responsible manner. Finally, in the third part of the paper, the author tries to take stock of the current endeavors of Danish-based MNEs with respect to implementation of responsible tax policies. In this context, and based on a review of publicly available information gathered from MNEs forming part of the OMX Copenhagen 25 Index, it is concluded that the largest Danish-based MNEs currently show solid appetite for implementing policies on responsible tax and that some of these policies actually make up good examples of how to design public tax policies/strategies. Read the article here.

CORIT members Jakob Bundgaard and Louise Fjord Kjærsgaard have published an article in Tax Notes International titled: Taxable Presence and Highly Digitalized Business Models. In the Article, the authors discuss how the digitalization of the economy is affecting nexus rules and analyze international tax treaty law on permanent establishment and the taxable presence of digital businesses.

Read the artcle here.

We are pleased and proud to announce that Jakob Bundgaard has accepted the appointment as Tribute Expert under the Tribute Foundation where he shall work with distinguished colleagues from all over the world to solve international tax disputes. See the announcement here

Tribute is an expertise center for international tax dispute resolution. Tribute aims to promote and support effective approaches for alternative, out-of-court resolution of international tax disputes. These approaches include the use of binding arbitration as well as non-binding supplementary forms of dispute resolution: conciliation, mediation, facilitation, or technical advice. Tribute has a global coverage, it is neutral and independent, and not for profit. Tribute is supported by leading international tax experts, professionals, academics, and government officials, from all parts of the world. Tribute offers a platform to all parties, in whatever capacity or of whatever background, that are involved with or take an interest in international tax dispute resolution. Just as much as disputes are a shared concern, effective dispute resolution is a shared concern, and a shared benefit, as well. Tribute offers a wide range of individually tailored services for all parties involved in processes of dispute resolution: authorities, courts, tribunals, arbitration institutes, or practitioners. These services include, for example, advice on the right choice of type of dispute resolution for a particular dispute, and its proper use; advice on the design of required legal instruments, like clauses, regulations, agreements, or procedures; assistance with facilities necessary for putting processes of dispute resolution in practice, in particular selection of arbitrators, mediators or facilitators, or technical advisers, and case administration; and, finally, practical training in how to effectively participate in resolution processes. You can read more about Tribute and its activities here

Last week the OECD released its first official Transfer Pricing Guidelines on Financial Transactions. This presentation highlights, what we consider to be, the most important contributions of the guidelines.

Read the presentation here

CORIT member professor Peter Koerver Schmidt presented his view at the public hearing on CFC taxation in the Danish Parliament together with representatives from industry and the European Commission. Please find his slides here.