The agreement represents a major change for tax competition as well, and many countries will rethink their tax policies for multinationals. However, the US will continue to chart its own course, and other countries may prefer to do the same, depending on the final outcome of the G7 statement.
8 min read
Short FormThe technical rules that were once solely the province of tax wonks in D.C. and Paris are being brought out into the public sphere.
5 min read
If a multilateral solution to remove digital services taxes (DSTs) is not agreed to, then DSTs will continue to spread and mutate with negative impacts on some of the most innovative companies in the world.
Pillar Two, the international global minimum tax agreement, has a considerable chance of failing and may ultimately allow the same problems it was designed to address.
6 min read
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) reformed the U.S. system for taxing international corporate income. Understanding the impact of TCJA’s international provisions thus far can help lawmakers consider how to approach international tax policy in the coming years.
30 min read
Simplifying international tax rules will not solve all the challenges that stand in the way of healthy cross-border investment, but eliminating unnecessary provisions would be a positive pivot relative to the trajectory of recent years. It’s high time that policymakers stopped pursuing ever more complex rules and started the hard work of simplification.
6 min read
Due to the incentive for jurisdictions to implement a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT), Pillar Two leaves a geographic asymmetry. Additional tax revenues would predominantly accrue to low-tax jurisdictions, with high tax jurisdictions receiving little to no increase.
2 min read
New evidence shows the scale and distribution of compliance costs for EU firms affected by Pillar Two, i.e., the “Global Minimum Tax.”
6 min read
Rather than returning to a world of retaliatory tax measures and transatlantic disputes, the OECD should continue to decrease the compliance costs of Pillar Two by simplifying the rules to reduce any possible risk that the US has a compliance cost advantage and working with G7 countries on a side-by-side solution.
6 min read
The European Commission’s new Tax Omnibus proposal marks a notable step towards improving the simplicity and competitiveness of the EU Single Market.
8 min read
Digital services taxes address a real concern—the need to adapt taxation to the digital economy—but they are not the right solution. They raise limited revenue, are often passed on to consumers rather than large digital firms, create economic distortions, increase complexity and compliance costs, negatively impact innovation and competitiveness, and risk international retaliation.
Since digital services taxes generate little revenue, place the cost on European consumers and not on large digital companies as intended, and risk escalating trade disputes, policymakers should rethink their strategy.
14 min read
Europe’s turn toward the UN is ultimately not a sign that governments are ready to resolve fundamental disputes over taxing rights. If anything, international cooperation on the goal that matters most—fair treatment of cross-border trade—is crumbling.
The US, as the world’s largest services exporter, has a stronger interest in combating discriminatory services taxation than in pursuing tariffs.
44 min read
The past decade’s record suggests that countries have reliable legislative methods to improve their tax systems through ordinary tax reforms.
22 min read
The side-by-side agreement is an important step in trans-Atlantic economic relations, however, there is more work to be done—on both sides of the Atlantic. If there’s a downside to the side-by-side agreement, it’s the risk of locking in mediocre tax policy choices for the long run.
European policymakers would be wise to refocus tax and trade policies on what is good for Europe rather than trying to change policies in countries beyond European borders. Meanwhile, the Trump administration would be wise to recognize that the transatlantic relationship is a geoeconomic asset that can be mutually beneficial.
Formulary apportionment, global tax harmonization, and broad tax increases on services all face design, implementation, and economic barriers. When designing tax systems, policymakers should focus on doing the basic things well and avoid harmful policies that could stunt growth.
7 min read
A focus on sustained growth, meaningful metrics, and institutional capabilities that keep simplification a focus in future regulatory efforts should underpin the decluttering agenda.
8 min read
As European countries have undertaken a series of tax reforms designed for budgetary stability, policymakers should focus on consumption taxes by making them more neutral and efficient.
15 min read
Due to the incentive for jurisdictions to implement a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT), Pillar Two leaves a geographic asymmetry. Additional tax revenues would predominantly accrue to low-tax jurisdictions, with high tax jurisdictions receiving little to no increase.
2 min read
Sean Bray interviewed Dr. Aitor Navarro, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance, about the future of the EU tax mix.
16 min read
22 of the 27 EU Member States have implemented both the income inclusion rule and the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax in 2025.
4 min read
Creative destruction—coined by famed economist Joseph Schumpeter—is the idea that new innovations disrupt and “destroy” existing economic structures as they create better and more efficient products and processes.
4 min read
New evidence shows the scale and distribution of compliance costs for EU firms affected by Pillar Two, i.e., the “Global Minimum Tax.”
6 min read
Sean Bray interviews Dr. Jean-Philippe van West, Professor of International and European tax law at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, about the future of the EU tax mix.
10 min read
Instead of getting stuck in a reactionary posture, European countries should simply aim for competitiveness, and the EU can support that work with stronger, more stable trade relationships.
Rather than returning to a world of retaliatory tax measures and transatlantic disputes, the OECD should continue to decrease the compliance costs of Pillar Two by simplifying the rules to reduce any possible risk that the US has a compliance cost advantage and working with G7 countries on a side-by-side solution.
6 min read
Sean Bray interviews Dr. Eva Eberhartinger, professor of business taxation at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, about the future of the EU tax mix.
8 min read